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Sat 05 May 2004I'm the fire starterAL FRESCO: The road stretched for miles. In the distance, Aconcagu loomed beautifully in the bright blue sky, graced with sun and dusted with snow. To left and right the scrubland appeared equally vast and full of nothingness. We were in Argentina, heading to Salta in search of more meat and Malbec, writes Hugo ArnoldThe Argentinians are inclined to light a fire at the slightest encouragement. For them this is cooking asado, a practice made famous by the gauchos. They used to herd cattle and export the skins for leather. The meat from the animal was initially a by-product. Not for them the neat box of ready-to-light charcoal from a petrol station. They prefer a few well-seasoned logs, a few well-seasoned steaks and a little salad for light relief.