It’s been awhile since I’ve gone for an entry in this project. Just a reminder, while locro is generally considered, at least by outsiders, to be an Argentine dish, and specifically, its national dish, the history is much more regional and complex. Originating in the Andes, and based on the locro potato, it spread throughout not only Argentina, but Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Chile. Basically everywhere in South America except Brazil and those three mini-states in the far northwest. In most places, it retains potato as a strong component, but not everywhere. Even the much touted national version here in Argentina is far heavier on dried corn than on potato.

Today’s entry is the Locro Falso Chileno, the “fake/false locro of Chile”. Why fake or false? Not because it’s not a derivative of the original – in many ways it’s probably closer to the origins than many of the versions that I’ve hit on in this series. Instead, simply because over time, locro came to be associated not just with potato, but with meat, albeit that the original may well not have had any either. No, this is a vegetarian version – and if you eschew the grating of cheese that’s traditional over the top, it’s fully vegan.

Potato, squash, green beans, celery, carrot, tomato, onion, corn, peas, salt, sugar, pepper, cumin, oregano, and mild chili powder.

Saute the chopped onion in a little oil with the chili powder until soft. Then add everything else, and top up with water or vegetable stock. Since the intent is to cook this down to a thick stew, don’t overdo the water. It should just barely reach the upper level of all your vegetables.

Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to low, and cook for about an hour, until all the vegetables are really soft.

Some people just continue cooking a bit longer until more of the liquid is gone, others go the approach that I went with. I used a potato masher and just lightly mashed my way into the soup. Primarily, the only things that really mash up if you don’t put a lot of force into it, are the potatoes, squash, and tomato. Everything else tends to find its way through the spaces in the masher. Continue to cook over low heat until the whole thing thickens up nicely from the released starch in the potatoes and squash. Adjust seasoning if needed.

And serve with a generous grating of parmesan or similar cheese over the top.

Delicious! What a great vegetable soup. And we didn’t miss the meat at all, though I’ll admit, we added some leftover chopped chicken to some leftover soup the next day, just to give it a touch of protein. It’s tasty with or without.