Fig Jam

This easy fig jam recipe will show you how to make a delicious, sweet treat using fresh figs, sugar, lemon, and a hint of spices. Perfect for spreading on toast, serving with cheese, or using in your favorite desserts, this homemade fig jam is simple to prepare and makes the most of seasonal figs. Whether you’re new to making jams or a seasoned pro, you’ll love this simple fig jam recipe that’s full of flavor and texture.

Makes 3 jars

1kg figs (stems cut off, cut rest into 1/2 inch pieces, leave skin on)

350g caster sugar

60ml lemon juice

120ml water

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Add figs and sugar to a heavy sauce pan.

Heat on a medium heat for 15 minutes. The sugar should be almost dissolved. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking to pan.

Add the water and both lemon juices. Heat on the same temperature for 30 minutes. Again, stir occasionally.

Add to sterilised jars when still hot.

Tips and tricks:

Avoid scaling up and putting in the same pan, as burning the pan is very easy.

To sterilise jars:

1. Put jars (without lids) into the oven on a high heat for 10 mins

2. Take out the jars, one at a time and fill to the top

3. Wipe the lids with alcohol to sterilise and screw onto the filled jar

4. Turn jar upside for 24 hours to properly seal

Lemon, Ginger & Mint Lemonade

3 Lemons or Limes, peeled

1/2 root of ginger

2 tsp honey

Sugar and Water - added to taste

In a food processor blitz the lemons and ginger with a splash of hot water and two teaspoons of honey until it makes a paste, add a splash more water.

Sieve into a jug over ice and top with water, add sugar according to taste.

Serve cold with sprigs of fresh mint.

January in the Los Pots Kitchen

January at the Los Pots Kitchen is a celebration of the summer season and the joys of outdoor dining. As the days grow long and warm, we invite you to indulge in the flavors of Argentina with traditional asados, fresh local ingredients, and perfectly paired red wines. Whether gathered around the grill or dining under the wide, open sky, our summer mealsoffer a memorable experience that’s a true taste of Argentine hospitality.

Milanesas

Milanesas are simple but delicious, and found across Argentina - a thin slice of marinated beef, fried in hot oil and served with a variety of accompaniments. Every Argentine will tell you that the best milanesas are found at home cooked by their mothers! The dish is similar to an Austrian schnitzel but the roots of the milanesa stem’s back to Italy and more specifically Milan and the famous “Cotoletta alla Milanese”. The most simple version is served with a squeeze of lemon juice, and a side of creamy mashed potatoes or french fries, but it can often be served a caballo (on horseback) where a fried egg is served on top of the meat or a milanesa a la napolitana, which has a topping of tomato salsa, ham, and mozzarella cheese.

Serves 6

900g rump beef, thinly sliced (1 cm thick)

2 eggs, beaten

450g breadcrumbs

2 garlic cloves, diced

3 tbsp parsley, chopped

Vegetable oil (for frying)

Salt and Pepper

Slice the beef into cm thick steaks.

Cut off all the fat and trim the cutlets.

Tenderise the meat with a mallet until it is half a cm thick.

Whisk the eggs with chopped garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. 

Marinade the meat in the egg mixture for at least half an hour, storing them in the fridge during the process. 

Pour the oil into a deep frying pan and heat it up until a cube of bread dropped in starts to fry immediately. 

Coat the beef in breadcrumbs and fry them on both sides and then place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

* They are traditionally served with a mixture of the following; french fries, mash potato, green salad, coleslaw or in a bread roll with tomatoes, lettuce and mustard. 

Fig Chutney

This is the perfect recipe to use unripe figs combined with ripe figs. Ensure you cook them for long enough to soften.

100g light brown soft sugar

100ml apple cider vinegar

50ml balsamic vinegar

300g chopped fresh figs

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

2 onion, finely chopped

2 sprigs of thyme

1 tsp flaky sea salt

Put all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer for 1 hour, stir the pan occasionally to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. 

Once the mixture has become sticky and jam-like, remove from the heat and place into sterilised jars with the lids tightly closed. 

Turn the jars upside down and leave for 48 hours. 

Summer Fruit Sponge Cake

Afternoon tea first started to become popular in Argentina during the 19th century, it is thought that the  British immigrants brought  with them the tradition. In the melting pot of Buenos Aires, and with strong Italian and Spanish influences, this soon morphed into the very Argentine custom of “Merienda”, which is a tradition we on the estancia enjoy every afternoon before we head out for a beautiful afternoon ride. Our chefs take turns to delight us with delicious biscuits and cakes and one of our favourite summer cakes is a simple victoria sponge topped with fruits straight from the orchard at Loza. 

200g caster sugar

200g softened butter

4 eggs, beaten

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

100g butter, softened

140g icing sugar, sifted

Vanilla extract

Strawberry jam 

Heat oven to 190ºC/370ºF.

Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat caster sugar, softened butter, beaten eggs, self-raising flour, baking powder and milk together until you have a smooth, soft batter.

Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed.

Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat 100g softened butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar and a drop of vanilla extract.

Spread the buttercream over the bottom of one of the sponges. Top it with strawberry jam or layers of fresh fruit sliced up and placed in a thin layer and sandwich the second sponge on top.

Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. 

Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.

Guindado

This year with a little more time on our hands we searched across the estancia and harvested an abundance of wild cherries. With the time to make something special we set about making “Guindado”, using a recipe which has been passed down in the Begg family for generations. Guindado is a liquor of sour cherries, sugar and a liquor (typically brandy but we use a locally sourced gin).

500ml gin

600g cherries 

4 tbsp caster sugar

Stone your cherries and pack them into the jar.

Add the sugar and stir well. 

Pour in the gin and seal the jar.

Shake well and put away in a cool dark cupboard for about 2 months.

Shake the jar occasionally.

Pour through a sieve lined with 2 layers of cheesecloth/muslin or paper towels to remove the cherries. 

Maga beginning the task of de-stoning the cherries.

Quince Jelly and Dulce de Membrillo

Inside all bakeries in Argentina, there are glass display cases overflowing with coconut-rimmed tarts filled with glistening, red jam. These are all made using 'dulce de membrillo’, which is a quince paste.  The Begg’s fondly remember their grandmother, making quince jelly and paste at Potrero de Niz when they were children. Tying a tea towel around the legs of a chair she would construct a sieve to drain the quince separating the paste from the jelly. Inedible raw quinces look like a cross between a pear and a golden apple, once cooked they turn sweet, with a vibrant red colour and have an incredible floral smell and taste. 

Quince Jelly

1.5kg quince, chopped roughly

1 lemon, zest peeled into strips, juiced

900g sugar 

Put the quince and lemon peel and juice in a large, deep saucepan. Cover with water (you'll need about 3 litres) and bring to the boil. 

Reduce to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes until the quince is very soft.

Line a colander with muslin cloth and put over a very large saucepan or heatproof bowl. Tip the quince into the lined colander, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to strain for 4-8 hrs until all the juice has dripped out. 

Keep the pulp for making ‘dulce de membrillo’. Measure out the strained juice and transfer to a large, deep saucepan (the jelly will bubble up high as it cooks). Add 500g sugar for every 600ml juice. Bring to the boil over a low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. 

Bring to a rapid bubble and cook until the temperature reaches 105ºC/221ºF on a sugar thermometer. Remove from the heat and ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal.  

Dulce de Membrillo 

Making membrillo is extremely easy. 

Take the quince pulp from the jelly and blend until smooth. Weigh the puree then put it in a large pot. Add an equal amount of granulated sugar to the mixture and place over a low heat. Stir the mixture constantly at first to dissolve the sugar, keep cooking until the mixture becomes thick (approx 1-2 hours). Once the mixture has thickened, it will stick to a wood spoon. 

Line a baking dish or lightly grease before pouring in the quince mixture. Allow the paste to cool, before placing in the oven on the lowest heat, dry the paste out (this can take up to three hours, if it has not set keep it in the oven checking it regularly). The surface should be glossy and not sticky to touch. Put the dish in the fridge and refrigerate overnight. 

Argentine Wines

Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. 

Argentina is a vast producer of wine and so throughout your stay in the country you are likely to try a number of different wines from different regions. Large areas of fertile vineyards stretch along the foothills of the Andes dotted with more than 3,000 wineries. The vineyards are based almost entirely on European grape varieties. The region is blessed with a combination of plentiful water from snow melt, sandy harsh soil, a dry a climate with year-round sunshine, which makes for enormous yields.

Cordoba has a wine growing tradition that goes back some centuries. Records show that 10,000 vines were planted the year after the foundation of Cordoba in 1574. The wine cellar of the Jesus Maria Jesuit farm was the largest in the Spanish colony of the River Plate. From this cellar, the very first bottle of wine from the Spanish Americas was sent to the king in Spain. This wine was christened "Lagrimilla" (tear drops), which we still drink as a dessert wine at Los Potreros today!

Wine production in Cordoba had a second wind when immigrants arrived from the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in northern Italy. They founded "Colonia Caroya" in 1878 only 50 kilometers from Cordoba city in the heart of the old Jesuit country. The spirit of those pioneers still continues, as do some of their traditions and dialects.

Today riders, drivers, walkers and birdwatchers alike all enjoy the Cordoba wine produced by   Bodega La Caroyense among others. Trying the different wines of the region is great fun; La Caroyense offers us history, Bodega La Matilde organic and biodynamic wines, Terra Camiare fresh modern wines.

The popularity of Malbec and Torrontes grape varieties is now spreading all over the world and the Beggs are always keen to share informal wine-tastings with their guests. Mendoza, Cafayate and the end of the world, Patagonia, just but a few options at the Los Potreros table.  

Summer in the Kitchen - Part 2

As the summer stretches on we begin to harvest the figs - found across the estancia from our cattle station to the garden at Potrero de Niz. Whilst they are sweet they work perfectly with cheese, meat and other savoury foods. This year we have made lots of fig jams and chutney and with the final harvest we are going to try out hand a honey poached fig with orange and spices.  

The quince is always the last fruit of the orchard to ripen, when they turn a golden yellow, and omit a floral scent, you know it is time to get picking. To preserve the quince we looked at lots of different ideas and followed the Mediterranean influence of cooking the quinces in a sweet syrup to be enjoyed on our homemade yoghurt or even on fresh cheeses like labneh (something Kevin has been learning to prepare). 

Of course, there is nothing more Argentine and traditional than making quince jelly and membrillo, which go together hand in hand. First you make the quince jelly, boiling the fruit with sugar and allowing the colour to turn from yellow to a rich reddish pink. Following in the footsteps of Louie Begg, we separate the quince through a sieve constructed by a chair turned upside down and a tea-towel tied around the legs. This divides the quince jelly from the quince paste (the membrillo). 

In the coming weeks the walnuts will be falling from the trees and the  artichokes “topinambur” will be ready to be dug up and stored for the winter. Throughout the year there is always something to do and ways to save the fresh produce for the months ahead. We are looking forward to continuing this research into preserving foods and how we can learn to use nature to help us in reducing our overall carbon footprint. 

Summer in the Kitchen - Part 1

In the winter most of our fruit trees are dormant waiting for the spring and the first rains of the year, then they burst into life and by summer we have an abundance of produce marked by the sprouting of the wild asparagus on the hills.  

“Pick, prepare, preserve” is our ethos over summer. Our chefs are working hard on finding delicious new ways to preserve the harvest from the summer months to last us into the winter. 

In previous posts we have talked about our new efforts of smoking meats and this has been a great success and a step in the right direction. We are constantly finding new solutions. Throughout the last few months we focused on picking vegetables, preserving in flavoured oil alongside making jams, jellies and chutneys to last into the winter.

This year, like many years before we have had a bumper harvest of aubergines and have made “escabeche” or pickled aubergine a traditional antipasti, flavoured with chilli flakes, garlic and bay leafs.

The orchard at Loza is filled with plums, peaches and apricots and wild cherries. We began by filling jars with wild cherries and sugar to make a cherry brandy, that will be ready in just a few weeks time after three months of brewing. The ‘guindado’ is traditionally made with brandy but our estancia recipe has always used locally sourced gin. 

The soft summer fruits have been used in jams, poached in red wine and amaretto, or fruit compotes for topping yoghurt. 

We foraged the trees from the waterfall to pick the Mirabelles (a sweet yellow plum). The apples from Los Melados have also been turned into a vast array of jams.  

Pan Dulce

One of our favourite sweet breads is ‘Pan Dulce’ and it is the perfect accompaniment to some Argentine cheese and is often cooked at our evenings in the kitchen. Typically we use dark muscovado sugar, which is a cane sugar containing molasses - the reason behind its dark colour and texture which resembles wet sand. 

500g Self Raising Flour

1 Egg

25g Butter

Cup of Mate Cocido Tea

75g Dark Muscovado Sugar

150g of Dried Fruit

75g Almonds

75g Hazelnuts

Mix all the dry ingredients except the flour. 

Add butter and egg, mix with hands throughly. 

Add flour and tea accordingly to make the mixture into a dough, it is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. 

Once the dough is ready, form it and place on a baking tray which is sprinkled with a little flour to ensure it does not stick during the cooking process. 

Cook in oven of 180ºC/355ºF until a skewer comes out clean. 

This usually takes around 20 minutes.

Pasta

In the Los Pots Kitchen, we take great pride in creating dishes that highlight the flavors of Argentina, infused with rustic charm and local ingredients. This pasta recipe is a perfect example of how simple, fresh ingredients come together to create an unforgettable meal. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or new to making pasta from scratch, our step-by-step guide will help you master the art of homemade pasta. You’ll be amazed by how easily you can bring the authentic taste of Argentina into your kitchen. Across the country menus feature a variety of pasta dishes that the Italian immigrants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century brought with them. The rolling of the pasta dough is a true art and it is always a delight to see our chefs effortlessly rolling out the dough to make anything from lasagne sheets to fresh raviolis or spaghetti. 

Follow the link for our basic pasta dough recipe and why not try making out sorrentino’s.

Mate

‘Mate’ is integral to the gaucho culture and learning how to drink it is an art. Pronounced mat-aay, mate is the name of the pot or gourd from which you drink it. The tea or herb is simply called ‘Yerba’. The drinking of mate is offered by the server, the ‘cebador’. The leaves are covered with hot water, not boiling, and the liquid is sipped through a ‘bombilla’, the metal straw. It is often passed around between friends and family, mate is a shared experience. One mate gourd is passed around the room for all share, whether you are family, friends or strangers. The yerba mate grows wild in the subtropical jungles of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia. It is renowned for its energetic properties and is an old Guarani tradition from the native Indians in South America. 

Mate is one of the drinks which falls into the category of needing an acquired taste. It is not uncommon to see Argentines walking down the street with a thermos of hot water under their arm and a mate gourd in their hand, as they drink, talk and walk. During the long process of Argentina’s independence in the 19th century, the tradition of mate gained strength across the country and the gauchos adopted mate as a part of their culture. Mate is particularly popular with Argentines especially in the morning as it contains a high amount of caffeine. Alongside a high caffeine content, it is also full of anti-oxidants and vitamins containing seven of nine essential amino acids.

Gnocchi

In Argentina the 29th day of the month is the chosen day to eat gnocchi (Ñoqui in Spanish). The story of the tradition is pretty simple. The 29th of the month was just before payday — people got paid on the last day of the month — so by the end of the month, money was tight and all that was left in the larder was potatoes and flour. Gnocchi are the perfect solution as they are filling and not expensive. Eating gnocchi on the 29th is also considered to bring financial luck. To ensure a prosperous month ahead many Argentines will place money under the place mat whilst they eat. Like many traditions in Argentina this has come from Italian immigrants who came to work and live here in the 19th century.

Quantities for 6 people

5 big potatoes*

4 Egg

3 cups of flour

Wash potatoes and boil with skins on. Peel the potatoes and mash one at a time. Let the potatoes cool by pushing out onto a surface, the larger the surface area the quicker they will cool. Once you have the potatoes cooled and flat on the counter crack one egg into the middle and mix well. Mix in flour, folding and pressing the mixture out to ensure the flour and potatoes are combined. Always add more flour until they become firm but still malleable. Cut the mixture into equal parts and roll into a sausage and cut into small pieces about 2cm x 1cm. Prepare the sauce. Cook the gnocchi in hot water, when they rise to the surface they are cooked. Have a dish ready to put in the oven to keep the gnocchi warm whilst you cook the rest. Layer the sauce first in the pan followed by the cooked gnocchi. Place it in the oven and once you have the next batch ready place more sauce over the first batch and then add the next round of gnocchi. 

* The fresher the potatoes are the better the gnocchi - use one potato per person and then three more.

Chicken Asado

The asado originated in the 19th century with the gauchos, the word is used to describe both the occasion and the meat itself, traditionally wood from the White Quebracho tree would be used as it is relatively smokeless and produces good coals. Whilst beef is the focus of the asado many argentines also choose to cook chicken. Lunches at Los Potreros include both options but we particularly love a chicken asado. Chicken cooked on the parrilla marinated with lemon, onion, garlic, fresh herbs and olive oil. The preferred method is cooking the chicken as a whole butterflied. 

1 Chicken 

3 Onions

4 Garlic Cloves

Lemon Juice 

Fresh thyme & rosemary

Olive oil 

To prepare the parrilla for cooking you will need a lot of coals and a higher temperature than cooking beef, so ensure you light the fire around 30 minutes earlier than if you were cooking a normal asado. Light the fire around 11am to have sufficient time to begin cooking for a 1330 lunch. You will need minimum of one and a half hours to cook the chicken and must always put chicken on the parrilla for half an hour more than any red meat. Using a butterflied chicken place on the parrilla bone face-down and allow the chicken to start cooking. To check if the grill is hot enough hold your hand above it and if you can hold it for longer than 10 seconds you need to add more coals. Peel the onions and garlic and blend with the lemon juice and olive oil until it produces a thick paste and roughly cut the fresh herbs and add them to the mix. Brush the chicken with the paste whilst cooking, 3 or 4 times until serving, to ensure the chicken stays moist and does not become too dry. Turn the chickens regularly so they don’t burn and to allow for even cooking.

*   goes really well with a fresh salad and bread cooked on the parrilla. Top the bread with fresh tomatoes diced with oregano, diced onions and a little olive oil.

Pollo Al Disco

Food prepared “al disco” does not refer to a particular recipe but rather a cooking style. 

Traditionally farm workers would use the blade of their plough; flipped on its side, wiped clean and with a fire lit below - these days we use a huge iron plow disc heated over a wood fire, but you can recreate this in a heavy bottom pan. Discos provide a large surface area for cooking while remaining easily portable, they are particularly useful for preparing meals away from the kitchen. 

The following recipe for pollo al disco is using white wine, but this can be substituted with beer.

Serves 4  

3 x chicken breasts - either cooked whole or cut into chunks

2 onions

2 red peppers sliced

2 green peppers 

A handful of fresh herbs chopped

2 diced garlic cloves

Cream

Chilli flakes

Paprika 

2 bay leaf

White wine

Water

Olive oil

To prepare the chicken use breast meat or cut into chunks on the bone (if leaving pieces on the bone it will take longer to cook).  Once the disco is placed over the flames begin cooking immediately or it will burn and smoke. Add a splash of oil and sauté the chicken, stirring often until the chicken has colour all over. Once the chicken has begun cooking add the onions and garlic, allow to soften. Then add white wine, peppers, spices and herbs - flavor according to taste. Continue to add wine and water throughout cooking to ensure the meat doesn’t dry out. Stir often. Do not taste the sauce until the chicken is cooked. 

Once the chicken has been cooked, and you are ready to serve drizzle some cream over the chicken, as you plate it.