Argentine · appetizer

Matambre Arrollado

Matambre Arrollado reads umami 5.1, salinity 5.1 and sweetness 3.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Argentine appetizer, about 17 hr 27 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.1 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.3 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 4.1 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.2 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 2.7 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.1 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.1 · Salinity 5.1 · Sweetness 3.8 · Sourness 3.7 · Allium 3.7 · Richness 2.7 · Marine & Briny 2.5 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Fruity 1.9 · Funk & Ferment 1.9 · Earthy 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.7 · Bitterness 1.6 · Citrus 1.5 · Smoke 1.0 · Floral 0.8 · Heat 0.7

What's in it (14)

• matambre — 1400 g
• red wine vinaigrette — 150 g
• garlic — 32 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 40 g
• dried leaf oregano — 4 g
• eggs — 400 g
• carrots — 250 g
• red peppers — 300 g
• green olives — 150 g
• salt — 15 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 10 g
• spanish sweet paprika — 10 g
• beef stock — 1500 g
• butcher's string

Time & effort: about 17 hr 27 min (2 hr 27 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 33.8 kcal, 2.1 g protein, 1.6 g fat, 2.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Matambre means matar el hambre, to kill the hunger, and the cut is the flap of meat a butcher pulls from between the hide and the ribs. Rolled around eggs and vegetables, poached, pressed and sliced cold, it is the standard first thing on an Argentine table before the asado proper, and it is also the classic picnic food.
2. Ask your butcher for matambre and to butterfly it to an even sheet; flank steak, opened out and pounded, is the closest thing outside Argentina, though it is thicker and less gelatinous. Trim off any hard fat and silverskin but leave the thin fat layer.
3. Lay the meat in a dish and pour over the vinegar with half the garlic, half the parsley and the oregano. Turn it, cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. The vinegar is a tenderiser here, not just a seasoning, and the cut needs it.
4. Drain and pat dry, lay the sheet out with the grain running left to right, and season all over with the salt, pepper, pimentón and the remaining garlic and parsley.
5. Lay the fillings along the grain in stripes so that every slice will show them: carrot batons, roast pepper strips, the whole eggs in a row down the centre, and the olives scattered between. Leave 5 cm bare at the far edge.
6. Roll it up tightly with the grain, so you will later slice across it, and tie firmly with string every 3 cm plus once lengthways. Wrap the whole roll in muslin or a clean cloth if you have one, which keeps the shape true.
7. Lower it into the stock, bring to a bare simmer and poach 90 minutes, never letting it boil; a hard boil will squeeze the roll and push the filling out. Let it cool in the liquid for an hour.
8. Lift it out, wrap it, put it on a tray with another tray and a few tins on top, and press it in the refrigerator overnight. Slice cold in 1 cm rounds and serve with bread — or, at an asado, sear the slices for 2 minutes a side over the coals just before serving.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Greek Butter Beans in Tomato Sauce (Gigantes Plaki) — Greek
• Picadillo — Latin American
• Jeow Bong (Luang Prabang Chilli Relish with Buffalo Skin) — Lao
• Shakshuka with Feta and Crusty Bread — Middle Eastern
• Ground Beef and Feta Stuffed Peppers — Middle Eastern

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.