The Latin Table

March 26, 2018
In her second cookbook, Cruz (Isabel’s Cantina) gathers flavorful Latin comfort meals that come together quickly. Simple starters artfully illustrate how just a few well-chosen ingredients can make a difference, resulting in crowd-pleasing fare: crispy plantains with a tomato pico de gallo and chipotle cream, and Shrimp Boil Latina-Style, a riff on the Cajun classic that combines cumin, smoky chiles in adobo sauce, and chorizo. For dessert there are Mexican chocolate tamales and a pineapple cobbler; for weekend brunch cocktails, Cruz suggests hibiscus mimosas. Cruz creatively adds dashes of spice (oven-roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon and chile) and juxtaposes textures (a pepita-crusted sea bass with coconut chili oil), but many of the dishes nod toward the familiar, including ribs with chipotle barbecue sauce, ropa vieja, and Mexican hot chocolate. That said, even readers with shelves of Latin cookbooks will find a few surprises here. The recipes live up to the promise of flavorful, approachable Latin cuisine well within the abilities of even the most novice of cooks.