“Latinisimo” is Sandra Gutierrez’s fifth cookbook, but it’s the first one she had in her mind to write.
“When I first got an agent (Lisa Ekus) in 2007, I told her I wanted to do this book,” Gutierrez said recently by telephone from her home in Cary. They eventually decided the time wasn’t quite right.
Still, Gutierrez continued to research and plan what would become “Latinisimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America” (Knopf, $40), which was released last month in both Spanish and English language editions.
In fact, Gutierrez, 58, said she’s been planning for this book almost all her life. “I started collected recipes when I was 6, 7 and 8. I have recipes in my teens from my aunt, from my grandmother.”
Gutierrez is the daughter of two Guatemalans. She was born in Philadelphia while her father was studying to be an oral surgeon. She was raised in Guatemala from age 5 to 18, then returned to the United States to attend college, eventually marrying and raising a family here.
She moved to Cary almost 30 years ago and became a food writer for the Cary News. Her first book, “The New Southern-Latino Table” (University of North Carolina Press), delved into the new fusion cuisine of Latinos who had adapted their native cuisines to suit the ingredients and circumstances of their new homes in the Southern United States.
Her other books include “Field Peas,” “Empanadas” and “Latin American Street Food.”
Gutierrez wrote in “Latinisismo” that she has always had a broad view of Latin American food, partly because she was brought up in two countries and cultures and partly because she was “born into a family of global travelers.”
Once she got into writing cookbooks, she said, she noticed that there were few books that tackled Latin Cuisine as a whole. In fact, other than a slew of Mexican cookbooks mostly written by non-Hispanics, there weren’t many Latin cookbooks period, she said.
By the time she was ready to start writing this book about four years ago, she had about 9,000 distinct recipes from 21 Latin American countries — a number she determined by focusing on those whose primary language is Spanish, plus the one exception of Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken.
She first whittled that number down to 3,000, then kept at it till she wound up with 357 plus variations in the finished book.
She specifically chose only everyday recipes that home cooks make today. She avoided historical recipes, or fancy restaurant dishes, or even special-occasion and holiday foods.
She also decided to organize the book by ingredients, not by country — though each recipe includes the country or countries of origin.
“Latin American cuisine is a quilt made of different patches and I wanted to thread them together. And what threads them together is the ingredients,” Gutierrez said.
For instance, she said, the trinity of rice, beans and plantains are in the most popular dishes of almost every Latin American cuisine, though used in different ways.
Gutierrez also talks about how Latin American cuisine is a melting pot in some ways similar to the United States. In addition to the Spanish colonizers and enslaved Africans that spread their culinary influence throughout Latin America, Gutierrez mentioned immigrants from Italy, Germany, China, Japan, Lebanon and more countries.
So there are dishes similar to Japanese sushi and Chinese stir-fry in Peru, and pasta dishes in Argentina, Uruguay and other countries. Baked kibbeh (lamb and bulgur-wheat casserole) in Brazil and the Dominican Republic reflect a Lebanese influence.
Yet, at the same time, Gutierrez said, the 21 cuisines she included in the book have remained remarkably distinct. Part of her reason for writing “Latinisimo,” she said, is to celebrate Latin America’s diversity.
Gutierrez begins the recipe section of the book with a chapter on such essentials as spice mixes, chimichurri, garlic paste, sofrito and crema.
Then there are 19 ingredient chapters. A handful each of arepas and tortillas appear in the Corn chapter. Brazil’s feijoada is in the Beans chapter. Tuco (Italo-Argentinean tomato sauce) is in the Tomato chapter. Costa Rican cold avocado soup is featured in the Avocado section.
The book has mofongo (plantains and pork rinds) from Puerto Rico; shrimp, coconut and mango ceviche from Colombia; chicken thighs in mojo from Cuba; char siu (Chinese-style barbecue pork) from Peru; beef, pumpkin and root vegetable hot pot from Venezuela; and much more.
A chapter on cacao includes mole from Mexico; chocolate cookies from Panama; green salad with orange and cacao nibs from Uruguay; and plantains in chocolate sauce from Guatemala.
There’s also coconut bread rolls from Honduras, coconut tarts from Belize, and tres leches cake that Gutierrez said originated in Nicaragua before spreading elsewhere.
And, of course, there are recipes for the flan and dulce de leche that sweeten the palates of several Latin American countries.
Gutierrez said that her selection came down to recipes that “are still made today on a regular basis” and “that have stood the test of time.”
But, she said, “I think what motivated me most was not to exclude anybody. I’m hoping that every person that comes from Latin America or has been to Latin America will feel pride in this book.”
Though she may have balanced the representation of all 21 countries in her choice of recipes, she still has literally thousands that did not make it into the nearly 600-page book. “I have only touched on the smallest fraction of the recipes found across Latin America,” she said.
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El Picadillo de Nikki
Ground Beef With Olives and Capers (Cuba)
Makes 4 to 6 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
½ cup stemmed, cored, seeded, and finely chopped red or green bell peppers
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1½ pounds lean ground beef
1 cup peeled, seeded, and finely chopped plum tomatoes
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
20 to 25 Manzanilla olives
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic; cook, stirring often until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir for 30 seconds. Add the beef and cook until it’s no longer pink, about 5 minutes (all the while making sure to break it up with a wooden spoon). Add the tomatoes, cumin, olives, capers, salt, and pepper. Cover the skillet and lower the heat to low; simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until all the flavors have melded together.
Variation: To make Cuban empanadas, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of chilled picadillo in the middle of a store- bought empanada wrapper (from the frozen section of any Latin store). Bake or fry them according to the directions on the package.
Recipe from “Latinisimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America” (Knopf)
Alfajores con Baño de Chocolate
Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (Argentina)
Makes about 20
For the cookies:
2 scant cups cornstarch (see Note)
1 cup all- purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of fine sea salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup white granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup Dulce de Leche, homemade or store-bought (See Note)
For the chocolate ganache:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
1 teaspoon cognac, brandy, or rum (optional)
1. To make the cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a separate large bowl, using an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl well. With the motor at low speed, add one egg yolk at a time, beating well until each is incorporated; beat until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and beat slowly, just until combined. Add a third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. On a clean surface, place the remaining flour mixture and make a well in the center; pour the beaten dough into the middle of the well and knead together until the dough comes together into a ball, trying to incorporate all of the dry ingredients. Do not overwork. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Turn the dough onto a clean and lightly floured surface. Give it a few pats with the full weight of a rolling pin (this is to help it stretch out before rolling it without breaking it, if it’s still too cold). Roll the dough out until it’s ⅓ inch thick. With a round cookie cutter, cut out 2 inch rounds of dough, placing them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Carefully knead the dough back together and roll out again, repeating until you have 38 to 40 cookies. If the dough gets too warm, wrap it in plastic and chill it for 20 minutes (repeat the rolling and cutting until all rounds are done). Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are only slightly golden (be careful not to burn them— they should remain quite light in color).
3. Let them cool on the sheets for 5 minutes; transfer them to cooling racks and cool completely.
4. Top half of the cookies with approximately 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche each and top each with a second cookie. Press down lightly to stick them together (some dulce will seep down the sides). Put them back on cooling racks and make the ganache. To do so, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the cream into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
5. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let the mixture sit for 30 seconds; with a spatula, mix it slowly until it comes together (do not whip in any air). Stir in the butter one piece at a time, stirring slowly, until melted. If using, add the liquor and stir well. Let the ganache sit at room temperature for 20 minutes so it can thicken slightly (if it’s too loose, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes; you want it to be of a spreadable consistency). Top each sandwiched cookie with 1 tablespoon of ganache (it shouldn’t run down the sides of the cookie) and use an offset spatula (or spoon) to spread it just over the top (leaving the sides uncovered). Let the finished cookies rest for 1 hour before serving or until the ganache has set.
Note: When measuring cornstarch, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and lightly level it with the back of a knife; never press it down when leveling. You can bake the cookies a day in advance and store them in a container, then fill and decorate them the next day. Dividing this recipe into steps makes it much easier to handle. To make the ganache set faster, chill the cookies for 20 to 30 minutes after decorating. Once assembled, these are best the day they’re made; however, they store well in one layer in a container with a tight- fitting lid (at room temperature or in the refrigerator; if chilled, bring them back to room temperature before serving).
Note on store-bought Dulce de Leche: There are several brands of dulce de leche. Avoid any that come in squeezable bottles— it will be too runny. Instead, purchase the thicker dulce de leche sold in cans and in jars. Gutierrez favors Argentinean and Brazilian brands.
Variations: Forgo the dulce de leche altogether; use the ganache to fill the cookies and sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar. Or forgo the ganache and let the excess dulce de leche drip onto the sides of each cookie, then roll them in flaked coconut, chocolate sprinkles, or chopped nuts.
Recipe from “Latinisimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America” (Knopf)
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