Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves.
The base of the country's diet is meat and animal products: primarily beef but also chicken, lamb, pig and sometimes fish. The preferred cooking methods for meats and vegetables are still boiling and roasting, although modernization has popularized frying. Although Uruguay has considerable native flora and fauna, with the exception of yerba mate, native plants and animals are largely absent from Uruguayan cuisine. Popular sweets are membrillo quince jam and dulce de leche.
Description
Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves of, mostly, Italians. Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Although Uruguay has considerable native flora and fauna, with the exception of yerba mate, native plants and animals largely do not figure into Uruguayan cuisine.
The base of the country's diet is meat and animal products: primarily beef but also chicken, lamb, pig and sometimes fish. The preferred cooking methods for meats and vegetables are still boiling and roasting, although modernization has popularized frying (see milanesas and chivitos). Meanwhile, wheat and fruit are generally served fried (torta frita and pasteles), comfited (rapadura and ticholos de banana), and sometimes baked (rosca de chicharrones), a new modern style. Bushmeat comes from mulitas and carpinchos. Regional fruits like butia and pitanga are commonly used for flavoring caña, along with quinotos and nísperos.
Spanish influences are abundant: desserts like churros (cylinders of pastry, usually fried, sometimes filled with dulce de leche), flan, ensaimadas (Catalan sweet bread), and alfajores were all brought from Spain. There are also various kinds of stews known as guisos or estofados, arroces (rice dishes such as paella), and fabada (Asturian bean stew). All of the guisos and traditional pucheros (stews) are also of Spanish origin. Portuguese and Brazilian influence was also added during Portuguese colonization. Feijoada was incorporated into the rest of the guisos.
Uruguayan preparations of fish, such as dried salt cod (bacalao), calamari, and octopus, originate from the Basque and Galician regions, and also Portugal. Due to its strong Italian tradition, all of the famous Italian pasta dishes are present in Uruguay including ravioli, lasagne, tortellini, fettuccine, and the traditional gnocchi. Although the pasta can be served with many sauces, there is one special sauce that was created by Uruguayans. Caruso sauce is a pasta sauce made from double cream, meat, onions, ham and mushrooms. It is very popular with sorrentinos and agnolotti.
Additionally, there is Germanic influence in Uruguayan cuisine as well, particularly in sweet dishes. The pastries known as bizcochos are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas, are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the Berlinese known as bolas de fraile ("friar's balls"), and the rolls called piononos. The Biscochos were re-christened with local names given the difficult German phonology, and usually Uruguayanized by the addition of a dulce de leche filling. Even dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) have also made it into mainstream Uruguayan dishes.
Polenta comes from Northern Italy and is very common throughout Uruguay. Unlike Italy, this cornmeal is eaten as a main dish, with tuco (meat sauce) and melted cheese and or ham.
History The current roots of Uruguayan cuisine can be traced back to a subsistence economy adopted by gauchos, and sustained on subsistence agriculture implanted by the Spanish and Criollos at the start of European colonization. The native peoples did not stay in one place, and Uruguay was used as a remote port, with few incursions for treasure hunting. The only permanent establishment at the time was constituted by Franciscan friars and was located in a territory now belonging to Brazil called Misiones, because their mission there was to Christianize the native peoples. The tradition of mate started during this time, with the monks brewing a beverage with the leaves of yerba mate that the Guarani people used to chew.
Cattle was later introduced by Hernando Arias de Saavedra. The first group of immigrants came from poor families from Buenos Aires and the Canary Islands, along with their empanadas and cocidos. Everything was sold from pulperias that were both stores and saloons. The asado tradition came with gauchos that lived in the country, descendants of those first families that having no land nor home, made cattle raiding their way of life.
Food was rudimentary and based on Spanish tradition until immigration at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century when the first families came mostly from Italy and Spain. Immigration increased following World War I and World War II, when people from all over Europe and the Middle East came to Uruguay, including people from Germany, Russia, Italy, and Armenia. Such immigration enriched the importation of dishes, as there is now pasta, Russian salad and innumerable types of pastries from France and Germany, resulting in chajá and alfajores.
Appetizers, entrees and snacks
In Uruguayan cuisine, there is a significant list of preparations and dishes that are included in this category, the most typical or autochthonous is the picada, probably descending from the Spanish tapas, and as for everyday food there are also matambre relleno and lengua a la vinagreta.
Aperitif Common spirits produced in Uruguay include grappa and caña; grappa is considered an excellent apéritif, and caña is considered a liqueur. Liquor made with caña has good digestive qualities and is mainly consumed as a drink and not as an aperitif. Apéritifs such as martini, vermouth, whisky, medio y medio (half and half) and also uvita, sangria and wine are popular.
Medio y medio is a special blend of dry wine and sparkling wine, or sparkling wine and caña (rum). Uvita is a fortified wine with caña that resembles marsala wine.
Entrees
Picada Picada can be described as the main entrée of a typical asado (barbecue) and is consumed with aperitifs. It is constituted by cheese (typically Colonia, of Uruguayan origin), olives, longaniza, salami, chips and salted peanuts; peanuts and other snacks are served on small pots and all of the other ingredients are served on a wood table with slices of bread.
Matambre relleno
Matambre relleno is a common dish in Rio de la plata, both in Uruguay as in Argentina. It is one of two dishes prepared from matambre, a meat cut that is a flank steak. It is prepared as luncheon meat by rolling thin slices over spinach, carrots and boiled eggs, tied up and sewn with a strong string, boiled and later pressed and consumed cold.
Lengua a la vinagreta Lengua a la vinagreta (Spanish for tongue with vinaigrette) is a cold preparation of beef tongue that is previously peeled and boiled and served with a vinagreta sauce made with chopped boiled eggs, parsley, garlic, onions, olive oil, and vinegar.
Pescado en escabeche Escabeche is a preserved method common in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. It consists of a mix of oil and vinegar that is used as a marination that also preserves the food.
Pescado en escabeche (escabeche fish) is a cold dish often made from Argentine hake that is buttered as in pescado a la marinera.
After being separately fried, it is parboiled on a vinaigrette made of oil and vinegar that is added to sliced onions and carrots and whole garlic cloves and black pepper.
Side dishes Food is mostly eaten with bread, and sometimes rice, salad or chips. Along with asado, accompaniments are chorizo, morcilla, offal, and also stuffed peppers, and papas al plomo (roasted potatoes).
Sauces The most notable sauces in Uruguayan cuisine are chimichurri, salsa criolla and salsa Caruso.
Picantina Picantina is a spicy sauce commonly added to frankfurters (panchos), hungaras, choripanes and hamburgers. It is common to find in fast food dispensers in the street and is locally called 'carritos'. It resembles hot mustard or mayonnaise.
Mojo Sharing the same name as the Spanish mojo, it is a simple sauce made with garlic, oil, parsley, oregano, paprika, water and salt, and is added to asado during the cooking process and optionally on the dish. Mojo differs from chimichurri in that it has water besides vinegar and less paprika.
Chimichurri
Chimichurri is between a vinaigrette and a pesto variant, made with parsley, chopped garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, paprika, oil, vinegar, and salt. Along with salsa criolla it is preferred for asado.
Salsa criolla
Made with finely chopped tomatoes and onions, oil and salt, salsa criolla is used for garment of asado, choripán and sometimes panchos.
Salsa golf
Mostaza La pasiva La Pasiva is a famous chain of restaurants in Uruguay, dedicated to fast food or minutas, as known in the region. Their specialties are panchos and hungaras and they are renowned for their chivito. Moustard La pasiva is a white-colored hot mustard served along with panchos. It is made with beer, starch, mustard grains, pepper, salt and vinegar. Though it has never been sold commercially, small quantities are sometimes given as a gift for clients.
Mostaza La pasiva is also used among other mustards as a sauce for puchero meat.
Salsa Caruso, estofado and tuco
All three are necessary pasta sauces among other foreign pasta sauces. Salsa Caruso was made in honor of the opera singer Enrico Caruso and became a popular sauce (especially for its main dish 'cappelettis a la Caruso'); estofado is a stewed version of ragu made from steaks and sometimes eaten alone; tuco, when it is with chopped meat, resembles a bolognese sauce.
Barbecue and salads
Salads Uruguayan cuisine has adopted and created many salads, the most typical being ensalada criolla.
Ensalada criolla
With slight variants, it is common for a family of salads that are widespread over the southern south cone region; most variants as in the Chilean salad always include onion and lettuce. The salad common to Uruguay contains tomato along with lettuce and onion and is served with a single vinaigrette made of oil, vinegar, salt, garlic, and oregano. As it is a basic form of salad, it is an ideal accompaniment for asado.
Ensalada rusa
More similar to the polish sałatka jarzynowa than the typical olivier salad, it contains potatoes, carrots, and peas with mayonnaise.
Ensalada de papa y huevo This is a potato and egg salad or onion and potato salad or simply potato mayonnaise and parsley.
Ropa vieja
Resembling an old Spanish salpicon, ropa vieja (Spanish for old clothes) intends to include everything that exceeds from asado, mainly the best cuts of meat chopped with vegetables such as potatoes or ensalada criolla. It is not to be confused with the Cuban ropa vieja which is also a derivative dish but resembles more a sancocho than a salad.
Salpicon de ave Another derivative salpicon, chicken salpicon is made with chicken, eggs, and potatoes.
Palmitos con salsa golf
Simply heart of palm sometimes rolled in ham slices and served with salsa.
Watercress salad Basically watercress, olive oil and lemon juice.
Asado