Secrets of Colombian Cooking

by Patricia McCausland-Gallo

Secrets of Colombian Cooking provides a window into the diverse cuisine of this little-known South American nation. Author Patricia McCausland-Gallo, a native Colombian, traveled throughout the many regions of Colombia to gather the most authentic dishes. With a wide range of recipes and a glossary of typical ingredients, this book acquaints cooks with the array of foods that make up Colombian cuisine, including sweet and hot peppers, plantains, tamarind, gooseberries, papayas, guavas, and tree tomatoes. From the coffee and cacao grown high in the Andes Mountains to the many tropical fruits of the Caribbean and Amazonian regions, the great cattle farms on the plains, and bountiful seafood from the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Colombia is a country of vast and exotic culinary creations. Secrets of Colombian Cooking presents the wide spectrum of Colombian cuisine to home cooks in more than 175 inviting recipes from simple, hearty sancochos (soups and stews prepared differently in every region) to more exotic fare such as Langosta al Coco (Lobster in Coconut Sauce) and Ají de Uchuvas (Yellow Gooseberry Sauce). Complete with b/w photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

251 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jennifer Canaveral · Rating 5 out of 5]

I married a Colombian man and wanted to learn how to cook the food he grew up with so I bought this wonderful book! My mother-in-law was from Bogota and she loved the recipes in this book. The sancocho with chicken is out of this world and I loved the bunuelo recipe with a cup of coffee.

From what my in-laws have seen, this book has some of the most authentic Colombian dishes and provides plenty of background on each recipe. The author provides information on the regions of Colombia and where some of the dishes in this book are most popular. Perfect book to start cooking Colombian cuisine or to bring back the flavors you miss!

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book on Colombian cuisine I've been able to find. The recipes are relatively simple and seem to be authentic. All my favorites, from pandebono to arepas con huevo to ajiaco, are included. A little bit of explantion about the foods from different regions is included at the beginning of each chapter.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authentic but maybe too authentic. LOL It has the recipes of how you make stuff from scratch, really scratch. Like it could tell you that you can purchase precooked ground cornmeal like Pan or Masarina to make arepas, but it doesn't. It tells you how to get corn and make the cornmeal from actual corn kernels. But the recipes I tried were good and it's sn excellent resource.