At Santander avenue, we are dropped off and taken to the Bastion of Santa Catalina. For the next hour or so people dance, sing, and drink under the stars. Partygoers from other chivas join in. The music brings everyone together.
Victoriano Lopez: The New Yorker
InterviewCommentGastón Acurio has won the world over to the wonders of Peruvian cuisine by opening a string of top-notch restaurants. Last year it was New York City’s turn, with La Mar Cebicheria Peruana. At the helm as Executive Chef: Victoriano Lopez, a man whose name nearly spells victory. He overcame tremendous odds in his own career and now stands ready to take on one of the most discerning cities for new restaurants on the planet!
Denisse Oller on Latin American Cuisine
InterviewCommentAdela La Adorada: Casa Adela
ArticleCommentThe Subtle Language of Caribbean Identity at El Museo del Barrio
ArticleComment"Caribbean: Crossroads of the World,” the result of years of painstaking work by curator Elvis Fuentes at the head of a team in three different museums in New York. The exhibit defies the assumptions of the visitor by showing unexpected connections, material, ideological, artistic, between the Caribbean and New York.
The Secret Ingredients of Chef Miguel Trinidad
ArticleCommentCalling Home
ArticleCommentRabo Encendido — Burning Oxtail
RecipeComment
2 oxtails, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons pureed garlic
1 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Oregano to taste
1 red onion, cut in large slices
1 green bell pepper, cut in large slices
1 red pepper, cut in large slices
Bunch of cilantro
Aged Dominican rum
Before cutting the oxtails, wash under cold water and pat dry. Mix the seasonings and rub on meat. Let meat stand for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. Cook the oxtails in a large pot at medium heat for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes until tender. Add the rum to the pot little by little. If you notice it starts to evaporate, add a cup of water and cover until the meat is fully cooked and tender. Just before the meat is cooked, add the onion, peppers, and cilantro. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add another splash of rum and it’s ready to eat!
Photos by Pako Dominguez.
View article: Calling Home
Sirena en Nueva York
ArtComment
Havana Salsa
ArticleCommentUpon arrival in Cuba, the Virgen de Regla’s legend grew even more extraordinary. She became part of the Santería pantheon and merged with the powerful African deity Yemayá, the mother of all life. Yemayá counted Dulce among her more devoted daughters and as such Dulce kept a small shrine for her in our kitchen.
Biennial Conga in Havana
ArticleCommentLas Hermanas Iglesias
InterviewCommentSometimes one of us makes the first stage of a work and the other finishes it, and other times we create something entirely together from start to finish. Our manner of communication influences which method(s) we use, depending on if we’re working in the studio together or if we’re collaborating over skype, email, phone or post.
Father & Wine
Story1 CommentWhat makes the Priorat one of the most appreciated wines? The answer is best given by the enologists of the region. It seems to be a concurrence of alchemical circumstances: First of all, the warm and dry Mediterranean weather fluctuates almost twenty degrees, contributing to the grape’s optimal ripening.
Bacalao, Klippfisk
ArtComment
Risotto de Coco — Coconut Risotto
RecipeComment
Serves 6
1 1/2 cup arborio style white rice
1 cup grated coconut
1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 jalapeño pepper
1 medium size onion
3 cloves of garlic
Salt
Pepper
A big splash of white wine
I’ll start off by saying that the way I cook this risotto is by using the same exact methods my Italian grandmother taught me for making regular risotto. So if you already know how to make risotto, you’re all set. In a large cast iron skillet or thick copper pan or whatever you’ve got that won’t burn rice easily! Can be deep or medium deep, but not a small rice cooker. Sautee diced onions and garlic in either coconut, corn, safflower or canola oil for about three minutes or slightly brown. Then add all types of diced peppers (I like dicing long strands) for about 5 - 10 minutes at a medium flame. Raise the flame and add white wine. Mix in salt, pepper, when wine begins to simmer. In a separate bowl, mix the dry grated coconut with the rice and then add to skillet on stove. Constantly mix the rice and allow it to absorb the flavors of wine, peppers etc. Let the rice get slightly toasty, but never brown. Add half a cup of water and keep stirring. (This is a good moment to add bouillon, orange or ginger zest.) Gradually add more water, little by little, and mix until the water evaporates every time. Repeat. When the rice is still al dente but close to being done, add the full can of coconut milk for a creamy finish. Let it get nice and creamy by stirring with a wooden spoon and then serve!
Photos by Juan Ayora.
View article: Trina Bardusco, Habla!
Trina Bardusco, Habla!
ArticleCommentThis recipe takes us to Venice (Italy), California and even Caracas, finally ending up on New York’s Lower East Side. Our destination is where our host, Trina Bardusco, will open her home to us and tell us the story of her “Coconut Risotto”—an homage to her grandmother, Caterina, who taught her how to cook Italian food that Trina later “tropicalized” into her own style.
The First Pisco Bar In New York
ArticleCommentAmaru means snake in Quechua and is a word that is very much in the Peruvian imaginary because of Tupac Amaru II, the leader of the greatest indigenous uprising against the Spanish crown in 1780. His name means fire serpent and has been adopted as an icon for various political and artistic causes in Peru.
Jonathan Barbieri Surrenders his Soul
Article1 CommentJulian Medina: Made in Mexico
Interview1 CommentJulian Medina is the owner of four successful restaurants in the Big Apple: Toloache, Yerba Buena, Yerba Buena Perry and Coppelia. A Mexican talent brought over for his gifts in the kitchen, and an accomplished businessman, Julian Medina, a husband and a father—who is also in love with Latin American food—tells us his secret recipe for success.
The Domino Effect: Holbox, Mexico
ArticleCommentWhen we reached Holbox, we got into a golf cart, the only means of transportation on the island besides horseback riding. We drove around town on white sandy streets, passing charming and rustic bright-colored houses with palm leaf roofs, crossing paths with local fisherman walking barefoot and carrying their fishing gears, until we got to our destination and met our tour operator, Roddrigo, who calls himself “The Whale Shark Daddy.”