The Food of Spain and Portugal: The Complete Iberian Cuisine

Ortiz's ( The Book of Latin American Cooking ) fascination with food of the Iberian Peninsula began when she embarked on an educational voyage to learn about the cuisine of Mexico. This quest led her on to Spain, Portugal and the Middle East to celebrate the ``culinary wedding'' of the old and new worlds. Her historic and geographic perspectives, developed during a 25-year journey, can solve such conundra as why cinnamon is included in veal, Catalan-style, and chili pepper in such a dish as rabbit in ``salmorejo'' sauce. While these morsels of information and the fare that goes with them will whet a reader's appetite, Ortiz's coverage of the healthful traditional Iberian cuisine is neither comprehensive nor meticulously presented: we are not told which cut of meat to buy in her recipe for lamb with lemon and garlic or the correct ratio of flour to liquid in Portuguese cornbread. Instructions for the seemingly simple fried eggs, Spanish-style, are unnecessarily vague, and the author frequently calls for stocks without providing recipes . Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)