Recipes
Provoleta (Grilled Provolone)
Provoleta is a classic starter course at Argentinean asados. It cooks quickly, and it can be tricky to pull the provolone off the grill before it melts through the grates. This is where Kalamazoo’s custom vegetable pattern grilling grates are particularly helpful. The flat profile and small cutouts support the cheese and make it more manageable over the fire. We recommend leaving the provolone at room temperature for an hour or more before cooking so that the cheese melts more evenly when grilled.
Serves 2 - 4
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
Herb Oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- Red pepper flakes to taste
Grilled Provolone
- 5 slices rustic bread, cut into 1 inch thick slices
- Olive oil
- ¼ pound coppa, thinly sliced
- ½ pound provolone (a round approximately 5 inches diameter by 1 inch thick)
Directions
Tips for Cooking on a Kalamazoo Gaucho Grill
Set up a double- or triple-stacked pile of wood on one side of the grill. Plan on starting your fire about 45 minutes before you want to begin cooking. A two-layer fire will burn faster, which will allow you to start cooking earlier, but it will create fewer embers. If you’re pressed for time, you can use wood chunks instead of splits as they burn down to coals more quickly. However chunks will not last as long as splits. Oak is a nice all-purpose, easy-to-find choice and will create the most traditional Argentinean flavor.
Cook over a direct wood fire that has burned down to coals. If you are cooking just this recipe, you shouldn’t need to replenish the fire. For tips on building and managing a wood fire in your Kalamazoo Gaucho Grill, see our post about cooking Argentinean-style Asado on the Gaucho Grill.
Position the grill grate over the embers at a height that will just barely allow you to hold your hand a couple inches above the grate for a “5 Mississippi” count (this will be approximately 500 degrees).
Provolone grilling on the Kalamazoo Gaucho Grill
Cooking the Food
To create the herb oil, stir together the oregano, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Reserve.
Generously coat both sides of the sliced bread with olive oil. Place the bread on the grill grate directly above the coals and grill at about 500 degrees on each side until nicely toasted. Remove the bread from the grill and cut each slice into thinner toast sticks. Place the provolone on the grill grate directly above the fire and grill briefly on each side until it starts to melt. Using a large, flat grilling spatula, transfer the provolone to a plate and spoon the herb oil on top. Arrange the coppa slices around the cheese and serve immediately with the grilled bread.