Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America

951 Pages·2012·312.033 MB·English

by  Maricel E. Presilla

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ISBN 97 8 - 0 - 393-05069 -l
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Marice! E. Presilla's Gron Coc i ,,1,:- 'iino
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provides encyclopedic knowledge or thing
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necessary to master and enjoy the full richness of
Latin American cuisine. She leads armchair travel
ers, home cooks, and curious food professionals
on an epic voyage from the golden cities of colo
nial Mexico to the southernmost tip of Argentina's
Patagonia ... tasting, sampling, learning each step
along the way.
T h e beating heart of t his spect acular collec tion of recipes an d
tec hniques is an edt1cati on in how Latin Americans ..:ook an d
eat . P res illa expertly sorts throug h the as t ounding varieties of
local foods and disl1-es to savor th e essential fl avors t h at both
uni fy an d disting ui sh Latin foo ds. S h e in tro d L1ces u s to a
philosophy of cooking (and eating) t hat in son1e cases start ed
w ith pre-Co lt1mbian techniqu es like tl1-e origir1al barbacoa and
in othe rs res ts on fl avor bases going all the way back to me d i
eva l Spain . Sl1e shows h ow these becam e fu sed with a pan oply
of O ld and New World ingre di en ts .
l n close to thirty years of research, Presilla traveled
to e, ery co unt 1-y of tl1e Spani s h- and P ortug u ese-s peaking
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Am er icas. Sh e h as feas t ed on g utsy Braz ilian l1on1e n1eal s
w ith l1 er favorite t axi driver in Salva dor da Bal1-ia, cooke d in
t he SOL1t hern Ect1adoria n And es witl1- m a tr iar cl1s wh o rul e
th eir kit chen s with tl1eir regal so up s poons (c ucbaramamas),
a nd ea t en inn ovati ve ce bi ch es by lea ding ch efs o n Peru 's
vi bran t res t au ran t sce n e . N ow s he brings h er d eep und er
standing of mul t ilayered Latin cui si nes to the United St ates ,
today's privileged n1eeting place for all Lat in cultures .
Gran Cor in a Lat i11a is in every way Pres illa's mag·-
11um opus , dest ine d to end L1re as the defi n itive refere n ce
for decad es to con1 e . Its m o re th an rec ipes l1 ave bee n
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carefully selecte d to illustrate representative techniques and
approacl1es from indi vidua l region s as '~'ell as t o draw atten
t io n to recurrent them es lin king 111an y aspects of th e Latin
America n culin ary n1 ap . T h ey cove r d is h es ra ngi ng fr o m
empanadas an d tamales to sa lads , breads , an d desserts .
address ing both the novice ho1ne cook and the seaso ned ch ef
You wi ll enter the world of Lat in t ab le co nd i1n en ts , co lor
ft1l inft1sed oils , "big soups," and u11iq ue hot pe pper pots .
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wi learn tl1e basics of dealing witl1 yt1ca, cocon uts. and
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lime t1·e ated Andean corn (1no te) . Yot1 w ill d iscove r new
to tl1i s cot1ntry- flavo1·s like go lden 1r1ira~·o l dried ppn pers.
tl1 e lL1s ciot1s n1a n1ev frt1 it . tl1e st1bt le An d.ea n •,·ab le
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ca ll ed .1rracacha , and the m c1ny wonde1·ft1l var1 1· 1 1rti -
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.'l,1n,1l Latin brown loaf sugar. Yot1 can sa n1p le str, , ,·, \ke
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.S,1lv,1doriar1 ht,t c tl1e cob witl1 a w l1olc ,1rsena 1.r
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m e r 1 c a
Photographs by Gentl & Hyers/ Edge
Food Styling by Andrea Gentl
Drawings by Julio Figueroa
W. W . NORTON & COMPANY
LONDON
NEW YORK •
Copyright © 2012 by Marice] E. Presilla
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pl1otograph copyright© 2012 by Gentl & H ers
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Presilla, Marice! E.
Illu strations copyright© 2012 by Julio Figu eroa
Gran cocina latina : the food of Latin America / Maricel E.
Presilla ; photography by Gent] & Hyers11Edge; illustrations by
All rights reser·v-ed
Julio Figueroa. - 1st ed.
Pri11ted in the U11ited States of America
Fir t Edition
p. cm.
Includes index.
For information about perrr1ission to reproduce selections from
ISBN 978-0-393-05069-1 (hardcover)
this book, ,,_,rite to Permissions. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
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To 111y l1usband, Aleja11d1·0 Presilla, n1y No1·tl1 Stai· i11 all \1/eatl1er, for
l,elievi11.g i11 this 1ife-c11.a11ging jol1rney.
Witl1 gratitude to 111y pare11ts, Angelica Pa1·lade a11d Isn1ael Espinosa , fo1· t-eeding 11Jy curiousity a11d
111akir1g n1e believe even s0111eor1e 601·n on a11 island co11ld eat tl1e ,vorld .
To the taxi drivers of Lati11 An1erica, tl1-e best ct1lina1·y tot1r gl1ides in tl1e world.
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JOURNEY OF THE SAPOARA
FOREWORD • 1
MAPS OF LATIN AMERICA
3
WHAT IS LATIN AMERICA?
CHAPTER 1 • 7
THE LATIN KITCHEN
CHAPTER 2 •
15
3 • THE LAYERS OF LATIN FLAVOR
35
CHAPTER
4 • TABLE CON DIM ENTS
CHAPTER 107
5 • TROPICAL ROOTS AND
CHAPTER
STARCHY VEGET'ABLES
157
6 • SQUASHES, CORN, QUINOA,
CHAPTER
AND BEANS
217
7 • RICE
CHAPTER
285
8 • DRINKS
CHAPTER
325
g • LITTLE LATIN DISHES
CHAPTER
369
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\ ' I •
EMPANADAS
405
CHAPTER 10 •
THE TAMAL FAMILY
439
CHAPTER 11 •
CEBICHES
477
CHAPTER 12 •
13 • LA OLLA:
Soups and Hearty Potages 497
CHAPTER
14 • SALADS
541
CHAPTER
15 • BREADS 565
CHAPTER
16 • FISH AND SEAFOOD
601
CHAPTER
17 •
POULTRY 647
CHAPTER
18 • MEAT 689
CHAPTER
19 • HOT PEPPER POTS: Secos, Saices,
Adobos,
CHAPTER
Picantes, Sajtas, Pepianes, and Moles 741
20 • DULCE LATINO 787
CHAPTER
859
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
865
INDEX
896
INDEX TO RECIPES IN SPANISH
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CONTE NT S • Vll