La Comida del Barrio: Latin-American Cooking in the U.S.A.
The Latin-American population is the fastest growing in the United States--over 30 million people. Just look at the starting lineup of Major League Baseball if you need deeper proof. It's a population rich in cultural diversity, roots reaching back all over the place--Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Peru, Argentina. And the nice thing that happens in this country, as Aaron Sanchez so eloquently points out in his first cookbook,La Comida del Barrio, is that this multilayerd diversity melts all over itself and becomes something new while suggesting something old and stable."This book is not about 'authentic' regional dishes," Sanchez writes in his introduction. Rather, it's about the real food of the real barrio, the Latin neighborhood, wherever that may be these days in the US. You'll find a small soup stand,la fonda, in the marketplace and that's his first chapter--black bean soup, shrimp chowder, plantain soup, menudo. Then there's the home kitchen restaurant,el paladar, open to the lucky ones who can find it. Stews are typical, and that's the next chapter--Brazilian cassoulet, roasted rabbit. The chapters march right up the Latin dining scale:la taqueríafor street snacks,la rosticceríafor roasted meats,el comedor(the restaurant) for salads and entrees,el Mercadofor vegetables and side dishes,la panderíafor baked goods and sweets,la jugeríafor drinks, and a final chapter on essential recipes.The entire Latin culinary landscape as it's found throughout the US is captured between the covers ofLa Comida del Barrio. Sanchez has done a wonderful job. You can take this food into your own home. But what's especially nice, with this book tucked under your wing, you can explore the barrio nearest you and taste it all for real.--Schuyler Ingle