A Taste of Cuba - by Linette Creen (Paperback)

About the Book

Cuban food is vibrant, earthy, sensuous food: cool avocado salads, enticingly spiced seafood, tropical rum drinks. In this unique cookbook, nearly 200 recipes celebrate the diverse melange of Cuban, Chinese, Spanish, African, and Portuguese influences that make up the popular cuisine of Cuba. Line drawings.

Book Synopsis

It is said that Cuban food reflects the Cuban spirit--a hearty appetite for the sweetness and richness of life, and a respect for tradition spiced with the spark of adventure. Here are enticing spiced fish and seafood dishes: sweet, creamy flans; savory paella; warm, hearty black beans and rice; and tropical rum drinks. You'll find almost 200 recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, breads, entrees, vegetables, desserts, and drinks that celebrate the colorful cuisine of Cuba, bringing its flavorful, tropical tastes to your table. Cuban cooking honors the melding of Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous Cuban culinary traditions in dishes that have become uniquely Cuban. There are many recipes for authentic Cuban specialties, such as pasteles (spiced meat patties), tostones (fried green plantains), churros (fried dough with sugar), and refreshing batidos (fruit milkshakes), as well as gourmet-style recipes for the contemporary Caribbean dishes found in Cuban restaurants. Included too, is an invaluable guide to finding uniquely Cuban ingredients, such as plantain, yucca, malaga, and calabaza.

A Taste of Cuba is flavorsome testimony to the ever-growing popularity of Cuban cuisine!

Review Quotes

"Detailed and precise... traditional ingredients are given an imaginative twist."--Sun Sentinel

"A full range of recipes, from sweet and zippy appetizers and party foods to various Cuban coffees and rum drinks, along with background notes and a guide to such ingredients as malanga, green and ripe coconut, green and ripe plantains, side pork, and yucca... Overall, the food is distinctive, hearty, and uncomplicated."--Kirkus

"Creen's welcome contribution includes both traditional dishes such as Ropa Vieja and innovative Cuban-American creations such as Conch Fritters with Cilantro Dipping Sauce... unique."--Library Journal

About the Author

Linette Creen is the author of The Jewel Lake Seafood Market Cook Book and A Taste of Cuba, among others. When Creen, now the mother of three and a resident of Greenwich, CT, was just 18 years old, she opened a seafood store in Alaska.

Felipe Rojas-Lombardi was a Peruvian-born chef who helped bring a Spanish and Caribbean influence into America's haute cuisine repertory. He died in 1991.