Christmas in August

“When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season”…. In that case, I guess it’s a good thing I decided to have Christmas in August. Well at least it was like Christmas; for several reasons... The first being that the first recipe I am sharing is a delicious recipe for Vitel Toné; a traditional dish served on Christmas in Argentina. The second reason it was like Christmas in August was because my sweet uncle and his family were visiting from out of town. 

I grew up with very little extended family in my life—it was mainly my parents, sister, and brother. What’s more, is most of my family is scattered across the globe; Texas, Buenos Aires, Munich, Madrid… you get the idea. It’s difficult to put into words how it feels to spend time together for a couple of weeks. On a sunny Friday in August, I hosted my parents, my uncle, aunt, and my five year old cousin at my apartment in Tacoma. We started off the day with a trip to the Museum of Glass then relished an Argentinian lunch at my place and moseyed over to Ruston Way to enjoy the waterfront to finish the afternoon.

Anyway, back to lunch— Vitel Toné is an Italian dish that is commonly eaten in Argentina (no doubt due to the large Italian community down there) that features sliced beef covered in salty, creamy sauce topped with fresh parsley and chopped hard boiled eggs. It is served chilled which makes it perfect for a Christmas Eve feast in sweltering Buenos Aires summer heat.

The full lunch spread.

Blurry photo. So stuffed. So happy!

The first time I had the pleasure of eating Vitel Toné, I was spending the Christmas holiday 2013 with my mom in Argentina. The trip was a whirlwind of meeting distant relations and driving for miles upon miles to reach the Argentine countryside. But it was all worth it to see and experience the beautiful country my parents once used to call home. It was a bizarre Christmas for me, being from Washington State and used to cold, wet winters— many things were unexpected being plunged into the middle of an Argentinian summer. Worst on the list were the 17 mosquito bites on my ass alone and among the best of unexpected surprises was the Vitel Toné. Cold food on Christmas?! First of all, how dare you… but the moment I tasted it, I knew I’d be heading back to the table for more— plus you can’t get much better than beef from Argentina, amirite? 

This recipe features three of my salty favorites: capers, tuna, and anchovies. I realize that those three foods are a “no go” for some people and to them I say, “Suck it.” You are seriously missing out on so many amazing foods by not letting love into your life. Anchovies on pizza??? I mean come onnnnnn. Throw some capers on there while you're at it— For real though I seriously encourage you to try this recipe, even if you think it sounds a little weird, I think you’ll be surprised!

So that Friday definitely felt a little like Christmas for me: I got to share my city with family and we got to eat some of our favorite foods from home.

As time goes on I am sure that I will share more Argentinian recipes that I have learned, but for today, enjoy the Vitel Toné! Recipe below :)

Vitel Toné

1 beef round roast
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup canned tuna
6 anchovy fillets
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp dijon mustard 
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 cup capers
1/2 bunch of flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
salt

How to...

• Put the beef with bay leaf and salt in large, heavy pot (I used a dutch oven). Cover with water, place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Let the beef cook for about 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes is up, remove the meat from the water and allow it to rest for 10 minutes (or longer if it's too hot!) before slicing into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange the meat on the serving platter, cover and refrigerate.
• While the beef is chilling, put the remaining ingredients in a blender with only half of the chopped parsley (reaming parsley is for presentation) and excluding the eggs. Blend until smooth.
• Pour sauce over the chilled meat and garnish with chopped eggs, remaining parsley, some extra capers if you're feelin' sexy. Serve and enjoy!

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Christmas in August