Gran Cocina Latina by Maricel Presilla

This is a magnum opus for Latin American cooking in every sense of the phrase.  It’s a huge work of 900+ pages which took Presilla nearly 30 years to research and write. And it shows. It covers the history, the lore, the culture and the recipes of Latin American food & cooking.  It’s more than a recipe book: it’s social history and travelogue too.
All put together in a beautiful package.

The book starts with explanations and descriptions of Latin America and the Latin kitchen. Presilla clearly explains how in Latin cooking the flavours are built up in layers: from adobo and sofrito through to the table condiments. This contrasts with other cuisines which may fuse or blend flavours.

She clearly places Latin cooking in its geographical, historical and socio-political context as this has changed and developed through the centuries. She says: “Again and again, I was forced to remember that food is always deeply political…the love of food transcends even the most bitter of realities.”
The middle chapters are divided into 16 food groupings:

• tropical roots; 
• starchy vegetables; 
• squashes, corn, quinoa, and beans; 
• rice; 
• drinks; 
• little Latin dishes; 
• empanadas; 
• the tamal family; 
• ceviches; 
• La Olla (soups and hearty potages); 
• salads; 
• breads; 
• fish and seafood; 
•  poultry and meat; 
• hot pepper pots and  
• dulce Latino (sweets and desserts).

Each chapter starts with a ‘Chapter at a view’ page: a mini-contents for that chapter. This makes choosing recipes really easy without having to thumb endlessly through this enormous book. Then there is a really useful introduction to the particular topic covering its place in Latin cooking, its history, typical ingredients and dishes as they vary around the continent.  Such an exquisite addition to my cookbook library!