MATAMBRE A LA PIZZA – MARGHERITA STYLE AN ARGENTINIAN RECIPE

June 25, 2018 SouthAmerica

The month of June is turning into an Argentina month, and why not? Argentina is a very interesting country. This time we are sharing a recipe from this beautiful country, and of course it includes meat. Argentina offers one of the greatest beefs from their famous pampas where you can spot gauchos at work. Cattle were imported by the Spaniards while colonizing Argentina. The descendants have carried on the traditions revolving around red meat.

southamericatotheworld.com — Argentina asado

Argentina offers a wide range of beef cuts with the most popular ones being bife de chorizo, which is the sirloin steak, bife de Costilla, which is the T-bone steak, bife de lomo is the tenderloin cut, cuadril is a Rump steak, ojo de bife is the Ribeye steak, Marucha is a Chuck steak, Asado de tira or tira de asado is a long narrow strip of the ribs, vacio is similar to the flank steak, and matambre is a thin cut between the skin and the ribs- this is what we will use for this recipe.

Matambre means to kill hunger. This cut of meat is very popular in many countries within South America and it is often rolled with different fillings. Argentinians make this popular dish with a twist, turning this Matambre into a sort of meat pizza; pair with a Malbec wine from Mendoza, and you are up for an Argentinian treat.

Note: The traditional Matambre a la pizza doesn´t have basil leaves, but I couldn´t help it because you have the tomato sauce, and the fresh mozzarella rounds; what was missing was the basil to make it a Margherita pizza so I added it to it, and the result is fabulous, and the best part no carbs!

Ingredients:

For the sauce

1 can 28 oz. whole peeled tomatoes (Cento)

2 minced garlic cloves

1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. sugar

For the Matambre

1lb or 2 lb. of flank steak

1tbsp. Montreal Steak seasoning mix

1/2 to 1 cup of tomato sauce

Fresh whole milk Mozzarella cheese

Red chili peppers (optional)

Basil leaves (it makes it tastier!)

Olive oil

Preparation:

The sauce:

In a blender combine all the ingredients and process until smooth.

Matambre:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Trim the extra fat from the flank steak or steaks, and season with the Montreal steak seasoning mix on both sides (or other favorite dry rub seasoning).

In a frying pan add some olive oil and brown the steak for 5 minutes on each side. Then add the tomato sauce while placing the mozzarella cheese and basil leaves. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

Let cool down before cutting, which takes about 10 minutes. At this point you could add some red pepper flakes for spiciness, but it is not necessary because the basil gives it enough flavor as to any pizza Margherita.

To serve, accompany it with a nice fresh green salad, and a cup of Malbec wine.

Enjoy!