Cook 3 Latin Recipes with the Master: Jacques Pépin

Jacques Pépin. It’s a name synonymous with food, specifically French food. A cooking instructor, restaurateur, cookbook author, television host, and more, Pépin is revered the world over for his numerous contributions to the culinary arts and beloved for his approachable personality and generosity in the kitchen.

Next month, in honor of his 80th birthday and the airing of his final PBS cooking show Jacques Pépin: Heart and Soul, Pépin will publish his 25th cookbook, Jacques Pépin: Heart and Soul in the Kitchen. Unlike past books that favor French cooking, this book features global recipes that reflect the many influences in the chef’s life.  

“Many of the dishes in this book date back to my childhood. Others have been picked up as I learned about American food and traveled the world tasting Asian and Latin American cuisine,” says Pépin. [pagebreak]

Among the many influences in Pépin’s life, one of the strongest is his Puerto Rican wife Gloria, who is an accomplished cook in her own right. In an exclusive interview with The Latin Kitchen, Pépin said he and Gloria have traveled to Puerto Rico many times, and that until recently, they owned an apartment in Mexico’s Playa del Carmen.

“I’m often considered a quintessential French chef, and in some ways I am,” said Pépin. “But then I make a black bean soup with a fried banana on top and cilantro or an arroz con pollo with my wife. Bacalao for Christmas is one of the dishes that is a tradition in our home.”

In his latest cookbook, Pépin’s broad culinary range and emphasis on time spent in the kitchen and at the dinner table with family and friends is on full display. It’s for both of these reasons that we chose to highlight the book in the October issue of Latina Magazine.

“Most of the two-dozen cookbooks I have written over the past four decades have adhered to specific themes,” said Pépin. “For this book, mindful that as I approach eighty years old I have a limited number of cookbooks in my future, I decided to gather a collection of recipes that I cook at home today.”

Click through to view the recipes for Linguine with Cilantro and Chive Pesto, Spanish Tortilla, and Fillet of Sole Riviera, featured in Latina Magazine. 

Linguine with Cilantro and Chive Pesto

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 cups fresh cilantro leaves, lightly packed

Get the full recipe. 

Spanish Tortilla

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little additional if needed
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup small Spanish chorizo, skinned and thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup scallions, sliced

Get the full recipe. 

Fillet of Sole Riviera

• 1 cup plum tomatoes, diced
• 3 tablespoons mild onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Get the full recipe.