Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking: 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, The Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond [Hardcover]

Steven Raichlen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

Latin American food is famous for its vibrant colors and explosive flavors, and Americans have a passion for salsa, tortillas, and tacos. However, we also tend to prepare these foods with large amounts of lard, salt, and deep-fat frying. Steven Raichlen, master of delicious, low-fat Latin cooking, has taken 200 traditional Latin recipes and removed the fat-but not the fun!
Celebrate your own fiesta with the savory spices of Raichlen's more than 200 tempting recipes. From guacamole to Mexican hot chocolate, Raichlen blends his thorough knowledge of Latin America's diverse cuisine with his time-tested skill in healthy cooking.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Steven Raichlen brings the best of his culinary world to Healthy Latin Cooking: he absolutely loves Latin flavors, from Mexico to Argentina, from Cuba to Puerto Rico, and he is dedicated to a healthy diet that's low in fat yet high in flavor. (His High-Flavor, Low-Fat Cooking series is a must, as is his Miami Spice.)

Raichlen doesn't just drop the unwary cook into chapters of recipes that have been altered to reduce fat and salt and all the other nastiness. He begins with all the reasons for doing just that, and the many ways in which the true Latin diet is perfectly suited to a healthy pyramid approach. Nor does he shy away from truth, beauty, and justice, stating categorically that there are some dishes where lard just can't be left out of the flavor profile. He goes on, however, to show the reader how to cut way back on the total amount of lard used while retaining its great flavor.

Chapters are divided by kinds of food--appetizers, soups, salads, beans, and rice--not by place of origin. So it's kind of a Latin adventure to flip through this book, never knowing where you are going to land. There are Little Pots of Red Beans with Sour Cream from Nicaragua (140 calories per serving), Chicken and Vegetable Stew from Colombia (374 calories), Tamales from Mexico and from Cuba (163 versus 120 calories), Seafood Stew from Brazil (345 calories), Stuffed Pot Roast from Puerto Rico (533 calories), and flan from everywhere (423 calories). Steven Raichlen gives the reader a great way to spice up a diet, and a great diet to help life last a long, pleasurable time. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly

In trimming a cuisine notoriously high in fats and cholesterol, James Beard and IACP Award winner Raichlen (Miami Spice) relies on today's popular approaches, increasing the ratio of vegetables and fruits to meat, and creating rich flavors with herbs, spices and chicken and vegetable stock. Nutritional data is provided for each recipe as it's usually prepared and for Raichlen's revision. To lighten his Jalape?o Poppers, Raichlen employs a favorite method he calls bake-frying, whereby food, lightly sprayed with oil, is oven-baked rather than deep-fried (reducing the per-popper fat from 11.3 grams to 1.4). Guacamole contains half the usual fat when lightened with tomatillos. Tostones?plantain slices usually fried twice?are simmered first in chicken stock and then bake-fried. Paella is healthier with reduced oil, skinless chicken breasts and dry-cured country ham instead of pork sausage. Huevos Rancheros are made with egg substitute; Picadillo becomes Turkey Picadillo with ground turkey breast substituting for beef. Grains and vegetables receive their due in dishes like Quinoa Salad and Yuca with Garlic-Lime Sauce. For fans of Latin fare who must cut their fat intake, Raichlen's latest collection offers comfort food. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; 1st edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875964974
• ISBN-13: 978-0875964973
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Latin American
  • #86 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Caribbean & West Indian

More About the Author

Steven Raichlen is America's "master griller" (Esquire). In addition to his bestselling, award-winning Barbecue! Bible cookbooks, articles by him appear regularly in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and other magazines and newspapers. He was host of PBS's popular series Barbecue University at the Greenbrier, now out on DVD. Bon Appetit named him Cooking Teacher of the Year (2003). He lives and grills in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy, Healthy Recipes, May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking: 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond (Paperback)

This book is great! I just started using it a few days ago, but I've already made some great, traditional recipes. The book cuts the fat/calories way down on traditional recipes such as ropa vieja, tres leches, and more. I'm a disaster in the kitchen, but I've been able to make homemade tortilla chips and plantain chips, as well as homemade salsa and a yummy chicken-lime soup. This book has healthy recipes that are easy to follow.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mouth watering pictures, great flavor and reduced fat!, April 27, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking: 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, The Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond (Hardcover)

This is a gorgeous cookbook with pictures that make you want to run into the kitchen and start chopping! The author's annotations on how he has modified the traditional recipes to bring them more in line with modern dietary guidelines are helpful in themselves and can be applied to other recipes. The first recipe I tried was wonderful (Red Snapper Veracruz), can't wait for more. All in all, a very thorough and healthy approach to an exciting cuisine. Thanks Stephen!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely great for healthier versions of latin favorites, October 16, 2007

By 

C Dog (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking: 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond (Paperback)

Of my ever-growing cookbook collection, this, along with Jay Solomon's Great Bowls of Fire, probably gets the most use. The recipes are clearly presented and easy to follow, and many of them (marked in the book with "Pronto!") can be prepared in under 30 minutes. We've made recipes from almost all the chapters, from Halibut Veracruz (wonderful), to "Plantain Spiders" (delicious and fun appetizer), with only a few missteps. (I found the black bean salsa to be a bit bland). The turkey picadillo on baked plantain "surfboards" was innovative and a real treat.