Torta Pascualina

1 pastry for double crust pie
1 ? c spinach
1 chopped onion
? tsp nutmeg
1 tsp oregano
? tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup Swiss cheese

Sauté onion until soft and slightly golden. Add salt and nutmeg. Add spinach and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool. Add cheese to the cooled spinach mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400?F. Roll out one of the pastry sheets in a circle about 14 inches in diameter. Drape pastry over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing pastry into bottom and sides of pan. Fill tart with spinach/cheese mixture. Cut the hard-boiled eggs in half. Press them into filling, spacing them evenly.

Roll out other piece of puff pastry into a 9-inch circle, and place on top of tart. Seal edges together and crimp with a fork. Brush tart with the egg wash. Use a fork to prick a few holes on the top of the tart as vents. Place tart in oven, lower temperature to 350?F, and bake for 1 hour.

Pastel de Choclo

? c whole milk
4 ? c fresh corn (or 2 16-oz packages frozen corn, thawed)
2 tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced
4 tsp sugar, divided
1 c chicken broth (or water)
1 c onion, thinly sliced
? c red bell pepper, thinly sliced
? c carrot, thinly sliced
? tsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
? lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400?F.

Combine milk and corn in a large saucepan, bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand, cover for 5 minutes. Place the corn mixture in a food processor, process it until smooth. Stir in the basil, 1 tsp of the sugar, and ? tsp salt.

Combine broth, onion, bell pepper, carrot, black pepper, garlic and bay leaves in a large saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add remaining ? tsp salt, chicken and parsley. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Drain, discard bay leaves.

Place chicken mixture in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with the corn mixture, sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Bake at 400?F for 25 minutes.

Carbonada Criolla

1 large pumpkin, about 5 kg
4 tbsp olive oil
1 kg braising steak, cut into cubes
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
2 fresh bay leaves
2 ? c beef stock
1 ? c red wine
500 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-cm cubes
500 g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-cm cubes
1 corn cob, cut widthways into 6 slices
3 peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into thick wedges
Salt and ground black pepper

Wash the outside of the pumpkin. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a slice off the top 2 ? inch from the stem, to make a lid. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers and discard. Scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a shell about ?-inch-thick inside of the pumpkin. Cut the flesh you have removed into ?-inch pieces.

Brush the inside of the pumpkin and the flesh side of the lid with a little olive oil. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Place both pumpkin and lid on a baking sheet, flesh-side-up. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200?C. Heat half of the remaining oil in a large heavy pan over a high heat. Add the beef. Season and sauté for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown, then remove with a slotted spoon; you may need to do this in batches. Avoid adding too much beef to the pan or it will steam rather than brown.

Lower the heat and add the remaining oil to the pan. Stir in the onion and chilies, and sauté for 5 minutes. Scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spoon, to loosen any sediment. Add the garlic and tomato and cook for 2 minutes or more. Return the meat to the pan and add the bay leaves, stock and red wine. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.

Place the baking sheet containing the pumpkin and its lid in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, pieces of pumpkin and corn to the stew. Pour in more liquid if needed and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Finally, add the peach wedges and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Spoon the stew into the partially cooked pumpkin, cover with the pumpkin lid and bake for 15 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.

Carefully lift the filled pumpkin onto a large, strong platter and take it to the table. Ladle the stew onto plates, then cut the empty pumpkin into 6 to 8 wedges, depending on the number of people to be served.

Skewers with Chimichurri Sauce

4 zucchini, sliced
2 large yellow squash, sliced
1 purple onion, halved, quartered and separated
4 green peppers, diced
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
3 ? lb meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sauce
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 c minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
? c red wine vinegar
1 c extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepare the grill on medium-high heat.

Skewer alternating pieces of vegetables and meat. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Lightly brush the skewers with about half the chimichurri sauce and line them up on the prepared grill. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, until the meat is at a desired doneness and the vegetables are lightly charred and tender, about 8 minutes for medium. Pour the remaining chimichurri sauce into 1 or 2 small bowls so that guests may add more, if desired.

For the chimichurri sauce, combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. With a fork, whisk in the red wine vinegar followed by the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside for at least 4 hours so that the flavors combine.

Alfajores
600 g flour
1 pinch of salt
4 yolks
200 cc water
120 g fat

Icing
400 g sugar
1 c water
2 egg whites

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add fat to the flour mixture, blending with your fingers until the mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and mix until dough is smooth. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Roll out dough to 3/8-inch thickness, and cut into 2-inch circles. Place cookies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, until they are barely golden brown. Fill the cookies with dulce de leche and top with second cookie.