Salta's Kitchen: The Flavours of the Argentine Northwest
Salta's cuisine is the most distinctive in Argentina — the Andean ingredients (corn, potato, quinoa, dried meat), the indigenous techniques (tamales, locro), and the Spanish colonial spicing create a regional food culture with no equivalent in the Buenos Aires-dominated mainstream
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Empanada Saltena
Salta empanada – baked (not fried), filled with ground beef, hard-boiled egg, potatoes, scallions and cumin, with the fat repulgue (crossed edge) that identifies its origin – is considered by many Argentines to be the finest in the country; The salty empanada's balance between pastry and filling, its precise seasoning and its baked crust set it apart from all other regional versions
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Tamales Saltenos
Salta tamale—a mixture of cornmeal, beef, potatoes, and spices wrapped in corn husks and steamed—is the oldest food in the northwest Argentine repertoire; the tamale predates the Spanish conquest and continues the Andean corn-based cooking tradition; in Salta, tamales are a street food, a family meal and a festival food
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Locro del Noroeste
The local of northwest Argentina - a hearty stew of white corn, beans, squash, pork and chorizo colorado - is the most warming and sustaining dish in the regional repertoire; Salta locro uses the white corn from the Andean valleys rather than the dried corn of other Argentine versions; locro is the traditional food for cold winter nights and national holidays
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Peña Food Culture
Salta peña (folk music restaurant) serves food accompanied by live folklore music; standard peña menu - empanadas, tamales, cheese, charcuterie and humita (fresh corn paste) - is paired with local wine and chicha; eating in a Salta peña while the zamba music plays and the couples dance is the complete northwest Argentine cultural experience
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Humita en Chala
Humita — fresh corn paste seasoned with cheese, onions, and peppers, wrapped in corn husks and cooked — is the Andean predecessor of the tamale; Salta humita is sweeter and more delicate than the tamale; humita is sold at markets and roadside stands throughout the Northwest; the best humitas use fresh corn from the Quebrada de Humahuaca valley
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Mate and Peñas
Salta peña night begins with mate — the group passed before the food arrives and the music begins; the social ritual of mate (the split gourd, the bombilla straw, the freshly brewed bitter herb) frames the evening of folk music; the combination of mate, empanadas, zamba and chacarera is the complete expression of Northwest Argentine identity