Cookbook of the Week: Healthy Latin Eating
Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: Healthy Latin Eating: Our Favorite Family Recipes Remixed (Kyle Books, 2014)
The Team: Angie Martinez, radio personality (she’s called The Voice of New York), Grammy-nominated rapper, Extra TV correspondent, and, she writes, “third-generation Latina with roots in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.” Top Chef alum and chef-owner of New York City’s two Añejo restaurants, Angelo Sosa. Nutritionist Shirley Fan, MS, RD, who “kept an eye on the sugar,” according to Martinez. Photographer Christina Holmes.
Noteworthy: “Latinos are 1.2 times more likely to be obese and 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Latinos,” writes Martinez in the introduction. This book is a place for her to share her tried-and-true tips for making her beloved Latin food a little healthier. “Initially, I just wanted to put out a pamphlet to the community,” she told us. “But then I started becoming more passionate. There was a space for this and a need for it.”
The Cuisine: Latin American food, which can encompass many cuisines, such as Peruvian, Mexican, and Cuban, but with a healthy twist. That means cleaner cooking techniques (baking not frying, for example), whole grains, and lots of vegetables.
Who Should Buy It: Anyone who loves to cook and eat Latin American food.
Who Shouldn’t: Those who want their Latin American food sizzled in pork fat. Sosa shares tips for giving food flavor without frying it—herbs, garlic, cumin, olives—and for those things that simply must be cooked in oil, he suggests vegetable-based ones.
Must-Make Recipes: Cucumber and Serrano Chile Salad, Turkey Picadillo, Quinoa Con Pollo, Carrot Mole with Toasted Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette, and actor John Leguizamo’s contribution: his mother’s Arroz Atollado with pork ribs.
Bonus point: This writer made Martinez’s Quinoa Con Pollo for her 94-year-old grandmother last weekend. Said grandmother had never eaten quinoa before, and doesn’t eat much these days in general. She asked for seconds.
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