Mate: The Heart of Gaucho Culture in Argentina

Few traditions capture the spirit of Argentina quite like drinking mate (pronounced "mat-aay"). More than just a beverage, mate is a ritual, a social glue, and one of the most authentic windows into gaucho culture you'll find anywhere in the country. Learning how to drink mate properly is something of an art - and once you understand the tradition behind it, you'll see why it's so deeply woven into everyday Argentine life.

What Is Mate?

Technically, "mate" refers to the pot or gourd the drink is served in - not the drink itself. The herb is called yerba mate, and it's this yerba that gives the drink its distinctive, earthy flavour and its reputation as an acquired taste.

The person who prepares and serves the mate is known as the cebador. They fill the gourd with yerba, add hot (never boiling) water, and hand it round for sipping through a bombilla, a metal straw with a built-in filter at the tip.

A Shared Ritual, Not Just a Drink

What makes the mate ceremony so special is how it's shared. One gourd, one bombilla, passed from person to person around the circle - family, friends, or complete strangers alike. It's an act of trust and hospitality, and for many Argentines, a mate session is as much about connection and conversation as it is about the drink itself.

This communal nature is central to Argentine mate tradition, and it's one of the first things visitors notice: walking through any Argentine town or city, it's completely normal to see people carrying a thermos of hot water under one arm and a mate gourd in the other hand, sipping as they go about their day.

Roots in Guaraní Tradition

Yerba mate grows wild in the subtropical jungles of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Bolivia. Its origins trace back to the Guaraní people, the native Indigenous communities of South America who first discovered and cultivated the plant for its energising properties.

The drink's popularity surged during Argentina's long fight for independence in the 19th century, and it was during this period that mate became firmly embedded in gaucho culture - adopted by the horsemen of the pampas as a daily staple, a source of energy, and a symbol of camaraderie out on the open range.

Why Argentines Love Their Mate

Mate is especially popular first thing in the morning, thanks to its naturally high caffeine content - a welcome jolt for anyone starting the day. But its appeal goes beyond the buzz: yerba mate is packed with antioxidants and vitamins, and remarkably, it contains seven of the nine essential amino acids.

Whether you're exploring the pampas, staying at a traditional Argentine estancia, or simply spending time in Buenos Aires, sharing a mate is one of the most genuine ways to experience local culture. It might take a few sips to acquire the taste - but once it clicks, you'll understand why mate remains an inseparable part of Argentina travel and everyday life alike.

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: A Traditional Argentine Chicken Recipe

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.  

The Legend Behind Argentina's Dulce de Leche

Eaten with almost everything in Argentina, dulce de leche is spread on toast, used to fill facturas, decorate flans, or simply eaten straight from the jar. It's one of the true icons of Argentine cuisine, and its origin story is just as sweet as the spread itself.

A Culinary Accident in 1829

As the local legend tells it, the birth of dulce de leche can be traced back to a culinary accident that occurred in 1829, during a turbulent period of Argentine history.

With the hope of ending a period of civil war in Argentina, the leaders of opposing political and military forces, Juan Manuel de Rosas and Juan Lavalle, decided to call a truce. Rosas invited Lavalle to sign the Cañuelas Pact at his headquarters on a large ranch called La Caledonia. Lavalle arrived at the ranch tired from the journey and decided to rest a while before meeting with Rosas - taking his siesta in the very tent where Rosas normally slept.

Meanwhile, one of Rosas' servants was busy preparing the "lechada" - hot milk with sugar - traditionally drunk as an accompaniment to mate during that period. When the servant went to bring some mate to Rosas, she found Lavalle asleep in Rosas' tent and panicked. Unaware of the planned meeting between the two leaders, she alerted the troops to the presence of the "enemy," leaving the lechada unattended on the stove amid the chaos.

When she finally returned, she discovered that the contents of the pot had transformed into a thick, gooey spread - what we know today as dulce de leche.

A happy accident born out of conflict and truce, this beloved Argentine staple has gone on to become one of the country's most cherished culinary traditions, enjoyed in kitchens and cafés across Argentina to this day.

Butternut Squash Sorrentinos with Blue Cheese Sauce

Butternut Squash Sorrentinos with Two Easy Sauces

Argentines claim that there's nothing in Italy quite like a sorrentino, making them an Argentine invention. Unlike their close relative the ravioli, which aims for a balance between dough and filling, sorrentinos are plump and overstuffed. As with other stuffed pastas, both the sorrentino dough and the filling can be imaginatively flavoured to create an endless number of options. The choice of sauce also plays an important role in the dish. A favourite on the estancia is a butternut squash filling with a butter, sage and garlic sauce or, for the more adventurous, a blue cheese sauce.

The Story of the Sorrentino

Sorrentinos are believed to have been created in Mar del Plata by Italian immigrants from Sorrento, who gave them their home town's name. Whatever their true origin, they're now found on pasta menus across Argentina, and they're always round and generously filled. You can read more in our post on sorrentinos and the Italian influence on Argentine cuisine.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the pasta:

• 400g 00 or plain flour

• 4 eggs

• A pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 1kg)

• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled

• A small bunch of chives, finely chopped

• A pinch of chilli flakes

• Salt and pepper

For the sage and butter sauce:

• 100g butter

• A handful of fresh sage leaves

• 1 garlic clove, diced

• A pinch of dried herbs and chilli flakes

For the blue cheese sauce:

• 150g strong blue cheese (we like Roquefort)

• A knob of butter

• A splash of double cream

How to Make Butternut Squash Sorrentinos

1. Cut the squash in half and roast it at 200C with the garlic for about 45 minutes, until soft enough to peel away from the skin.

2. Mash the squash and garlic with salt, pepper, the chives and the chilli flakes, then leave to cool.

3. Mix the flour, eggs and salt into a dough and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. Wrap it and rest it for 30 minutes.

4. Roll the dough out with a pasta machine or rolling pin until it is about 1-2mm thick. Cut into 8cm circles.

5. Put a generous spoonful of filling on half the circles, top each with another circle and press the edges firmly to seal.

6. Cook in plenty of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes, until they float.

7. While the pasta cooks, make your sauce. For sage and butter, melt the butter and add the sage, garlic, dried herbs and chilli flakes. For blue cheese, melt the cheese with the butter and a splash of cream.

8. Drain the sorrentinos, spoon the sauce over and serve straight away.

The Argentine Asado: A Gaucho Tradition at Los Potreros

There are meals, and then there is the asado. In Argentina it is never just lunch - it is a ritual, a slow and unhurried gathering built around fire, good meat and even better company. At Estancia Los Potreros, the asado sits at the very heart of daily life, just as it has for generations of gauchos before us.

The Gaucho Origins of the Argentine Asado

The asado traces back to the gauchos who worked the pampas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. With cattle in abundance and little else on hand, they cooked freshly butchered beef over open flames using nothing more than wood, embers and simple iron crosses called asadores. There was no need to dress it up - the quality of the meat did all the talking.

As Argentina's cattle industry grew, so did the asado's place in national life. What began as a practical way for gauchos to eat became a cornerstone of Argentine culture, from Sunday family lunches to birthdays, holidays and celebrations of every kind. The parrilla replaced the open pit, but the philosophy never changed: cook slowly, over embers rather than flame, and let the fire do the work.

The Art of the Fire

The asado begins long before the first cut of meat touches the grill. The asador - the person in charge of the fire - takes on an almost ceremonial role, building a bed of glowing embers that will cook slowly and evenly over hours rather than minutes. This is the real difference between an asado and a barbecue: here, the fire is a craft.

A few of the secrets our chefs swear by:

• Use dry hardwood, which makes better coals. For a 2pm lunch, light the fire around 11am, or earlier for a big group.

• Keep feeding the fire and rake the glowing coals under the parrilla as they form.

• Test the heat with your hand. If you can hold it above the grill for more than ten seconds, it needs more coals. You should hear the meat sizzle as soon as it goes on.

• Season with coarse salt and nothing else. Argentines don't marinate their beef - the flavour comes from good meat and good grilling.

• Be patient. Most Argentines like their meat medium well or well done, and that takes time.

What Goes on the Parrilla

A proper asado arrives in stages, never all at once. Sausages come first - chorizo and morcilla (blood sausage) - followed by the cuts: tira de asado (short ribs), vacío (flank), bife de chorizo (sirloin), matambre and, for the adventurous, mollejas (sweetbreads) and other achuras. There may be chicken or pork too, and at Los Potreros a suckling pig goes on the parrilla for special occasions such as Christmas and New Year's Eve.

It's all about the meat, but there are always a few treats alongside. Provoleta, a grilled, gooey slab of cheese seasoned with herbs from our garden, makes the perfect start. Roasted potatoes, sweetcorn and peppers, fresh salads and crusty bread follow, with a bowl of chimichurri on the side that never gets in the way of the beef.

Asado at Estancia Los Potreros

Here in the Sierras Chicas, the asado tradition is very much alive. Much of the beef we serve comes from cattle raised on the estancia under a rotational grazing plan, so what lands on your plate reflects the land it came from. Our chefs cook on an open-air parrilla under the big Córdoba sky, and guests are welcome to gather round, watch the fire being built and ask as many questions as they like.

It might follow a long morning ride through the hills or a lazy Sunday on the estancia. Either way, the scene is the same: the smell of wood smoke drifting across the yard, horses grazing nearby, glasses of red wine being refilled and conversation stretching long into the afternoon. Guests often tell us their most memorable meals were the simplest ones, shared at a long table as the mountains turned gold in the late afternoon light.

More Than a Meal

Perhaps that is why the asado feels less like a meal and more like a way of understanding Argentina itself. It teaches patience, generosity and the importance of gathering together. No unnecessary ceremony, no complicated presentation - just excellent ingredients, good company and time.

Some of life's greatest luxuries are also the simplest: fire, food, friendship and an open sky.

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Traditional Argentine Beef Empanadas (Empanadas de Carne)

Derived from the word “empanar” meaning to wrap or coat, we have the empanada - a stuffed or fried pastry traditionally filled with a combination of meat, vegetables or even dried fruits. Across the country they are a fast food staple and every region including Cordoba, prepares their own variation of a filling. Typical empanadas in Argentina are much smaller in size than those in Chile, normally fitting into the palm of your hand.

Empanada Pastry

2 cups plain flour

2/3 cups unsalted butter (cold)

2 tsp baking powder

To make the pastry, combine the flour, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a large bowl. 

Finely chop or coarsely grate the butter, then rub into the dry mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Mix in just enough cold water to bring it together, then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 1 hour.

Roll out the pastry using a rolling pin or pasta maker and cut into large circles. 

A Traditional Argentine Filling

Empanadas in the Cordoba province are famous for being dulce salada, which means ‘sweet and salty’. You can use this recipe and by adding a couple more handfuls of raisins and a few teaspoons of white sugar they will become empanadas cordobesas. 

4 cups of ground beef or meat finely cubed  

6 white onions finely diced  

4 hard boiled eggs

1 can of tinned tomatoes 

1tbs paprika

2 handfuls of green olives

2 handfuls of raisins

A bunch of spring onions

1tbs chilli flakes

Salt and pepper 

Finely cube meat, or use ground beef sauté until cooked. 

In a separate pan sauté the onions until soft and then combine with the cooked meat, add the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. 

Add the remaining ingredients except the egg and allow the mixture to simmer and reduce down so that it is not-too liquidly. 

Allow the mix to cool completely. 

Roughly chop the eggs up and add with the spring onions and sliced olives into the mixture , stirring throughly. 

Fold the empanadas using the accordion fold and cook.

Place the assembled empanadas on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 180ºC/355°F for approximately 20 minutes or until the dough turns golden brown.

For a demonstration on folding empanadas check out our video here.

For a downloadable version click here.