Today dawned cloudy, terribly cloudy in true southern Chilean style, one of those days when it’s better to stay home than go out and catch a chill, so that’s exactly what we decided to do. The kids pulled a few long faces, since the chances of going to the beach or swimming in the pool were close to zero, but nothing a card game after lunch couldn’t fix. In the morning I went with my dad, who had stayed with us the night before, to change the brake pads on his car so he could continue his trip south more safely.
Sadly, the pads he had bought didn’t fit, so he had to leave with the old ones. The day before, we had been speculating about the best use for the leftovers from both barbecues. The leftover piece of lamb already had a plan, so it was out of the running. For the rest of the beef there were two options: salpicón or ajiaco. Given the weather, salpicón was firmly ruled out, because what we needed was something hot to eat, and so the perfect equation came together: barbecue leftovers + cloudy day = ajiaco. And as is becoming a habit in this log, here is a simple recipe for making it:
AJIACO WITH BARBECUED BEEF
Chilean ajiaco is a stew made with beef, onion, potatoes, herbs and spices. It is usually made with leftover barbecued meat or, if there is none, with meat cooked beforehand for the stew. Here I’ll describe how to make it with barbecue leftovers.
INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)
- 300 to 400 grams of barbecued beef
- 4 to 6 potatoes (depending on their size)
- 1 large onion
- 1 large garlic clove or 2 small ones (optional, to taste)
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- Salt, pepper, Chilean mixed seasoning (aliño completo) and a teaspoon of oregano
- 2 eggs (optional)
PREPARATION
Cut the barbecued beef into strips no more than 1 centimeter wide and 4 centimeters long, and brown them over medium heat in oil in the pot you’ll use for the ajiaco. Once browned, remove the meat from the pot and set it aside. Leave the meat juices in the pot, since we’ll use them for the onion.
Thinly slice the onion into julienne strips. Finely chop the garlic clove(s) or crush them in a mortar. Add all the onion and garlic to the pot with the meat juices, along with half a teaspoon of mixed seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the onion slowly until it turns slightly translucent. Return the meat to the pot and stir, adding the teaspoon of oregano.
Peel the potatoes, cut them lengthwise into French-fry-sized sticks and add them to the pot with the meat and onion. Add 900 to 1,000 ml of boiling water, enough to completely cover the potatoes (which are still raw).
Simmer over medium heat until the potatoes are cooked. If the seasoning needs a boost, you can add a beef or pork rib bouillon cube. Optionally, just before serving, stir a couple of egg whites into the broth so that they form thin strands of egg.