Maricel E. Presilla is a culinary historian, chef and author specializing in the cuisines of Latin America and Spain. She has lectured for organizations ranging from the James Beard Foundation to the Smithsonian Institution. Her most recent book is The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes (Ten Speed Press), and she has completed a major Latin American cookbook for W.W. Norton, forthcoming in 2008. A native of Santiago de Cuba, she is co-owner and chef of two Hoboken, N.J., restaurants, Zafra and Cucharamama, and was a 2007 James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
Her website is www.maricelpresilla.com.
Write to her at mpresilla@miamiherald.com.
I first went to Murcia, the capital of the autonomous Spanish region of the same name, looking for the heart of King Alfonso X of Castile (Alfonso El Sabio).
APPETIZER FAVA BEANS AND CHORIZO IN THE STYLE OF MURCIA (Michirones con Chorizo) Murcian cooks often prepare this dish with dried fava beans (habas secas), stewing it with chorizo and ham and seasoning it with sweet pimentón and a dried hot pepper called ñora. In this version, adapted from chef Mikel Zeberio, fresh fava beans are served atop a rich chorizo sofrito loosened with beef broth. It makes a delicious appetizer with crusty bread and a Valle de Salinas Crianza, a well-rounded...
COCINA
In his Ode to the Artichoke, the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda captures the essence of this mighty, thistle-like plant. He describes it as a soldier standing at attention -- a solemn stance belying a tender heart that can only be uncovered by a loving cook who takes the time to peel away its armor.
APPETIZER SEARED ARTICHOKE HEARTS WITH SNOW PEAS (Alcachofas con Tirabeques). Artichoke hearts are combined with snow peas and serrano ham in this traditional Murcia recipe adapted from Teresa Barrenechea's The Cuisines of Spain: Exploring Regional Home Cooking (Ten Speed, 2005). Cynarin, one of the active compounds in the artichoke, makes other foods taste sweeter, which makes wine pairings a challenge. For this dish, I would choose a lightly chilled Andalusian sherry, preferably an amontillado...
COCINA
La Rioja is synonymous with wine, but this small Spanish region bordered by Navarre, Castile and the Basque country is much more than classic tempranillos and bolder, fruitier, new-wave blends. It is a fertile land of fruits and vegetables and the home of both a hearty old and spirited new cuisine built on a solid common ground of good flavor.
APPETIZER TUNA TARTARE WITH DATES AND TOMATOES (Tartar de Atún con Datiles y Tomates) Chef Francis Paniego's version of tuna tartare combines the sweetness of dates, the mild acidity of fresh tomatoes and a creamy almond sauce inspired by the Andalusian gazpacho ajo blanco. The sauce is delicious, but the tartare itself has enough flavor to stand on its own. I adapted this recipe from Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table (Workman, 2005), the best possible guide to Spain's new cuisine...
COCINA
Tempura embodies qualities Japanese cooks hold dear: fresh ingredients, precision cooking and beautiful presentation. It also exemplifies the uncanny ability of the Japanese to absorb outside influences -- in this case, from the Iberian peninsula -- and mold them into new constructs that are very much their own.
MAIN DISH SHRIMP TEMPURA WITH A CREAMY CHIPOTLE SAUCE I use a batter recipe from Kuwako Takahashi's The Joy of Japanese Cooking (Tuttle, 2002), an excellent cookbook. To achieve a lacy, light crust that does not absorb too much oil, keep the batter ingredients very cold and mix them lightly. Keep the oil at a constant temperature of 350 to 355 degrees, and fry the shrimp just briefly.
COCINA
On my first trip to Peru many years ago, I was captivated by the country's black olives. Juicy, meaty and flavorful, they were a far cry from the rubbery California black olives of U.S. salad bars and a welcome change from the sharp, briny green Manzanilla olives I grew up eating in Cuba.
SALAD PERUVIAN-STYLE BLACK OLIVE, POTATO AND FRESH CHEESE SALAD (Ensalada de Aceitunas de Botija, Papas y Queso Fresco al Estilo Peruano)
COCINA
Friends of Harold McGee know they can count on him to answer any cooking question at the click of a keyboard. The author of the encyclopedic On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Scribner, 2005) is one of those rare scholars who finds as much satisfaction in sharing his knowledge through personal interaction as through writing.
From Maricel E. Presilla's Cocina SAUCE HAROLD MCGEE'S ONE-STEP HOLLANDAISE SAUCE Classic egg-based sauces are challenging. Hollandaise, for example, calls for precooking the egg yolks in an acidic liquid, which can be tricky because they can curdle easily. Harold McGee offers several alternatives, but nothing beats the ease of this one-step recipe, which calls for cold ingredients added at once to a cold saucepan. ''What you are doing is telling the butter: You are a solid, and I am going to warm...
COCINA
Nursing an aching back over the past two weeks, I have found more consolation in a steamy bowl of chicken soup than in the analgesics my doctor prescribed.
SOUP SPICY CHICKEN SOUP WITH HOT PEPPER, GINGER AND CILANTRO FOR THE INFIRM AND CONVALESCENT (Sopa de Pollo con Ají Picante, Jengibre y Cilantro para Enfermos y Convalescientes)
COCINA
I was grabbing a bite on Saturday at Xixon, a tapas restaurant on Coral Way, when another customer turned toward me and asked, ``Weren't you on television the other day cooking with Martha Stewart?''
SIDE DISH GUATEMALAN RED CABBAGE RELISH I served this with fresh corn polenta and an adobo of slab bacon, hot peppers and brown loaf sugar on the Martha Stewart Show. It would be a lively stand-in for coleslaw at any casual meal.
COCINA
''One of the joys of writing about world foods is to feel you belong to a global community,'' says Anya von Bremzen, a well-traveled, Russian-born food writer who keeps homes in Jackson Heights, N.Y., and Istanbul, Turkey.
SALAD WARM BULGUR SALAD WITH GARLICKY POMEGRANATE DRESSING (Narli Cevizli Sicak Bulgur Salatasi). Turkish food writer Engin Akin created this wholesome salad. The dressing gives a kick to the mellow, nutty bulgur, while fresh pomegranate seeds and tiny cherry tomatoes shine like jewels against the grain and chickpeas. Akin uses fine bulgur (made from pre-cooked durum wheat kernels) that usually cooks with equal parts water. An additional ½ cup water here softens the sun-dried tomatoes...
