Latin-Ish: More Than 100 Recipes Celebrating American Latino Cuisines

Noting that “tortillas outsell hamburger buns,” food writer Salazar sets out to show that “American Latino cuisines are American food” in this lively and far-ranging debut collection. In an extensive intro, Salazar outlines seven distinct regional cuisines: Tex-Mex offers skirt steak fajitas and chili con carne while Cal-Mex emphasizes seafood and cremas and Southwest cuisine leans on the “three sisters” of beans, corn, and squash. Floribbean fare includes Cubano sandwiches; Latino Southern foods include collard greens empanadas and New Orleans hot tamales; Midwest Latino recipes include taco pizza, topped with refried beans and crumbled tortilla chips; and N.Y.C. Latino dishes include the chicken jibarito BLT, which hails from Puerto Rico and intriguingly substitutes plantains for bread. Salazar traces the fascinating origins and evolution of each dish: for example, Dominican spaghetti, featuring salami, olives, evaporated milk, and adobo sauce, reflects both the influence of Italian immigrants to the Dominican Republic and Dominic immigrants to the U.S. Desserts include tamales stuffed with fruit and sugar, beverages range from Texas margarita to tres leches latte, and foundational recipes for guacamoles, salsas tortillas, and other standards round things out. This informative tour of American Latino cuisine will encourage home chefs to explore and enjoy. (Aug.)