Whole matambre

Matambre a la pizza is many people's favourite way to end an asado — and the dish that makes a grill cook look best in front of guests. The secret isn't the pizza, it's the matambre: if you don't tenderise it first, it comes out like shoe leather. Here's the full recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 beef matambre (1.2–1.5 kg)
• 1 litre of milk (to tenderise) with 2 bay leaves — optional but recommended
• 300 ml tomato sauce
• 300 g mozzarella
• Oregano, green olives, salt and pepper

Step 1: tenderise

Matambre is a thin, fibrous cut. The classic way to soften it: leave it in milk with bay leaves for anywhere from 2 hours to overnight in the fridge, or simmer it in that same milk for 40 minutes over low heat on the day. Either works; the second is quicker.

Step 2: pre-cook on the grill

Drain it, season with salt and pepper and put it on the grill over medium-low heat (your hand lasts 5–6 seconds), fat side down first, for 25 to 30 minutes. Turn it and get the rest ready: the second side takes about 15 minutes.

Step 3: build the pizza

• With the browned side facing up, cover it with hot tomato sauce.
• Scatter the mozzarella in cubes or slices and put the lid on the grill (or cover with an upturned roasting tin) so it melts: 8–10 minutes.
• Finish with oregano, olives and, if you like, a pinch of chilli flakes.

Cut it into squares straight on the board and serve it right away, while the cheese is still stringy. If the mozzarella won't melt, the problem is almost always the lid: the heat has to come from above too.

Rolled matambre is the dish for parties and big tables. You make it the day before, serve it cold and cut it into rounds that show off the filling — half the appeal is in that pattern.

Classic filling

• 1 butterflied matambre (1.2–1.5 kg)
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, 2 whole cooked carrots, 1 roasted red pepper in strips
• Chopped parsley, 2 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper and oregano
• Kitchen string (nothing else will do)

Filling and tying

Lay the matambre out fat side down, season it and spread the filling leaving 3 cm clear at each edge. Place the eggs and carrots LENGTHWAYS, lined up: that way every round catches a bit of everything. Roll it tightly, along the shorter grain, and tie it every 3 cm.

Into the oven

• 170 °C for 90 minutes, in a tin with a finger of stock or water so it doesn't dry out.
• Cover with foil for the first hour and uncover for the last half hour to brown.
• Let it cool and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, with a weight on top (a plate and a tin) to compact it.

Cut 1 cm rounds with the string still on and remove it round by round. Serve cold, with mayonnaise or chimichurri. It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and it's better on the second.