Beans, Grains, and Vegetables

Long before Spaniards, African slaves, and European immigrants arrived in South America, the continent’s indigenous peoples enjoyed vegetarian fare, save for occasional fish and wild game. Staples such as amaranth, beans, quinoa, and a variety of tubers like potatoes, sweet potatoes, jícama, and yucca formed the daily diet of the masses. People gathered greens such as wild lettuce, ferns, and chicory in fields and either ate them fresh or tossed them into soups and stews.

The predominant greens were bitter greens that included quinoa and amaranth leaves, now often paired perfectly with citrus juice or vinegar. Also, for 14,000 years, people on the Chilean coast collected cochayuyo, a bull kelp seaweed growing in long strands attached to coastal rocks. Indigenous people soaked cochayuyo in vinegar and water and then cooked it to a meaty texture. It was the staff of life for people living near the Pacific, and cochayuyo is still enjoyed today.

Many of the vegetables eaten in Brazil originated in Africa and came from African slaves. According to Maria Baez Kijac in The South American Table, West African women cultivated a wide array of greens and vegetables, and because they had no pockets, they tucked saved seeds into their hair. When the women were captured, these seeds accompanied them to the New World where they eventually inspired new food traditions.

European immigrants brought cabbage, chard, collards, kale, garlic, and eggplant seeds, as well as a variety of herb seeds from the Old World. Italians, Germans, French, Chinese, Japanese, and even Lebanese immigrants introduced recipes and customs that transformed South American foods into the modern cuisines found today.

Early South American cooks used a light hand when it came to seasonings, tossing herbs such as parsley into pots like afterthoughts. Salt was rare, and many dishes would have been called bland and boring by modern standards, if not for a hot pepper purée served on the side. This hot pepper sauce woke up sleepy bean, grain, and vegetable dishes. Another sauce called Sofrito, a fried spicy onion-based sauce imported from Spain, is at the heart of many South American dishes today. Also, chimichuri, a popular parsley sauce in Argentina, was invented by Irishman Jimmy McCurry in the early 19th century.

Even though visitors to South American countries recall mostly meat-based dishes in restaurants, fresh, plant-based foods that once sustained the masses long before the Spaniards arrived are staging a comeback. These foods may not be as prominent on restaurant menus yet, but they are gaining ground as the cry for local and seasonal foods echoes around the world. It’s time to take a closer look at South American cuisines and discover delicious plant-based recipes that celebrate life on the continent today.

This luscious salad with avocado, beans, and watercress (or sometimes purslane) has ties to Ecuador. Lupini beans are the traditional choice for this salad. Look for them in jars at Latin American markets. Dried lupini beans must be soaked for 24 hours, boiled, and then soaked for a few more days before eating. If you can’t find lupini beans, use Great Northern beans instead.

Place onions in a strainer over a bowl. Pour boiling water over the onions and allow them to soak for a few minutes to take the sharp edge off the flavor. Drain the onions, discarding the water, and remove them from the strainer. Place the onions into a bowl with the avocado, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Gently mix and then set aside while you prepare the greens and beans.

In a large bowl, combine the watercress, romaine, and beans. Just before serving, gently toss with the onion-avocado mixture and top with tomatoes.

A common side dish at markets, these greens are generally served with feijoada, an immensely popular black bean stew in Brazil.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and tempeh and cook until browned. Remove the tempeh from the skillet, cut into tiny pieces, and return to the skillet with garlic. Cook a few minutes. Add the collard greens and stir to coat. Add water and braise until tender-crisp. Do not overcook the greens. Add salt and pepper.

Uruguayan cuisine draws from Italian influences, and chard is often used to fill savory pies and empanadas. While roasting the red peppers for this dish, why not roast a few more vegetables to serve with it? Add tofu or seitan to make this recipe into a main dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast the pepper until soft, approximately 45-60 minutes. When the pepper is soft and slightly blackened on the outside, remove from oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, remove the middle rib from the chard. Roll the leaves tightly, and then slice both the rib and leaves into thin slices.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, and when skillet is hot, add the oil and chard stems. Stir and cook until they soften, and then add the cut leaves. Stir and cook for approximately 1-2 minutes before adding the vegetable stock. Cover for a few minutes. Remove the cover and stir in the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper before serving.

A Bolivian recipe inspired by one from The South American Table by Maria Baez Kijac, these fritters are also popular in Peru and Ecuador. In this vegan version, walnuts take the place of cheese, and tofu replaces eggs. Serve these fritters with beans, greens, and a hot pepper sauce.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tablespoon oil and onions and then stir and cook until the onions soften. Remove the skillet from heat and blend quinoa, corn, walnuts, flour, parsley, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper into the onions. Stir until well-blended.

Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. While the oil heats, combine the whipped tofu with the quinoa mixture. Drop a little less than ¼ cup mixture for each fritter onto the hot skillet and flatten with a spatula. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the fritters cook until the bottom is slightly browned, approximately 5 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for 5 minutes. Drain fritters on a towel before serving.

Served as a side dish in Paraguay, this recipe is great topped with a tomato sauce and sprinkled with bread crumbs.

Add ½ cup stock or water and all of the squash to a medium sauce-pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until soft, approximately 6-8 minutes.

Add the remaining stock or water, salt, and oil to the squash and mash. Add the milk and then bring to a boil again. Reduce heat and sprinkle in cornmeal a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Continue to stir and cook until the cornmeal is done, approximately 20 minutes. The consistency will be quite thick, like polenta. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper before serving.

A traditional Chilean combination, this stew was served before the Spaniards arrived. The native South Americans used fresh beans, but dried (and soaked) or canned are fine for this recipe. If you can’t find cranberry beans, you can use red beans or black-eyed peas instead.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions, peppers, oil, and paprika. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and stir to coat all vegetables.

Blend in the water, tomatoes, beans, squash, and corn. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the squash is soft. Stir in the basil and add salt before serving.

Serve these savory beans with a generous helping of rice and Sofrito. (See recipe below.)

Place the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Add the carrots, potatoes, garlic, and peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the beans, carrots, and potatoes are soft, approximately 1 hour.

Add the plantains approximately 30 minutes into the cooking time. Continue to simmer until beans are soft, adding more water if necessary. The beans are meant to be soupy, so add more liquid if necessary. Add the salt and pepper. Stir in the cilantro and serve with steaming hot rice and Sofrito.

No ingredient makes South American food come alive like sofrito. Sofrito goes by many regional names, but the common link all versions share is onions. Sofrito is a treasure that can enhance savory bean or grain entrées.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and purée until a coarse paste forms. Scrape the sides of the processor to make sure all ingredients are blended. Allow this sauce to sit for a few hours or overnight so the flavors can marry.