Lorena Garcia's New Latin Classics: Fresh Ideas for Favorite Dishes: A Cookbook
256
Lorena Garcia's New Latin Classics: Fresh Ideas for Favorite Dishes: A Cookbook
256eBook
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Overview
What’s the secret to great Latin-inspired food? Create layers of flavor that unfold with every bite. That’s just what Garcia does in this debut cookbook, serving up easy-to-make, irresistibly delicious dishes that taste “exotic”—though their ingredients can be found in your local supermarket. Here you’ll find classic Latin favorites like Nuevo Arroz con Pollo, while homey American classics are given a modern Nuevo Latino twist. From succulent Snapper Taquitos with Jicama-Apple Salsita to versatile arepas, the fluffy corn flatbreads that are to the Venezuelan table what baguettes are to the French, more than one hundred recipes in this volume lead lovers of Latin food far beyond tacos and empanadas.
Lorena Garcia takes one of America’s hottest cuisine trends out of the restaurant and into the home kitchen, where everyone can enjoy it. Working from a base of standard pantry items that make replicating and extending these meals a snap, Garcia shows everyday cooks how to add a Latin accent to just about any dish, from meatballs to marinara. Want comfort food with flair? Who can resist such flavorful go-to dishes as
• Smashed Guacamole
• Creamy Roasted Corn Soup
• Salmon Taquitos with Roasted Habanero Salsita
• Mango BBQ Baby Back Ribs
Still have room for dessert? Garcia’s are as simple as they are satisfying: Sticky Arroz con Pollo de Leche, Caramelized Vanilla Figs with Goat Cheese and Grilled Papaya, Spicy Chocolate Mousse—sweet finishing touches to a perfectly prepared meal.
Dedicated to the timeless concept of cooking as an expression of love—an idea that transcends all cultures—Lorena Garcia’s New Latin Classics is a delightful book to be shared around the table with family and friends.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780345530189 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Random House Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 09/27/2011 |
| Sold by: | Random House |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 256 |
| File size: | 20 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
INTRODUCTION
Love happens in the kitchen. It’s in the comforting chicken soup you make for a friend who is under the weather. It’s in the outrageously creamy pasta alfredo you cook for a girlfriends’ night in. It’s in the fish tacos you grill for friends picnicking on the beach and in the birthday cake you make from scratch for a child.
For me, cooking is the ultimate expression of love. Through a simple yet flavorful dish, I connect to friends and family in a way that shows them how much I care. It’s the gesture of cooking and giving my time to help nurture someone else that is so touching and personal. The food doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy; there’s a reason why homey recipes like meatballs, pasta, chicken and rice, and guacamole are go-to comfort foods. No matter what your heritage or where in the world you live, giving the gift of a home-cooked meal is always met with appreciation and gratitude.
When I want to share comfort food, however, I have my own take, and what makes my take on these traditional American comfort foods different is the Latin edge, the twist of big and fresh flavors that I give it. I grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and learned early on that the soul of Latin food is flavor. It’s the punch of cilantro, the brightness of acid from freshly squeezed citrus, and the hit of heat from a jalapeño.
The one hundred–plus recipes in this cookbook will elevate everyday go-to dishes to a whole new level of flavor, because with Latin cooking, it’s all about building levels of flavor—the depth of an onion, carrot, and bell pepper sofrito; the richness of homemade chicken stock; the edge of queso fresco. The flavors unfold as you take each bite—fresh, bright, concentrated, bold. This dynamic is what makes Latin food so deliciously irresistible.
My approach to modern Latin cooking is all about bringing a variety of global influences to the foods we love. Latin food is arroz con pollo (our famous chicken and rice one-pot meal) and chicken piccata. Arepas, tortillas, empanadas, ceviche, and tacos (of course!), but also soba noodles with ginger and soy, and pork loin stuffed with apples and walnuts with a vanilla mango sauce. Just as American food is more than burgers and apple pie, modern Latin food is more than tacos and guacamole.
Latin cuisine is a melting pot of cultures, and our face is one of many nations and lands. Our food expresses these beautiful influences—from China and Japan to Italy, Germany, and Africa, as well as the indigenous cuisine that goes back to the Aztec and Incan empires—but always with that unmistakable Latin influence. So if you’re expecting just tacos and empanadas in this cookbook, you’re in for a tasty surprise.
When I was growing up, I was lucky enough to get the best of both worlds—traditional Latin cooking and a taste for international cuisines. My mom worked full-time, and while she loved (loved!) to eat, she didn’t have much time to cook. So I ate the food that my nanny, Leo, cooked. She made all of the comforting Latin standards—roast chicken, soups and stews, fresh corn arepas, and fideos, an angel hair–like pasta common throughout Latin America.
Mom had a job that required lots of international travel, and she often brought me along. By the time I was a teenager, I had had the unique opportunity to visit the countries from which many of South America’s immigrants came, including Italy, Germany, and Japan, and to taste the food that people from those countries brought to Venezuela. I embraced the exotic tastes, and when I returned home, I would invite all of my friends over and cook them meals based on the many different flavors I had encountered: perhaps ravioli with four cheeses and a cream sauce, or maybe a stir-fry with marinated beef and loads of vegetables. Even before I knew I was all about food, I was all about food!
Though I always loved entertaining my friends and family by feeding them, the thought of being a professional chef never even crossed my mind; there weren’t even any culinary schools in Venezuela. So I followed in my family’s footsteps and went to law school, all the while hosting dinners and parties at my home. I continued to cook, travel, experiment, and be inspired. It wasn’t long before I had successfully combined my two worlds, applying the basics of good Latin cooking—for example, punching up the flavor of a dish with a salsa—to recipes that came from around the world.
Shortly after I graduated from law school in 2000, my family and I moved to Miami. I continued to cook and entertain constantly, always keeping food simple and tasty, and letting the ingredients speak for themselves. Soon it was obvious that I was way more passionate about food than I was about law, and it wasn’t long before an old family friend suggested I go to culinary school. Fast forward to one year later, and there I was, about to graduate from Johnson & Wales University—all I had left was to complete my internship.
During my last month on the job, I was frying a fish and the oil splashed up onto my face, scalding my skin so severely that I remained in the hospital for weeks recovering from the burns. Though I was emotionally and physically traumatized, I realized that I couldn’t let my injury keep me from becoming a chef; I accepted my accident as a part of my educational journey. After being discharged, I hit the road, taking myself on a multicontinent tour of the best kitchens and cooking alongside some of the finest chefs in Europe and Asia. Through that experience, I defined my cooking style—modern Latin with a global twist—and soon started thinking about opening my own restaurant. After doing a lot of soul-searching, I returned to the States and made my dreams of being a chef in my own kitchen a reality.
By 2004, I had opened two successful restaurants in Miami, Food Café and Elements; hosted a TV show on Telemundo and on Univision’s Despierta América; opened Lorena Garcia Cocina, my airport restaurant; and launched Big Chef, Little Chef, an initiative that educates families about eating healthfully in an effort to reduce childhood obesity. I also participated in CNN’s acclaimed Latino in America series, which exposed me to an even-wider American audience. All of this led to an exciting NBC television show, America’s Next Great Restaurant, and my first cookbook, a long-awaited and much-thought-about project that I am so proud of!
Through my experiences as a chef, my travels, and my encounters with home cooks facing everyday, real-life challenges, I have learned much. I turned to these experiences when I was writing this cookbook. For example, as you page through the recipes in this book, you’ll notice a number of recurring items listed throughout the recipe ingredient lists. One major goal of mine was to not give people a huge grocery list and a pantry full of ingredients that wouldn’t be used again. Being smart and economical, I decided to go for a common denominator of ingredients that would allow cooks to attempt just about any recipe in the book (most of the ingredients, by the way, are widely available in your local grocery store; see the indispensable despensa for these pantry items). By cooking your way through the basics of sofritos, stocks, and salsitas (to name a few), you can add an instant Latin vibe to just about any dish, from meat loaf to marinara sauce.
Like my cooking, the organization of the cookbook is untraditional. Instead of being divided into categories such as soups and side dishes, the organization is based on how I decide what to cook for a meal. I rarely sit at home and say to myself, “I need to make a chicken dish.” No, instead I think, “My nephews are coming over tonight for dinner. They have huge appetites and will no doubt bring a group of friends. What will they want to eat?” For inspiration I would turn to the recipes in “Cocina Casera: Homestyle Favorites.” Or, “I’m starving! I need to make something delicious, fast!” So I turn to “30 Minutos: Delicious Food on the Fly.” or “It’s so hot out I can’t bear to turn the oven on. What can I make that doesn’t require much preparation?” You’ll find it in “Afuera! Move Your Kitchen Table Outside”—an entire chapter dedicated to dishes that require little effort and no stove-top or oven cooking. Cooking by occasion and circumstance is a great way to open yourself up to new ideas, and I think you’ll find yourself trying out new dishes because they suit the cause. Additionally, each chapter includes starters, followed by entrées and sides, for ease of use. Dessert has a chapter devoted unto itself. Just in case you need it, you’ll also find a recipe index in the back of the book that lists each recipe by its traditional category. Finally, New Latin Classics offers tips on stocking a despensa, or pantry, and basic recipes that the dishes in this book use as a flavor foundation.
Bringing Latin influences to the food you already know and love is going to offer a whole new world of possibilities for your cooking. From classic Latin dishes that get a modern update to homey American favorites presented with a Latin twist, I hope you will enjoy cooking from this global culinary journey as much as I did creating it.
Lorena Garcia