INTRODUCTION
A BOOK DEVOTED TO EMPANADAS AND HELADOS?
Some might think it’s a strange idea to devote an entire book to stuffed pastries and ice cream. But these two very simple dishes are a crucial duo in Argentina. True gustatory pleasures, they are also synonymous with improvisation, celebration, friends and family. They’re the elemental savoury/sweet double act that has a place on the tables of millions of South Americans every day. In Buenos Aires,as in all the big cities in Argentina, there are casas de empanadas and heladerias on every corner—almost as many as there are cafés or bakeries in France.
To introduce these items to lovers of good things, founder Enrique Zanoni and chef Gaston Stivelmaher inaugurated the Clasico Argentino concept in France in 2011.
Today Clasico Argentino has three restaurants in Paris and a food truck cruising the streets. Now here is a cookbook to pay tribute to the empanada, the helado, and the dulce de leche. In this book, Enrique Zanoni and Gaston Stivelmaher share their secrets so you can make these classics of Argentinian cuisine yourself.
¡ BUEN VIAJE Y BUEN PROVECHO !
CLASICO ARGENTINO IN PARIS
56 Rue de Saintonge 75003 PARIS
217 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine 75011 PARIS
8 Rue du Pas de la Mule 75003 PARIS
EL CARRITO Food Truck concept
www.clasico-argentino.com
0 820 220 205
CLASICO ARGENTINO made its debut in France in Autumn 2011, in the heart of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in the 11th Arrondissement. Two other locations opened shortly after (a second restaurant in the Marais and Clasico XS, a little shop in the 3rd Arrondissement). Argentinian flavours and culture take pride of place: the walls are the colours of the Albiceleste (the blue and white flag), the ceiling reproduces the pattern of the cinta pampa, an emblem of the country, and the furniture is wooden in the style of the traditional tablitas (large benches where you can enjoy empanadas). The ‘grocery’ section offers some typical Argentinian products: traditional alfajores (dulce de leche biscuits), great Argentinian wines such as Malbec or Torrontés, yerba mate tea, Quilmes or Sifon beer, inimitable sparkling water…
EL CARRITO Faithful to tradition, Clasico Argentino also has a mobile food cart that wanders through the streets of Paris. Called ‘Carrito’, it’s a tribute to the Buenos Aires of the 1950s, when the porteños–residents of the port of Buenos Aires–would come to enjoy empanadas and ice cream from food vans set up on the banks of the Río de la Plata.
LAS EMPANADAS At Clasico Argentino, empanadas are high-end products equal to the most celebrated specialities of French cuisine. They are based on quality ingredients and cooked with passion according to tradition. The chef has reworked, diversified and improved the fillings: meat and spices, fish and herbs, unusual cheeses, gently cooked vegetables. Every day Clasico Argentino makes eight different fillings, and the chef offers a new one each month, depending on seasonal produce. You will find some of their secret combinations in this book.
LOS HELADOS With deep roots in the collective memory, ice cream is to Argentinians what croissants or baguettes are to the French. To honour this much-enjoyed dessert, Clasico Argentino keeps to the traditional ice-cream making methods, selecting natural products, without preservatives or artificial flavours. Clasico Argentino offers ten flavours that vary according to the fruits in season.
