Carbonada

Another well-known Argentine dish is the carbonada. Carbonada is a traditional, stick-to-your-ribs dish throughout the cooler months. Carbonada is a savory, meaty, brothy stew cooked with meat, sweet and white potatoes, corn on the cob, carrots, peppers, bacon, and fruits (ranging from dried apricots and raisins to peaches, pears and green grapes).

The stew is spooned into a hollowed-out pumpkin, which is then cooked on the grill. Various carbonada variations may be found all around the country, and it can even be found in empanadas, where it serves as the ideal portable stew. Diners can scrape the inside of the pumpkin to enrich the stew in addition to using it as a bowl.

This hearty meat stew hails from Patagonia and is typically made with chunks of beef, potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, corn, and tomatoes. It's commonly enriched with dried or fresh fruit, such as apricots or raisins, and it's occasionally stuffed with a whole pumpkin before being baked. Criolla carbonada is a wintertime favorite that is also popular in Uruguay.