Rosario, Argentina: The Impossible Vegetarian Barbecue
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Since we first arrived in Rosario, anytime we talk with a local about our stay the discussion always finds its way to a certain question: “Have you been to an asado?” Asado roughly means barbecue, although in Argentina the word seems to take on a holier connotation. Every Sunday, the city shuts down and families gather in their back yards, or the yards of neighbors and friends, to celebrate an asado.
For the first five months of our stay, what exactly the Argentines did at an asado remained somewhat of a mystery to us. Whenever we were invited to one, we explained that we were vegetarian and our potential host exclaimed, “oh, that’s a shame!” We tried to explain that one could barbecue vegetables too, but the response was always dismissive. Gradually, however, we learned that vegetarian asados weren’t entirely unfathomable. Argentine vegetarians and their friends explained that vegetables are in fact barbecued – eggplant, potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, and more. One of Renate’s English students even brought in some evidence: a photo of an asado grill full of veggies.
Finally, one of Renate’s carnivorous activist friends invited us to an asado at her house. We brought marinated tofu steaks and brownies, and our hosts provided grilled eggplant and sweet potatoes, along with a garden salad, potato salad, and cake. And of course, many varieties of meat. For the entire afternoon, we cooked, ate, talked, played, sang, and generally relaxed. The meat eaters raved about the tofu and brownies, and even invited us back for another asado.
Reflection
As proud residents of a country known for its meat, Argentines are often puzzled about what and how we eat. We don’t eat any of the many varieties of meat that are the core of Argentine cuisine, nor do we eat chicken or fish, or even diary products in my case. We also don’t eat at the times when most Argentines are eating, and we often carry around our own bizarre food concoctions in tupperware containers.
As someone who loves food, I’m equally puzzled about what and how Argentines eat. They don’t eat any Asian food, Indian food, Mexican food, or African food, and the only common cuisines are Italian and Arab. Many foods that I consider staples are virtually non-existent (e.g. beans, tofu, chili peppers, peanut butter, bagels). Argentines rarely eat much more than a small pastry for breakfast, and they often skip lunch, the supposedly main meal of the day. Dinner is usually eaten shortly before going to bed, between 10 and 12pm, and often accompanied by coffee.
These two eating styles may seem irreconcilable at first, but after a bit of learning and exploration they’ve often ended up overlapping. Although there aren’t many vegetarian Argentine foods, we’ve found plenty of great veggie pizzas, pastas, and empanadas. Our mealtimes have shifted to better accommodate Argentine schedules, and lunch is often our main meal of the day. Likewise, we’ve met many locals who’ve decided to eat regular meals, become vegetarian, or try foreign foods. And despite Argentina’s meaty reputation, there are well-used produce stands and health food stores every few blocks in Rosario. After finally pulling off a supposedly impossible vegetarian asado, perhaps what we eat and what Argentines eat aren’t as irreconcilable as they appeared.
a typical Rosario produce stand
Question
What do you eat? How do your eating habits fit in or not fit in with where you live?
Digression
I recently started a new blog, to at least respond to the question “what do vegans eat?” Have a look, and add your own answers if you’d like.
Since we first arrived in Rosario, anytime we talk with a local about our stay the discussion always finds its way to a certain question: “Have you been to an asado?” Asado roughly means barbecue, although in Argentina the word seems to take on a holier connotation. Every Sunday, the city shuts down and families gather in their back yards, or the yards of neighbors and friends, to celebrate an asado.
For the first five months of our stay, what exactly the Argentines did at an asado remained somewhat of a mystery to us. Whenever we were invited to one, we explained that we were vegetarian and our potential host exclaimed, “oh, that’s a shame!” We tried to explain that one could barbecue vegetables too, but the response was always dismissive. Gradually, however, we learned that vegetarian asados weren’t entirely unfathomable. Argentine vegetarians and their friends explained that vegetables are in fact barbecued – eggplant, potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, and more. One of Renate’s English students even brought in some evidence: a photo of an asado grill full of veggies.
Finally, one of Renate’s carnivorous activist friends invited us to an asado at her house. We brought marinated tofu steaks and brownies, and our hosts provided grilled eggplant and sweet potatoes, along with a garden salad, potato salad, and cake. And of course, many varieties of meat. For the entire afternoon, we cooked, ate, talked, played, sang, and generally relaxed. The meat eaters raved about the tofu and brownies, and even invited us back for another asado.
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Reflection
As proud residents of a country known for its meat, Argentines are often puzzled about what and how we eat. We don’t eat any of the many varieties of meat that are the core of Argentine cuisine, nor do we eat chicken or fish, or even diary products in my case. We also don’t eat at the times when most Argentines are eating, and we often carry around our own bizarre food concoctions in tupperware containers.
As someone who loves food, I’m equally puzzled about what and how Argentines eat. They don’t eat any Asian food, Indian food, Mexican food, or African food, and the only common cuisines are Italian and Arab. Many foods that I consider staples are virtually non-existent (e.g. beans, tofu, chili peppers, peanut butter, bagels). Argentines rarely eat much more than a small pastry for breakfast, and they often skip lunch, the supposedly main meal of the day. Dinner is usually eaten shortly before going to bed, between 10 and 12pm, and often accompanied by coffee.
These two eating styles may seem irreconcilable at first, but after a bit of learning and exploration they’ve often ended up overlapping. Although there aren’t many vegetarian Argentine foods, we’ve found plenty of great veggie pizzas, pastas, and empanadas. Our mealtimes have shifted to better accommodate Argentine schedules, and lunch is often our main meal of the day. Likewise, we’ve met many locals who’ve decided to eat regular meals, become vegetarian, or try foreign foods. And despite Argentina’s meaty reputation, there are well-used produce stands and health food stores every few blocks in Rosario. After finally pulling off a supposedly impossible vegetarian asado, perhaps what we eat and what Argentines eat aren’t as irreconcilable as they appeared.
a typical Rosario produce stand
Question
What do you eat? How do your eating habits fit in or not fit in with where you live?
Digression
I recently started a new blog, to at least respond to the question “what do vegans eat?” Have a look, and add your own answers if you’d like.
2 Comments:
At 3:14 PM, Anonymous said…
When I first read "argentinian barbeque" I automatically thought of the Brazillian BBQ restaurants I've been to. A meat lovers dream . . . it's almost sickening really. You go to the restaurant and it's of course 'all you can eat' You have green and red tokens on your table. If you turn them to green, many servers come around with huge amounts of meat on a metal skewer and carve meat onto your plate until you turn the token over to red. Not sure if it's like that in Brazil, but that's what American's call a Brazillian BBQ.
Anyway, I imagined right away that, if it's anything like that in Argentina - in terms of the focus on meat - that of course they would initial tell you "oh that's too bad"
It's good that you finally got a chance to go to one and participate . . .
I have to admit that I wondered "what do vegans eat?" after reading the vegan dessert cookbook that Renate gave me. It seemed so strict, to the point of not eating certain kinds of grain or sugar, etc. I mean, I got the no meat/no dairy idea, and understood that, but the idea of finding certain kinds of flour . . that seemed a little much.
So I imagined, when traveling especially, that it must be very hard to be vegan. I now realize that while 'vegan' means a certain thing that is understood, there are also variations on that, and while some people may not believe in eating white sugar, others do.
I'm sure you've heard a lot about my attempts to eat various foods from Renate, so I won't go into detail, but I will say that I'm enjoying the new cookbook tremendously!
Jen
At 10:17 PM, lernerm said…
thanks for the blog - some of my patients will find it helpful I'm sure. I like fruit mostly - nature's candy. My second favorite food type is bread - anything freshly is bound to be good. It's interesting that most meat eaters have difficulty imagining what vegans eat, when in fact most (breastfed) infants start out as vegans, and have to be trained to eat meat. I find it interesting how each culture has a hard time conceiving of other ways of eating - fish for breakfast? why not? pancakes for dinner? why not? snails and garlic? no more offensive than fried grasshoppers or dandelion greens. Although there does seem to be an inborn sweet tooth, there really is no reason other than culture why we eat certain foods and food combinations. Most people also seem to be unaware of the wide variety of fruits and vegetables and beans that vegans can eat. I'm not a vegan but I have over 40 vegan recipes that I have prepared and enjoyed, and that's without trying. Anyway, thanks for sharing your recipes.
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