Today was a momentous day - my first social outing in Copiapo. I was invited to a BBQ with the work gang at the "Guest House" where various people associated with the company stay when they are in town.
Lizette (office manager), her husband Mauricio, Alexis (one of the field assistants), Patricio (the other field assistant) and Alexis' daughter Pabla kept me entertained for the afternoon.
The first challenge was to come up with something to eat in a country of avowed carnivores. Easy choice - a spinach and sweet potato salad, plus some vegetarian kebabs, plus some corn on the cob smeared with butter and wrapped in foil.
The spinach and sweet potato salad was just about perfect, just missing the piece de resistance, which is a sprinkling of pine nuts. These do not appear to be able to be purchased in Copiapo, at least not in the four supermarkets that I searched through. Not a big drama. I also mixed in some pumpkin as well as sweet potato for something a bit different, as well as some feta. I get the impression that pumpkin and feta, perhaps as well as spinach, are not usual features in a Chilenos diet, but they all coped well and were polite enough to try it! Everyone also had a vego kebab, this time featuring eggplant, something that also doesn't appear to be common in the Chileno's diet. Not to worry, more for me. Everyone ate at least one and one or two had a second.
The Chileno BBQ featured at extraordinary amount of meat for 4 adults and one 9-year old girl. Two big slabs of beef, a rack of pork ribs and two large chicken hind quarters. The beef and pork was interesting. They cook it as big chunks on the BBQ and then slice it right at the end. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but I haven't routinely seen it done that way before.
The Chileno BBQ featured at extraordinary amount of meat for 4 adults and one 9-year old girl. Two big slabs of beef, a rack of pork ribs and two large chicken hind quarters. The beef and pork was interesting. They cook it as big chunks on the BBQ and then slice it right at the end. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but I haven't routinely seen it done that way before.
And despite the numerous offers, complete with promises not to tell ANYONE, I stuck to my salads, corn and bread rolls, which were plenty delicious!
Lizette also made a salsa which is a typical part of most meals here (at least at restaurants), which comprises (at least) onions, capsicum/peppers, mushrooms, tomato, olive oil, cilantro (coriander) and vinegar. It is fabulous on a bread roll, and numerous other ways I'm sure. It also went very well on some boiled and peeled potatoes, in the same way you might smear butter onto baked potatoes.
Last, but not least was the wine. A very nice bottle of bubbly disappeared very quickly, followed by yet another tasty carmenere and a cab sauv/shiraz blend. All were from Chile and all probably cost now more than ten Aussie dollars. Bargains all round.
Oh, and as part of the cultural exchange, I am teaching interesting words to the Chilenos. Word of the day was "tipsy", which gained a bit of popularity as the day progressed!
Chao for now!
A
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