Customer Reviews

The Cuban Flavor: A Cookbook

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For those of you familiar with Cocina Criolla by Nitza Villapol this is the English translation of that cookbook. The Cuban Flavor doesn't acknowledge that it is a translation of Cocina Criolla, but both books list the exact same recipes and ingredients in the same order. I love this book, my Cuban grandmother has always used Villapol's recipes. This is a great book for those of you who can't read Spanish, but would like to make authentic Cuban dishes.

Makes me miss the years I spent in Miami!
Congri brings back many memories of a really good greasy spoon Cuban restaurant I used to. The Congri was made with black beans and had two croquetas on the side.

The title is misleading since even though there is a lot of typical Cuban recipes, there's a lot of non Cuban dishes that are not even popular in Cuba, maybe there were cooked in some high class Cuban kitchen with French chefs before Castro, but they have not have Cuban flavor after all. Ex:Quick Vichyssoise, Coq au Vin (French), paté fois-gras (this is French as the Eiffel Tower), Lasagna, Gnocchi (Italian), Aragon stew, , Filet Mar del Plata (Argentina), Fish lusitana (Portugal), Codfish Asturiana, Chicken Chow Mei (Chinese), Guacamole sauce (Mexican) Ceasar Salad and Apple pie (American), German potato salad, Hungarian tart, and I am just selecting some examples.
To discover real Cuban food recipes you have to be Cuban, and have lived in Cuba many years seeing your Grandma and your Mom cooking the daily meals, like I have done.

The book lacks a list of all the recipes, so to find one dessert you have to go and look one by one into the dessert chapter, etc.

Final word: For a real Cuban flavor cuisine, look in another book like the one by Nitza Villapol.

Being a first generation US-born Cuban American I remember fondly the days of visiting my grandparents in Miami and partaking of my grandmother's amazing cooking - Ropa Vieja, Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, and the list goes on. When my mother gave me this cookback back in the early 90's it brought back so many of those great memories sitting of on the back porch in Miami and waiting for my abuelita to finish the fried plantains and serve up the black beans and rice.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of Nuevo Latino cooking. If you are looking for that here then I'm afraid you will need to look elsewhere. This book is all about down-home, authentic, Cuban cooking. The recipes are simple to prepare and just the way my abuelita made them (well, of course, hers were just a tad bit better).

I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who is looking to get a taste of old Cuba. Don't let the plain cover fool you. There are no pictures in this book, just a plethora of of amazing recipes and experiences.

Enjoy!!!

This book says it is a Cuban Cookbook. That being said there are recipes in it for Quiche Lorraine,Chop Suey and many other non-Cuban dishes. I don't get it !