Nancy Zaslavsky is a James Beard Award winning writer that loves Mexican food and shares her passion for and knowledge of authentic, regional techniques and flavors from across the country in Meatless Mexican Home Cooking. Every dish is vegetarian and many have been collected directly from home cooks, not just adapted from meat-based recipes.
Like any book that is intended to give an overview of a whole cuisine, this one starts with a thorough introduction to chilies before getting on to the recipes. And even once you get to the recipe section, it starts with the simple techniques for tortilla-making before jumping into slightly more complex, although not difficult, dishes. The recipes are arranged in chapters that include sauces, tamales, soups, main dishes, egg dishes, desserts and drinks. For the convenience of anyone unfamiliar with the cuisine (or with Spanish) each recipe comes with a translation of the name, so Rajas con Crema also lists "roasted chilies with onions and cream" for clarity. Other dishes include Salsa Chile Habanero ("neon-orange liquid fire salsa"), Tamales Dulces ("sweet tamales"), Huevos Mexicanos ("scrambled eggs with fabulous flavors") and Chocolate-Chile Mole Brownies.
Chocolate-stuffed bananas on the grill
Tyler Florence welcomes new daughter
Beware kids' menus!
