Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers Read Online Free PDF Page A

will look clean, be split and spread open, and stacked in easy-to-use bundles. These bundled husks are often a larger size that helps greatly in making tamales . . . so if you encounter a bunch on your next shopping trip, stock up! Kept in a dry and cool place, tightly wrapped corn husks will keep indefinitely. Just make sure they don’t get wet (or they can go moldy), and tamales can be yours today, tomorrow, or next year.
     

LATIN PRODUCE
     
    This list includes essential vegetables and fruits that you can find in most any grocery stores (tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers, for instance) and specialty items that require a trip to the Latin market or a supermarket that services a Latin community.
     
    Fresh Latin chile peppers can vary greatly by region, especially in North America. Jalapeño and serrano are safe bets and have become almost commonplace in most supermarkets. Those living in the American West and Southwest will probably be the lucky ducks and have some of the best selection of fresh chiles outside of Central and South America, so make me proud and try every kind of chile you chance upon. Fiery habaneros are popping up in supermarkets with greater frequency, and the mild and deliciously stuffable poblano and Anaheim appear increasingly at farmers’ markets and sometimes Whole Foods.
     
    Probably the most familiar to Norte Americans, Mexican chiles such as the jalapeño and the serrano have been workhorses in the quest to take over gringo palates. Anaheim chiles are the large bright green chiles with a mild kick that you’ll often find in lots of Mexican-style dishes in restaurants and are great for grilling and stuffing. Poblanos are the blocky, large dark green (or bright red when ripe) chiles that usually star in chiles rellenos, but are great also roasted, sliced, and added to stews, soups, tamales, casseroles, and anything Mexican. Habaneros are now famous (and rightly so) for their fabulously high Scoville rating (Scovilles measure peppers’ heat, with bell peppers at zero and habaneros at 100,000 escovilles !) but also for the tropical fruity flavor they impart to foods.
     
    Cilantro was once unknown outside of Latin and Asian cuisines, but now can be found almost everywhere. If you don’t like cilantro’s aromatic and slightly “soapy” taste, you may substitute flat-leaf parsley for color, but the flavor will not be the same. Don’t bother with dried cilantro; it’s tasteless and therefore useless. Save your money and buy an extra bottle of good Greek oregano, Mexican oregano, or extra ground cumin!
     
    Flat-leaf (Italian) parsley is used in parts of South America, especially where the cuisine has strong European or Italian influences. It’s essential for chimichurri sauce and is also a visual substitute for cilantro, when serving dishes to people who don’t like cilantro.
     
    Plantains look like large green monster bananas but are far more versatile, ranging from starchy to sweet, for a wide range of texture and flavor. Buy green plantains if that’s what your recipe calls for, or if you don’t need ripe plantains for at least 3 days. Unlike the familiar banana, it may take up to a week or more for a green plantain to get truly ripe. Plantains can be found usually stocked with Latin American produce, often in big bins. If you’re lucky, your grocery may have separate bins of both green and ripe plantains.
     
    Yuca (also known as cassava or manioc ) is a large, starchy tropical tuber eaten in many parts of the world and an important food source in many areas of tropical Latin America. It looks like a long, thick yam with white flesh and dark brown, barklike skin, often covered with wax to keep in moisture. Yuca has an ultrastarchy consistency with a somewhat creamy texture. The flesh has lots of fiber and its nutty, light sweetness is well suited for frying, mashing, or just boiling. Yuca must always be boiled before a second cooking, such as frying. Look for it in supermarkets