2 Amazing Asado Sides

Let’s be honest: It’s summer and that means we’d like to spend as a little time in the kitchen as possible. The ideal day would involve sitting outside, drink in hand, while someone else grills up that 4-star meal.

Of course, life doesn’t always cooperate with that kind of a plan. There are times that call for a classy meal, even when you’re on vacation and you’re not always going to be able to talk someone else into doing the work for you. Fortunately, a good meal doesn’t have to be hard to make.

Consider the classic Argentinean asado. There’s an art to roasting meat a la parilla but there are three saving graces that make this easier than it sounds.

First: most of the tricky work is done on the grill itself. The prep work is minimal and cleanup isn’t bad either. Once you’ve lit the fire and set out the meat, you’re basically off the hook. 

Second: every man considers himself a grilling expert. It’s probably biological. Depending on how many male guests you’ve invited over, you can reach a certain “critical mass”. The ideal situation involves your uncle, your boyfriend, and your 12 year old son fighting over the right to cook the meat while you strategically retreat to the pool. 

Third: since everyone is thinking about the meat, the bar for side dishes is really quite low. But you’re going to far exceed that expectation. The secret to an asado is that the side dishes can be easy. Really easy.

A tossed salad? Those come in bags these days. Punch it up with pepitas, crumbled cotija, and a few roughly chopped peppers, and you’re good to go (this salad leans more towards Mexico than Argentina-but this is vacation, not geography class). Bread? Pick up a good baguette from the store and warm it up in the oven.

And then there are your “ace in the hole” dishes, two recipes so tasty your guests will have no idea how fast and simple they are.

Next, the secret to two super simple super star asado sides…

The first is provoleta. This crowd-pleasing appetizer is nothing more than thick rounds of provolone, dosed up with Italian seasoning, red pepper, and olive oil and grilled until gooey. And since you’re cooking it on a hot grill, it’s done in minutes.

The second is chimichurri. There are a lot of ways to make this sauce but one popular variant is to swap out the parsley for cilantro. Since the fresh herb has a shelf life of approximately thirty seconds and some grocery stores don’t stock it, we swap it out for the pre-prepared paste in a tube. (This also eliminates the need to use-and later clean-a food processor). Raw garlic, onion, and fresh lime juice give it a super-fresh taste that’s more than a match for charred steak, and it’s good with toast or pasta as well.

Hey, you know what? Maybe you don’t need someone cooking for you after all.

Provoleta (Grilled Provolone)

• One round of provolone, a little under one inch thick
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (oregano if you’re a purist)

Get the full recipe.

Cilantro Chimichurri

• 4 ounce tube cilantro paste
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• generous sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced onion

Get the full recipe.