Carbonada is a stew that usually includes meat, carrots and potatoes.
The first meaning of carbonada that the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) mentions in its dictionary refers to a large amount of coal that, in one go, is thrown into the stove . It should be noted that coal is a solid fuel. A stove , meanwhile, is a hole in a home that has a grate to support the fire (the fuel when it is already lit).
a stew
Beyond this use of the concept, the idea of carbonada usually appears in the field of gastronomy . In several South American countries, carbonada is a stew that is made in different ways depending on the region.
Carbonada generally has meat , squash , rice , choclo ( corn on the cob ), potato ( potato ) and peach apricots (that is, dried peaches ). Preparation requires boiling the ingredients in a broth until the stew thickens ; Before serving the carbonada, it is common to season it with parsley , thyme , paprika and other spices.
Regarding the name of the carbonada, there are several versions. There are those who claim that the stew receives this name because it is ready once all the firewood has been charred . Other versions indicate that its origin is in the area of the Lota coal mines ( Chile ), where this recipe was originally prepared. On the other hand, given that in Belgian cuisine there is a dish with similar characteristics called carbonade , it could also have emerged as a transliteration of it.
The Carbonada
In Argentina there is a town called La Carbonada , which is located in the Córdoba department of Santa María , 4 kilometers west from the route that connects Toledo and Córdoba. It is a low-income neighborhood, whose inhabitants work the land collecting vegetables and are dedicated to cutting bricks . Although its soil is of great wealth, the lack of drinking water, gas supply or electricity is regrettable.
The negligence suffered by the population of La Carbonada has been reported on more than one occasion. Toledo was in charge of providing certain services for a time, although some pointed out that this responsibility should be assumed by the municipality of Córdoba. In 2010, the installation of a waste landfill a short distance away was planned, something that aroused deep discontent and led to a public complaint.
the movie
In 1943, a film titled Carbonada was released in Argentina. It is a black and white animated short film , scripted by Quirino Cristiani , who was also in charge of directing. The name refers to the aforementioned dish. Although it is not easy to obtain today, it is known that at the time it was awarded by the Buenos Aires Municipality.
It is worth mentioning that Cristiani, who was born in Italy but settled in Argentina in his youth, was one of the first to create animated films, to the point of having created the first two feature films of this type: The Apostle and Without Leaving Traces , by the years 1917 and 1918, respectively. As if this were not enough, he is also credited with the first one with sound: Peludópolis , from 1931.
Quirino Cristiani was a pioneer of animation
Other meanings
Carbonada, on the other hand, is called minced meat that, once cooked, is roasted on a grill. The RAE also points out that a carbonada can be a snack made with a sweet, egg and milk that is fried in butter .
We also speak of a carbon chain to designate the skeleton of almost any organic compound , which consists of various carbon atoms covalently linked to which others are added, such as oxygen, nitrogen or hydrogen.