Latin American cooking; a treasury of recipes from the South American countries, Mexico and the Caribbean

108 Pages·1973·7.66 MB·English

by  Susan Bensusan

.mil

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010
http://www.archive.org/details/latinamericancooOObens
'Roundtheworld cooking library
Latin American Cooking
A treasury of recipes from the South American
countries,Mexico and the Caribbean
Recipecontributionsby
SusanBensusan,
Internationalauthority
onLatinAmericanCooking
'RoundtheWorldBooksInoNewYork•Toronto
Contents
ofLatin
.:-; Ev-.lt. ."_?.;•:7 Mexicoand
^mancDorfi" fcl Iaribbeari
(Cuftbeanl.HennenaF.LeQwsn 12 Entrees
deNeunilk.StKlkrtFrennoonrt I -2iad>
.:E-. ;: E-_r E._—_-.L;-_- 28 Sawxs
'.Ck-—u."e:.:.-P_a"t;r-i_cira_M.>arrrm_<TAraennnat 3315 RToircteilalnad*corndishes
.- :..->._ -"-_."_ rT"-. E^ 4" Fishdishes
! . M52 PMoeualttrdvisahnedssamedishes
..tabledishes
79 Desserts
-* Bi--.-__-.-
•J4 \iphabericalindex
°" Indexb>nneofdish
Essamveadnor TorvasEs
Ccva'pfaoOO Hfmlrm^nAtHfijii°«i tmanifalll
:-.?•:r- E;E. v- -.-_-----
OeSlEDSOQGAJ1W1DE5 ftrfmfTiimiiiuYHELmbmSSinMil,AlllSfc''lfMlin
Crsaisdin MejerPasB.V-Amsterdam.TheNfthrrtairis
peinc_Lancaster.Pennsyh
Cupmeasuresinthisbook
The food of Latin America,
Mexico and the Caribbean
WhocanthinkofLatinAmerica plentiful.Andinthe
andnotimmediatelyenvision mountainouscountriesa
brightflowersandflags:hear processoffreeze-dryingwasin
soft-strummedguitarsanddeep, usefromtheveryoriginsoflife
musicalvoices:seedark-eyed onthecontinent.
senoritasinbrightswirlingskirts WhenthefirstSpaniardsarrived
dancingintheplazaorwalking inMexico,theyweretreatedto
sedatelythroughapaseo?Yet thesight,andtaste,ofroyal
colorandromancearenotthe banquetsliterally"fitforthe
onlyqualitiesoflifeinLatin gods.'Theysoondiscovered
America.Looksouthofour thatoneofthegreatrichesof
bordersandyouwilldiscovera theNewWorldwasitsnatural
wholeworldofcookingwhich, bounty.
throughthecenturies,has Thereexist,today,descriptions
developedtheideathateventhe ofthefeastspreparedforthe
simplestfoodscanbe Inca.theheadofthatgreatstate
stimulatingandsatisfyingas ontheWestCoastofSouth
wellasbasicallynutritiousand America,whereasmanyasfive
economical.Here,theIndiansof hundreddifferentdisheswere
theancientMayanandAztec preparedforhischoice!Thisis
civilizationsperfecteda evenmoreincrediblewhenone
sophisticatedcuisinethousands considersthattherewerealmost
ofyearsbeforethearrivalofthe nofreshmeatsasweknow
firstEuropeansontheirshores. them,noranyfatsordairy
Thenaturalplentyofthelands products,sincedomesticated
wasskillfullyenhancedand animalsweresuchararity.
cultivatedtoprovidearich, Mostofthefoodwasboiled,
spicy,sounddietforthepeople steamedorbasted-fryingwas
wholivedinthevastareas virtuallyunknown.Forgreat
extendingthroughMexicoand fiestas,thebarbecuewas
CentralAmericamany developed.Theclam-bake
thousandsofmilestothe whichweassociatesomuchwith
southernmosttipofthe NewEnglandisactuallyan
peninsulaofSouthAmerica. adaptationofthismostancient
Corn,beans,tomatoes, Indianformofcooking.Alarge
potatoes,squash,peppers, holeisduginthegroundanda
chocolate,bananasand firebuiltinit.Whenthefirehas
avocados,aswellasexoticfish diminishedtoahugebedofhot
andfruits,werethebasisofthe coals,thepitislinedwithleaves.
greatIndiancuisines,andtheir thenfoodissetinit-awhole
intensivecultivationhelped animalinitsownhideisadded.
developnewandbetterstrains (Barbecuemeans,quiteliterally,
ofallthenativevegetables.In from'beardtotail.")
certainareaswildgamewas Vegetablesandpotsofstewsetc.
Fishisdriedinthesunandsold Aninfinitevarietyofground
intheopenmarketatTempico chilies.driedheansandcornmeal
whereitismadeintosuch formthefoundationofmany
delkionsdishesasthesaltcod LatinAmericandishes.
moldonpage46.
areplacedaround,thenallis Europe,hadtheiroriginsin
coveredwithmoreleaves,more SouthAmerica.Conversely,itis
mudandmorefireandleftto hardtoimaginetheArgentine
bakefortherequiredtime.The withoutcattle.Spices,too,
pitisbrokenopenandthe becameanimportantexchange.
deliciouslysteamedfoodserved TheIndianshadlearnedtouse
toall.Thismethodisstillused themarvellousspices-the
today,notonlyfortheNew peppers,theherbsandthebarks
Englandclambake,butthe -inawayhithertounknownto
Hawaiianluauandthefamed theEuropeans,andtheyfound
bigbarbecuesofourown thesubtleblendingsagreat
southwest.Thereismuchwecan delighttotheirpalates.
adaptfromthecookingofthe (Cinnamonisthesecret
ancientIndians. ingredientofmanyaSouth
Withthecomingofthe Americanspecialty.)The
Europeans,notablytheSpanish developmentofspicesbecamea
andthePortuguese,newfoods highlyprofitablepartofthe
enteredthedailydiet.The wholeEuropean-Latin
Spanishbroughtbeef,lambs, Americantradesystemand
pigs,goatsandchickens. remainssotoday.
AndtheIndiansadoptedthem Wehavementionedthatthe
andquicklylearnedtohusband Indiansinthemountain
them,untilahundredheadof countrieshadperfectedasystem
cattlesoonbecameathousand, offreeze-dryingthatwasreally
topopulatetheArgentine unique.Theywouldtake
grasslands.Ahandfulofhorses, potatoes,forexample,tothe
abandonedduringsomeofthe highmountainswherethedry,
interminablebattlesfor freezingtemperatureswould
conquestwerelefttoroamthe quiteliterallyTreeze-dry'them
pampasandbecamegreatherds forfutureuse.Preservingin
ofwildhorsesinaveryshort spiceswasalsocommon.And
time. whentheSpanishaddedonions
Itisdifficulttoimaginehow andgarlictotheIndian
quicklytheinterchangeof foodlore,manynewwaysof
foodstuffswasaffectedbetween preparingandpreservingfood
theOldWorldandtheNew. cameintoeverydayuse.
WhocanthinkofItalian Oneofthegreatestadditionsto
cookingwithouttomatoes?Yet, thebasicIndiandietwasthatof
tomatoeswereactually fatsanddairyproducts.With
unknowninEuropeuntilthe fat,itwasnowpossibletofry.
firstexplorersbroughtthem Thoughtheancientmethods
backinthefifteenthand stilldominatemostLatin
sixteenthcenturies.Potatoes, cooking,fatsbroadenednot
too.thatgreatstapleofCentral onlythediet,butmethodsof
i
FamiliesfromMexicoCityget marketsinMexico,(below. Atouristslopsinbuyasmallgill (.hildrencamwatertramthe
togethertoenjoyariverboat fromthechildreninMexico. communalwellinavillageid
titniconllieHominggardensof Ineveryvillagethereisastreet Mexico(rightbelowI.
\ochinilco.'lop vendorsellingtortilleastobe ExoticfruitsJillthestreetswith
filledwithhotandcoldstuffings freshsweetnessandcolor.
Shoppersstrollthroughthestreet •toprighti
cWohoeknintgheasPwoerltlu.guesebrought pfoarsttahe;vdienveeylaorpdmsewnetreofpwlainnteesd-
slavesfromAfrica,anewnote eachcountryhasmadeits
wasaddedtothecuisines.The contributionuntiltoday.Latin
Africans,findingthe Americaboastsanamazing
temperatureandclimateof amalgamofthecuisinesofthe
Brazilmuchliketheirown. world-andofferstheNorth
quicklybroughtsuchthings Americanhomemakerarich
fromtheoldworldaspalms, sourceofideasforbrightening
whichthrivedinBrazil,giving herowndailyfare.Inthese
oilor'dende'asitiscalled timesofsoaringfoodcosts,itis
today.Coconuts,too.became welltolooksouthoftheborder
animportantfactor.But,most forinterestingandeconomical
importantwastheAfricanskill waystoextendthefamilyfood
atpreparingandpresenting budget.
foodinanattractivemanner. LatinAmericancookingdoes
SincefewofthePortuguese notrequirealonglistofexotic
womenwholivedonthebig andexpensivespicesand
estatestowhichtheblackswere foodstuffs.Mostofitisbased
broughtknewmuchatallabout onfoodsreadilyavailableinthe
cooking,theAfricansquickly greatsupermarketsalloverthe
tookcharge.Thereisasaying, UnitedStates.Thefewrare
stillpopularinBrazil,'the ingredientswhichmightbe
blackerthecook,thebetterthe includedinaparticularrecipe
cooking",andwefindexotic aregenerallyavailablefroma
Africaninterpretationsofthe localspecialtyorgourmetshop.
basicIndian-with-Portuguese AndasinterestinLatin
cuisinethroughoutBrazil.Inall Americancookingincreases,
thebestrestaurants,blackmen moreandmoreofthebasics
andwomenstillrunthe appearonourmarketshelves.
kitchens. ThehugenumberofNorth
AsotherEuropeanscameto AmericanswhovisitMexico
exploreandconquertherich eachyearhavebroughtbacksuch
NewWorld,thecuisinesbecame aninterestinthesomewhatfiery
evenmorediverseand Mexicancooking,thatseveral
cosmopolitan.Thus,wefindthe storesnowcarryacompleteline
FrenchtouchinHaitiandparts ofMexicanchiles,pepper,
oftheWestIndies.TheDutch 'moles'(sauces).Tortillasare
didmuchtodevelopthe'Spice readilyavailableincansorfrom
Islands';eventheBritish,not thedeepfreeze.
generallyknownfortheir Itisinterestingtonote,thatas
interestincookery,addedabit. onetravelsthroughLatin
Inlaterhistory,theGermans America,thenativecookingstill
broughtbeer;theItalians, reliesheavilyontheancient