The rhythm of the Argentine table in the mid-20th century does not break down into starter-main course-dessert but revolves around a few pillars: mate, which opens and closes the day and is shared in a circle; guisos (stews) and beef asado at the heart of the midday meal; empanadas, eaten by hand at any hour; and dulces—jams and dulce de leche—that sweeten the afternoon merienda. Major patriotic dates (May 25, July 9) call for a single national dish, locro, shared from the palace to the tenement.

Milk and sugar stirred slowly until they become a brown, silky cream: the sweet soul of Argentina, born from the thrifty kitchens of the estancias. Eva, who ate little and quickly, kept a real fondness for it—it flavors both the morning spoon and the alfajores of the merienda.