Very cold today! It's Locro time, let's cook!

The sweetness of the corn and the mild spiciness of chorizo complement each other beautifully in this easy navy bean soup. Serve each bowl with a spoonful of the spicy onion sauce. Enjoy this soup with a fresh salad and beef empanadas for a hearty meal.

Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutesIngredients:

•2 cans navy beans
•2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•4 chorizo, bratwurst, or other spicy sausages (about 1 pound)
•1 pound stewing beef, cut into bite size pieces
•4 ears of fresh corn (or 2 cups frozen corn, or 2 cups of canned corn, drained)
•2 carrots, peeled and sliced into bite size pieces
•1 large winter squash, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
•1/4 pound good quality smoked bacon
•32 ounces chicken broth
•3 tablespoons vegetable oil
•1 large onion, finely chopped
•1 red pepper, finely chopped
•1 teaspoon paprika
•chili powder
•salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:

1.Drain the navy beans and add them to a large pot.


2.Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the chorizo and the stewing beef until lightly browned. Cool and slice the sausages into bite size pieces, and add them with the beef to the pot with the beans.


3.Scrape the kernels from the cobs of the fresh corn and add the corn to the pot (or add the canned or frozen corn).


4.Add the carrots and the squash.


5.Dice the smoked bacon into small pieces and add to the pot.


6.Add the chicken broth. If necessary add some water as well to cover the beans and meat by an inch.


7.Simmer the meat, beans, and vegetables on low to medium heat for about an hour, then taste and check for seasoning. The soup should be thicker and the beef should be getting tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


8.Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour longer, until the beef is tender and the stew tastes very flavorful. You can add a little water from time to time if necessary.


9.While the soup is cooking, make the sauce. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in the same skillet that was used to cook the sausage, and add the chopped onion and red pepper. Season with a teaspoon of paprika, and chile powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.


10.Serve soup hot, with the sauce on the side, and decorate each bowl with a sprinkle of green onions.

What "porteño" means...

People from Buenos Aires are referred to as porteños (people of the port).


The majority of porteños have European origins, with Italian and Spanish descent being the most common, from the Calabrian, Ligurian, Piedmont, Lombardy and Neapolitan regions of Italy and from the Galician, Asturian, and Basque regions of Spain.

Other European origins include German, Swedish, Dutch, Greek, Irish, Norwegian, Portuguese, French, Russian, Croatian, English and Welsh. In the 1990s there was a small wave of immigration from Romania and Ukraine.[22] There is a minority of old criollo stock, dating back to the Spanish colonial days. The Criollo and Spanish-aboriginal (mestizo) population in the city has increased mostly as a result of immigration, from countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, since the second half of the 20th century.

Important Syrian-Lebanese and Armenian communities have had a significant presence in commerce and civic life since the beginning of the 20th century.

The Jewish community in Greater Buenos Aires numbers around 250,000, and is the largest in Latin America. Most are of Northern and Eastern European Ashkenazi origin, primarily Russian, German and Polish Jews, with a significant Sephardic minority, mostly made up of Syrian Jews.

The first major East Asian community in Buenos Aires was the Japanese, mainly from Okinawa. Traditionally, Japanese-Argentines were noted as flower growers; in the city proper, there was a Japanese near-monopoly in dry cleaning. Later generations have branched out into all fields of economic activity. Starting in the 1970s there has been an important influx of immigration from China and Korea.

Since 2004 an increasing number of American and British citizens are moving to Buenos Aires, possibly due to the lower cost of living, many of them opening up businesses and some restaurants have become English-speaking favourites.

Know about Argentine modern painting while learn Spanish in Buenos Aires

Ceiling frescoes in Galerías Pacífico of Buenos Aires created in by Lino Enea Spilimbergo, Demetrio Urruchúa, Antonio Berni, Juan Carlos Castagnino y Manuel Colmeiro Guimarás.

The first major artistic movements in Argentina coincided with the first signs of political liberty in the country, such as the 1913 sanction of the secret ballot and universal male suffrage, the first president to be popularly elected (1916), and the cultural revolution that involved the University Reform of 1918. In this context, in which there continued to be influence from the Paris School (Modigliani, Chagall, Soutine, Klee), three main groups arose.
The Florida group was characterized by paying the highest attention to aesthetics. Its members generally belonged to the middle and upper classes. They met in the Richmond confectionery on the elegant and central calle Florida, from which the group takes its name. Its painters included Aquiles Badi, Héctor Basaldúa, Antonio Berni, Norah Borges, Horacio Butler, Emilio Centurión, Juan del Prete, Raquel Forner, Ramón Gomez Cornet, Alfredo Guttero, Emilio Pettoruti, Xul Solar, and Lino Eneas Spilimbergo.
The Boedo group took social issues and struggles as its central themes. El Grupo Boedo, with painters such as José Arato, Adolfo Bellocq, Guillermo Hebécquer and Abraham Vigo. They were centered around the socialist Claridad publishing house, which had its workshops on calle Boedo, in the working-class suburbs of the city. Boedo group painters included José Arato, Adolfo Bellocq, Guillermo Hebécquer, and Abraham Vigo.
The La Boca group was strongly influenced by Italian immigration and developed a distinctive style centered on labor and immigrant neighborhoods. These artists included Victor Cúnsolo, Eugenio Daneri, Fortunato Lacámera, Alfredo Lazzari, Benito Quinquela Martín, and Miguel Carlos Victorica.

Study Spanish in Buenos Aires and enjoy the city!

Havanna is chain of coffeehouses and chocolate shop with nearly 30 branches throughout Buenos Aires - the one pictured here is in Recoleta, but there are others in San Telmo, Retiro, Puerto Madero, Abasto, and Palermo (and many other locales elsewhere in the country). Although you can find far more charming independent coffee shops and chocolate boutiques in the city, these often cozy cafes are a nice bet for espresso or cocoa after a long day of traipsing around the city. The branch in San Telmo is especially comfy and inviting, and it has more of a gay following than many of the others.

Empanadas: know about food when learning Spanish in Buenos Aires

An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries of Latin America and the south of Europe. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing. The stuffing can consist of a variety of meats, vegetables, or even fruits.
Empanadas trace their origins to Galicia, Spain and Portugal.They first appeared in medieval Iberia during the time of the Moorish invasions.

Argentine empanadas are often served at parties as a starter or main course, or in festivals. Shops specialize in freshly made empanadas, with many flavors and fillings.
The dough is usually of wheat flour and butter with fillings differing from province to province: in some it is mainly chicken in others beef (cubed or ground depending on the region), perhaps spiced with cumin and paprika, while others include onion, boiled egg, olives, or raisins. Empanadas can be baked (Salta style) or fried (Tucuman style). They may also contain ham, fish, humita (sweetcorn with white sauce) or spinach; a fruit filling is used to create a dessert empanada. Empanadas of the interior regions can be spiced with peppers. Many are eaten at celebrations.
In restaurants where several types are served, a repulgue, or pattern, is added to the pastry fold. These patterns indicate the filling. The fill of the Empanada determines the form of the repulgue, for example a cylindrical form would suggest a chocolate prunes filling. In Tucuman, this type of Empanadas was banned, since, in the opinion of the local public, the tender of their taste was too avant-garde.