Cookbook Shelf: Gran Cocina Latina

Cuban native Maricel E. Presilla’s credentials and background make her ideally suited for the task of writing a definitive volume on Latin cuisine.  Co-owner of Zafra and Cucharamama, two Latin restaurants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Presilla also holds a doctorate in medieval Spanish history from New York University and has spent more than 30 years traveling though every country of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Americas.  This year she also won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In her new book, Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America, Presilla uses her understanding of multilayered Latin culture to provide a comprehensive and encyclopedic knowledge of everything necessary to master the Latin American cocina.  The book does a fantastic job of unifying the vast culinary landscape of the Latin world, from Mexico to Argentina to islands of the Caribbean. An impressive bible of Latin American food, the book is thorough, well researched, informative and approachable.

Virtually every one of the 902-paged volume’s 500 recipes embodies the Pan-American table and comes loaded with historical, cultural and culinary background. Chapters devoted to condiments, vegetables, rice, drinks, empanadas, tamales, soups, salads, breads, seafood, poultry, meats, sauces and desserts are also included, as well as detailed equipment notes, drink and serving suggestions, 100 line-drawings of key equipment and techniques, five maps, 32 color photographs of finished dishes, and a brief history of Latin America.

If you love to read cookbooks, this one will keep you busy for a while. Gran Cocina Latina’s recipes, stories and historical notes will give both novice and experienced cooks an opportunity to bring the special flavors of Latin America to their own tables. Gran Cocina Latina celebrates the complexity and vibrancy of Latin American cuisine while preserving tradition.

To celebrate the release of her cookbook, Presilla has shared a heartfelt recipe inspired by her father.

Soupy Rice and Chicken (Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera)

• 6  whole chicken legs, thighs and drumsticks
• 1 1/2 cups (about 10½ ounces) Valencia-style medium-grain rice 
• 1/4 cup achiote-infused extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 ounces slab bacon or Virginia ham
• 8 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (about 2⁄3 cup)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Get the full recipe.