Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
54
result(s) for
"Presilla, Maricel E"
Sort by:
Sesame opens doors to a world of flavor
In the Latin kitchen, sesame crops up in many guises. Mexicans grind toasted seeds with half-dozen nuts and spices to thicken and flavor moles. Puerto Ricans grind them with almonds to make sweets, and in many countries, sesame is the main ingredient of milky drinks called horchatas. The Chinese in Peru use sesame abundantly. Typical of Peruvian chifas (the generic name for Chinese restaurants in the country) is poultry braised with sesame seeds or coated with the seeds and deep-fried to a crunchy texture, the inspiration for today's recipe.
Newsletter
Sweetness of anise and fennel seduce even in savory dishes
The aroma we identify as anise is a volatile chemical substance known as trans anethole present in plant foods including aniseed, fennel seed, star anise and the elegant fennel bulb, also known as Florence fennel. The vegetable fennel (bulbo de hinojo) is blessed with a gentle and elusive anise taste and aroma that I find irresistible. Native to the Mediterranean, three types of fennel were among the garden vegetables mentioned in the 12th century Book of Agriculture (Libro de Agricultura), an Islamic treatise written in Seville. Delicious hinojo dishes are still cooked in southern Spain, a link to those Moorish times.
Newsletter
Spain's white asparagus
On trips to Madrid, I used to stock up on canned or jarred Navarre asparagus to bring back to the United States. Unlike the mushy canned asparagus of my childhood, it is usually excellent, perfectly peeled and cooked just right. Nowadays, it's available in upscale markets throughout the United States as well as the many Spanish delis that have sprouted up in Miami. Be sure to look for the Esparragos de Navarra seal on the container. If you prefer cooking the fresh vegetable, you will likely find Peruvian asparagus, which is available year round. Though Peru has no asparagus culinary culture, it has become the world's largest producer of both green and white types and the most important supplier of this refined product for the European Union and American markets, with Miami the U.S. point of entry. During a recent trip to Peru, I discovered that asparagus farming has become a big business in the country's coastal valleys, particularly south of Lima and in the Libertad department in the north.
Newsletter
No quest for cheese of La Mancha
As its name indicates, Manchego comes from La Mancha, a high plateau in central Spain. Protected by a Denomination of Origin, the name Manchego can be given only to cheeses made from the milk of Manchega sheep in municipalities belonging to the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo and ripened at least 60 days. Miami shops including Delicias de Espana (305-669-4485) and La Vasca (305-461-1898) carry good-quality, industrially produced, 12- month-old Manchego for $10.50 to $12 a pound. A good source of artisanal Manchego, made with unpasteurized milk for a more pronounced flavor, is La Tienda (tienda.com, 800-710-4304), which sells a 14-month-old reserva for $13 a pound plus shipping.
Newsletter
Luxurious Torta del Casar a Spanish original
It takes a day's output from 20 Merino and Entrefina sheep to produce the 5 to 6 liters of milk necessary to make a kilo (2.2 pounds) of this marvelous cheese. Torta del Casar comes in a 2- to 3- inch-thick disc weighing about 2 1/2 pounds with a soft, oily, russet-tan rind and a creamy interior that can be scooped out with a spoon like a silky mush at room temperature. In medieval times, Extremadura was home to knights from Spain's most famous military orders and shepherds who for centuries had eked out a living following the trails (canadas) that linked the summer and winter pastures of their herds. In the 13th century, probably under the auspices of King Alfonso X of Castile, Merino sheep (oveja merina) were established in the region. This sturdy breed was favored for its rich wool, not its meager milk production, but merino sheep's milk became the main component of the Torta del Casar, and is now prized for its concentration and good flavor. Casar de Caceres, the small town where the Torta del Casar is said to have originated, is crossed by both the Canada Real de la Plata, which follows a great Roman road linking Asturias and Trujillo, and the Canada Real Soriana-Occidental, the 700-kilometer trail used by shepherds from Soria in Old Castile to bring their herds to winter pastures in warmer Extremadura.
Newsletter
Book peeks into the pantries of the world
Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador are the Latin American countries featured in Hungry Planet. Compared to the book's squalid Havana market scenes, Mexican and Guatemalan markets beam with exuberant color, and the Mendozas of Guatemala look proud and content as they surround a table laden with pineapples, chayote, beans, rice, corn tortillas and potatoes -- the staples of everyday cooking with nary a can in sight. Equally rich in vegetables and grains is the table of the Aymes family in Tingo in the Ecuadorean highlands. Husband, wife and seven children are seated on the floor of a spare adobe hut with a week's supply of potatoes, oca (an Andean tuber), broken white rice, corn flour, green-pea flour, milk, lentils, plantains, leeks, carrots, cabbage, lemons, Andean blackberries and brown loaf sugar. Not shown is the barley, fresh corn and broad beans the family grows on their chacra (small farm), nor the chickens and cuyes (guinea pigs) they eat on special occasions. Though the book describes the Aymes' diet as pobre pero sana (poor but healthy), it is obvious that this Andean family struggles to put food on the table. At an altitude of 11,000 feet with the wind howling at their doorstep, farming is a struggle. Add to that the price hikes sparked by Ecuador's recent adoption of the U.S. dollar and you have a recipe for Spartan living and eating, and one more poignant tableau.
Newsletter