LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
The Asado
The Asado
LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
The History of the Kitchen

We have been welcoming guests to Los Potreros (The Enclosures) since the 1940s and our kitchen provides everyone who stays here with an insight into the delights of Argentine cuisine. Visitors discover the art of making and savouring traditional mate tea, the secrets to getting the best flavours from Argentina’s famous beef, and the family recipes behind the sumptuous cakes that are baking continuously in the original wood-burning oven. The kitchen is, without a doubt, the heart and soul of the estancia.The pleasures of Argentine food are also extended to the outdoors, with guests enjoying their meals under the shade of the verandah or a nearby tree. Their friendly chatter over the dining table is accompanied by the lively chirping of monk parakeets in the branches above.

The History of the Kitchen
LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
Our Family’s Timeless Chimichurri Recipe

Chimichurri is traditionally made of finely-chopped parsley, garlic, oregano, oil and white vinegar. Though there are regional variations, it is also a recipe which is usually kept as a closely guarded secret. Chimichurri is not a marinade as argentines tend to use salt as the only seasoning on a piece of beef but it is used as a condiment at any asado.

Our Family’s Timeless Chimichurri Recipe
Misc., LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
Summer in the Kitchen - Part 1
Summer in the Kitchen - Part 1
LosPotsKitchen
Los Potreros
Our Sustainable Kitchen

Every chef across the world, pays close attention to what goes into their food but here at Los Potreros we are also concerned about what our food is doing to the environment. Our chefs have always had a “no waste mentality” and now more than every they are minimizing what they throw out and developing a menu to ensure they can continue to cut down what little waste we still have, throughout the last few months we have begun to test out new ideas with great success.

Our Sustainable Kitchen

tea time

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Merienda on the Estancia: Victoria Sponge

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Merienda on the Estancia: Victoria Sponge with Fruit from the Loza Orchard

Afternoon tea first became popular in Argentina during the 19th century, brought over, it's thought, by British immigrants who settled in the country in search of new opportunities. Buenos Aires at the time was a melting pot of cultures, and as the British ritual of afternoon tea mixed with strong Italian and Spanish influences already shaping daily life, it slowly transformed into something distinctly Argentine: the ‘merienda.’

Today, merienda remains one of the most cherished rituals of Argentine life, and here on the estancia it's no different. Every afternoon, just before we saddle up for a ride through the Sierras Chicas, we gather for merienda together - a pause between the work of the day and the golden hours of riding still ahead. Our chefs take it in turns to spoil us with something sweet: warm biscuits fresh from the oven, delicate pastries, or, on the best afternoons, a cake still warm enough to melt the buttercream.

One of our favourite summer choices is a simple Victoria sponge, topped with whatever fruit is ripest that week in the orchard at Loza, plums in early summer, peaches as the season deepens, sometimes a handful of berries if the birds haven't beaten us to them. There's something wonderfully unfussy about a Victoria sponge: two soft layers of vanilla-scented cake, a good jam, and a cloud of buttercream in between. It travels well too, so if the ride runs long, there's usually a slice waiting when we get back.

If you'd like to bring a little estancia life to your own afternoon tea, here's how we make ours.

Ingredients

For the sponge

  • 200g caster sugar

  • 200g softened butter

  • 4 eggs, beaten

  • 200g self-raising flour

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 2 tbsp milk

For the filling

  • 100g butter, softened

  • 140g icing sugar, sifted

  • Vanilla extract

  • Strawberry jam

Method

Heat your oven to 190ºC/370ºF. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with non-stick baking paper, this makes turning the sponges out afterwards far less stressful than it sounds.

In a large bowl, beat the caster sugar, softened butter, beaten eggs, self-raising flour, baking powder and milk together until you have a smooth, soft batter with no lumps of butter left hiding at the bottom.

Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, so both sponges rise level.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden on top and the cake springs back gently when pressed in the centre. Every oven runs a little differently, so keep an eye on it during the last five minutes.

Turn the sponges out onto a wire rack and leave them to cool completely before filling, a warm sponge will melt your buttercream into a puddle, however tempting it is to rush.

While the sponges cool, make the filling: beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar along with a drop of vanilla extract, until light and fluffy.

To assemble, spread the buttercream generously over the flat side of one sponge, then top it with strawberry jam or a thin layer of sliced fresh fruit from the orchard. Sandwich the second sponge on top, flat side down, and dust the whole cake lightly with icing sugar before serving.

The cake will keep in an airtight container for up to two days, though on the estancia it rarely lasts that long. Serve it in thick slices alongside a pot of tea or mate, and you'll have everything you need for a proper Argentine ‘merienda of your own.