Paladares: Recipes Inspired by the Private Restaurants of Cuba: Recipes from the Private Restaurants, Home Kitchens, and Streets of Cuba

""Title Page""; ""Contents""; ""Introduction""; ""Bocaditos y Aperitivos: Snacks and Appetizers""; ""Sopas: Soups""; ""Vegetales y Viandas: Vegetables and Roots""; ""Arroz, Frijoles, y Tamales: Rice, Beans, and Tamales""; ""Pescados y Mariscos: Fish and Seafood""; ""Pollo, Pato, y Conejo: Chicken, Duck, and Rabbit""; ""Carne: Meat""; ""Dulces: Sweets""; ""Bebidas: Drinks""; ""Index of Searchable Terms""; ""Acknowledgments"";Cuba is experiencing a cultural and culinary renaissance. With a recent influx of investment and tourism flooding the country, paladares (private restaurants) are on the forefront of change. This is the first book to tell the story of Cuban cuisine through the lens of the restaurant owners, chefs, farmers, and patrons, while examining the implications of food shortA-ages, tourism, and international influences of a country experiencing a paradigm shift in cooking. Filled with 150 authentic and modern recipes adapted for the home cook, from classics like Ham and Cheese Empanadas to Pumpkin Flan with Spinach and Saffron, and 350 vivid color photographs, Paladares brings the country's spirited cooking into your own kitchen. A. Cuba is experiencing a cultural and culinary renaissance—and its paladares, the private restaurants, are leading the way. Paladares is a fascinating culinary and visual journey through the new Cuba. Born in Soviet Russia in the era of shortages, award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen brings a unique perspective to the stories that Cuba’s chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food historians share with her. She eavesdrops on passionate arguments about black beans and tamales; pries Daiquirí secrets from legendary El Floridita (Hemingway’s watering hole); guides us to vibrant agros (markets) and visionary organic farms. We learn of Fidel’s obsession with cows, milk, and ice cream. We hear wrenching memories of the Período Especial, the years of terrible privation after Soviet aid vanished. We meet colorful expats who fell for Cuba and ended up opening restaurants—and local hipsters who obsess over global culture gleaned solely from foreign movies and magazines. Fawn Schlow’s evocative photographs frame it all with the ramshackle glamour of old Havana, Cuba’s stunning countryside, dishes that are earthy and innovative, and Cuba’s incredible people. The more than 100 recipes in Paladares are as intriguing as the characters behind them. Traditional Cuban bean pots, saucy picadillo, crunchy fritters, soulful tamales, Roast Chicken Stuffed with Black Beans and Rice—and a Gulf Stream of cocktails—are all featured here. But the recipes also reflect the current aspiration of Cuban cooks to finally catch up with the world through dishes such as Pumpkin Soup with Blue Cheese, Ceviche with Mango and Black-Eyed Peas, or Coffee-Rubbed Pork. Cuba’s culinary culture is being reborn, and Paladares joyously savors this revolution. Discover the fresh flavors of contemporary Cuba in this gorgeously photographed volume of stories and recipes from the country’s enterprising restaurants. Over the past decades, paladares—or private restaurants—have led a cultural and culinary renaissance in Cuba. In P aladares , James Beard Award-winning food writer Anya von Bremzen shares a fascinating journey through the country’s new food scene. Born in Soviet Russia, Bremzen brings a unique perspective to the stories she hears from Cuba’s chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, and food historians. She eavesdrops on passionate arguments about black beans and tamales; pries Daiquirí secrets from the legendary El Floridita (Hemingway’s watering hole); and guides us to vibrant markets and visionary organic farms. Through Bremzen’s travels, we learn of Fidel’s obsession with dairy cows and hear wrenching memories of privation from the time after Soviet aid vanished. We meet colorful expats-turned-restaurateurs and local hipsters who obsess over global culture glimpsed in foreign movies and magazines. The more than 100 recipes in Paladares are as intriguing as the characters behind them. And Fawn Schlow’s evocative photographs frame it all with the ramshackle glamour of old Havana, Cuba’s stunning countryside, dishes that are earthy and innovative, and Cuba’s incredible people. A transportive, authoritative book on the revolution of Cuban cuisine, fusing 200 recipes with 400 vivid colour photographs of the food, people, and private restaurants of the captivating country now opened to the world.