Revuelto Gramajo or Scrambled Gramajo is a dish, maybe best known as the hangover cure in Argentina. But, it is a dish that is made in various countries like Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain. So, what is it? It is a combination of ham, onions, fried potatoes, and scrambled eggs, all mixed up into one mass. The dish can have variations, usually, when it comes to the choice of vegetables. But potatoes, eggs, onions and some kind of cured meat (usually, it is ham, but you can use different kinds of sausages). At first glance, it might seem that this mess is too simple or just piled up, and might not taste that good. On the contrary, it is very delicious, and a very popular dish. Besides the usual ingredients (eggs, ham or sausage, fries, onions), some recipes add the green peas, chicken, turkey, bell peppers, seafood, olives, parsley, bacon, mushrooms, avocado, or even leeks (like our recipe).

History of the Revuelto Gramajo

Interestingly, there are multiple versions of the history of this tasty dish. Most of the stories are related to the colonel Artemio Gramajo who lived from 1838 to 1914. He was, of course, a part of the Argentine Army (Military) and in 1877 became the Minister of War. In the late 1870s, he was a part of the general Julio A. Roca's army that wanted to conquer the Pampas. Putting aside his military skills, the colonel Gramajo was apparently a great cook and a gourmand. And, in the end, there is one theory that says an Argentinian diplomat in Paris created this meal. Whoever invented the dish, it doesn't really matter, as long as it is delicious. But the only thing we can be certain of is the surname - Gramajo. So, what does Revuelto Gramajo mean? "Revuelto" means scrambled, and "Gramajo" is the surname of the inventor. Therefore, basically, it roughly means "Gramajo-style scrambled eggs".

The first version

According to the first version, colonel Gramajo started every day with the same breakfast - fried eggs, ham, and potatoes fried with onions. When he was stationed in a tent, with the harsh weather outside, it became rather difficult to prepare them all separately. So, the colonel came up with a solution - to prepare them all in one skillet. So, he would fry the onions and potatoes, add the ham, and at the scramble the eggs in it. It certainly didn't look as beautiful as when they are cooked separately, but it tasted almost the same.

The second version

The second version is rather similar to the first version. But, the difference is that the dish was made because the general Roca was bored with what they serve on a daily basis. So, the colonel came up with the idea to make the breakfast this way.

The third version

This one is a bit different than the first two. According to the third version, the event took place in 1880, after the war. The colonel was a member of "El Club del Progreso" which had their public restaurant called "The Rio Bamba". One day, the colonel was hangover and wandered into an empty restaurant kitchen. The cook left only some ingredients in the whole kitchen - potatoes, ham, onion, and eggs. Since he was a hangover, he didn't feel like cooking them all separately. So, he mixed them all together. Firstly, he cooked onion, ham, and potatoes. And then he added the eggs and a bit of oil and butter. He was so delighted with what he created, he made the dish and took it to the general Roca. As a result, the Revuelto Gramajo found its way to Rio Bamba's menu.

The fourth version

In the fourth version, there is no Artemio Gramajo, the colonel. In this version, we take you to France, and even to a different person - Arturo Gramajo Cardenas who lived from 1860 to 1934. Arturo was an Argentinian lawyer, a diplomat in France, and the UK. When he was in Paris, he was staying at the Hotel Ritz. One time, when the kitchen was already closed, he stumbled into the hotel's kitchen and insisted on making his own breakfast. So, he scrambled all the leftovers he could find - eggs with ham and added the fried potatoes. The dish became popular after he came back home to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The ingredients

The classic recipe contains only scrambled eggs, ham, potatoes, and a bit of salt and pepper. Nothing else. However, the classic recipe requires that potatoes are julienne sliced.

How to cut ingredients into julienne strips

Those of you who don't have that much experience in the kitchen, maybe never heard of the julienne strips. Don't worry, it is not complicated. We will explain here how it is done. Before we move to the actual cutting, let's see what does this term really means. It is a French word that means thin strips. This can refer to vegetables, but it is applicable to fruit and meat. These strips are about 1/16 to 1/8 inches thick and three inches long. Let's see how to cut vegetables.

Steps

1. Peel the vegetable (if it needs to be peeled) and cut crosswise so they are three inches long
2. If you are dealing with the round shape of vegetables, make it more stable for further slicing by cutting off a thin slice from one side of it
3. Make the plates or slabs that are thick from 1/16 to 1/8 inches, by slicing the vegetable lengthwise. Make sure that the thickness of each plate is the same. Cut off any round piece at the side of the plates (leave for another use or just nibble while you are cooking) to make a nice looking rectangle
4. Stack a couple of plates on top of each other and cut into strips (the same thickness as the plates). When the thickness of the plates and then the strips is the same, the top of each strip end should have a square shape.