Argentina is known for steak, but there are some vegetarian options

I have been looking into some of my ancestral roots recently as I cleaned out some of the mess left behind by mother, who passed away last year. My mother collected everything...much of it fascinating, most of it useless.

Though my mother lived more than eight decades, she managed to never cook a single thing.

Her mother was a fine cook, however, and collected recipes from all kinds of sources. My grandfather was from Argentina so she had gathered up a lot of recipes from that heritage...many of which I found.

For years my grandmother, I remember, tried to recreate the empanadas my grandfather always talked about (Empanadas are meat and veggies stuffed in a crust and my grandfather said he missed that most of all after he left his home country).

It wasn't until we visited Argentina 45 years into their beautiful marriage, that she got the recipe from his mother. I found a vegetarian version scribbled on another piece of paper near the meat  version.

I've altered it a little bit, but this is pretty much as my great grandmother might have made them with a few modern conveniences put in.

Argentinians are known more for their steak (carnivores drool over an Argentine steak) than their vegetarian options, but I found a few vegetarian dishes that turned out well enough to turn a few meat lovers' heads.

Vegetable Empanadas

a la Josefina Longo Belluccia

For the Empanadas
1 potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 ounces of squash, diced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
1/3 cup of pigeon peas
1 tablespoon of parsley, chopped
3 discos (premade pasta circles for empanadas - found in the freezer section at your grocery)
1 egg, slightly beaten
For the Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup of red wine
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon of basil
1/2 tablespoon of oregano

• Preheat the oven to 400°.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil.
• When the onions are translucent add the potato, the carrot and the squash. Mix that all up well and add the vegetable broth.
• Cook  the whole lot for about 10 minutes or until veggies are tender and the broth has evaporated.
• Add the peas and the parsley, take the pan from the heat and let it cool down.
• Put a tablespoon of filling in the center of each pastry disc.
• Brush the edge of each circle with a little water, fold in half. Press the pastry shut with a fork.
• Brush the pastries with the beaten egg.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until they are puffy and golden.
• Meanwhile make tomato sauce by sautéing the onion and the garlic with the olive oil over medium heat.
• After 5 minutes add the tomatoes, the wine and the broth and bring it all to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Move it off the heat and let it cool down a little. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour the purée onto a sauté pan, add the tomato paste, the basil and the oregano and stir over medium heat until it’s hot.

Vegan.