Central American

In Peru, Quinoa is one of the most nutritious grains cultivated by our ancestors, which we are once again sharing with the world.

"Batido." This pretty little word is well known all over Latin America and to many in South Florida as well. A sweet and frothy fruit milkshake, it's as varied as the currently available fruits in season. Guanabana, mamey, atemoya, coconut, cherimoya, banana, tamarind and many others—all contributing their gorgeous colors and enticing fragrances! Put the pulp of any tropical fruit or fruits in an electric blender with a little ice, a splash of milk and hit the blend button. Moments later, in a frosty glass, a delicious, healthy, delectable fruit smoothy is waiting for you. The buttermilk is my own addition. If you like the tangyness of sour cream ice cream or crème fraîche you will like this as well. If not, you can omit the buttermilk and go the standard batido route. It's all good.

My first encounter with this dish was in a Nicaraguan steak house in Miami. The citrus-marinated steak with its beautiful green sauce just blew me away. Making the Chimichurri Sauce—a Latin version of pesto—takes no time, so you could easily fit this into your after-work grilling repertoire.

The New World version of the preceding recipe, this includes Spain’s capers (which, ironically, the Spanish version usually does not) and a bit more seasoning. Once again, you can use other meat in place of oxtails and can make this in advance, then refrigerate and skim the fat. This would be great with Coconut Rice (page 516) or any rice and bean dish, and Platanos Maduros (page 472). Other cuts of meat you can use here: short ribs, lamb shanks, chunks of boneless lamb or pork shoulder (which will be much faster) or beef chuck or brisket (which will be somewhat faster), bone-in chicken thighs (much quicker).

The familiar version, served in Latin American restaurants everywhere. Leave the beans soupy if you plan to serve them over rice. Allow plenty of time, because black beans can take a while, and they’re best served quite soft. But by all means prepare them in advance if you can and reheat before serving. Epazote is a typical addition to black beans in Mexico, and it contributes a distinctive flavor, but the beans are just fine without it. Other legumes you can prepare this way: red beans, white beans.

If you think nothing beats grilled fresh corn in the summer, think again: street vendors in Mexico, Chile, Peru, and other Central and South American countries figured out how to make a great thing even better, adding a little lime juice and chile powder to what is already a near-perfect food. The tart lime juice is incredibly refreshing, and a little smoky heat from the chiles brings out the crisp sweetness of the corn. For a more indulgent version, see the variation.

Like the preceding dish, this one is wickedly strong tasting, not fiery-hot but potent with garlic, onions (which are salted to “kill” their harshness), and lime. Not for the faint of heart, but many people (including me) love it. You can use any firm-fleshed white fish: halibut, swordfish, striped bass, red snapper, and so on. Ideally, you’d serve this with Mexican Radish Salad (page 172), along with some beautiful tomatoes. Rice and beans would also be good.

A street snack of Central America and the Caribbean, empanadas can really be filled with anything you have on hand. This recipe and its variations offer several of the traditional fillings. Masa harina can be found at most supermarkets and Latin grocery stores. It adds a nice crunch to the dough, but regular flour works well, too.

Loaded with onions and peppers and cheese, these substantial quesadillas have a lot of personality—and make great use of leftover Jalapeño-roast Pork (p. 269). Serve them with margaritas for an instant party, or simply add a green salad with orange segments and red onions for an easy week-night meal. The Ancho-Mango sauce keeps well for several days, and it will perk up any number of sandwiches.

The summer before I started cooking professionally, a friend and I spent three months on a sailboat in the Bahamas. Hey, it was tougher than it sounds! Every day we had to catch our dinner with spears, no less. If we didn’t get a fish or lobster, one thing we could always count on was finding conch. They were and are delicious, but man, are they labor-intensive, as it’s hard to extract the meat from their shells. These fritters, which are easy enough to stir together on a sailboat and are served all over the Bahamas, are so delicious that we didn’t (and you won’t) much mind the work, especially as your conch meat will already be extracted from the shell. Serve them with ice-cold beer, plenty of hot sauce (or my Cat Island Cocktail Sauce), and a creamy Lime Mayonnaise (p. 181) that will help cool the fire. And don’t be surprised if they inspire you to slip into a swimsuit and snorkel mask.

Of all the recipes in the cookbook I cowrote with Boston chef Andy Husbands, The Fearless Chef, the one for slow-roasted pork is the one I’m asked for the most. A new round of requests came after my friend Josh and I made it for my own birthday party a few years ago in Washington. We served it simply, with salsa, sour cream, and tortillas on the side, but trust me, this meat can go into all sorts of recipes, such as in Cochinita Pibil Tacos (page 95), Faux-lognese with Pappardelle (page 140), and Pulled Pork Sandwich with Green Mango Slaw (page 121). I’ve simplified this recipe a little from Andy’s original version, cutting out a 24-hour marinating step, replacing the traditional banana leaves with good old aluminum foil, and using one of my favorite smoke stand-ins, Spanish pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika), instead of oregano. The pork is spicy and deeply flavored and colored, thanks in no small part to the large quantity of annatto seeds (also called achiote) that goes into the paste. These little brick-colored pebbles are worth seeking out at good Latin markets or online through such sources as Penzeys.com.

I think of black beans in Mexican cuisine as an almost upscale replacement for pinto beans, but in actual fact, they have been part of the meso-American culinary repertoire for thousands of years. This is a simple, flavorful, nutritious one-pot meal.

(Chayotes Fritos) A hard, green, mild squash, the chayote is another wonderful plant native to Mexico. The beauty of the chayote is that it takes on the flavor of whatever seasoning it's cooked in. Serve on the side of your favorite meat.

From piña coladas to rum and coconut water, the fruit of the coco palm seems a natural pairing with the elixir of the cane reed. Here is a different twist on the rum and coconut theme—one that can be made in a larger quantity and kept on the sideboard or the bar until ready to serve. It only gets better.

Traditionally served as a coffee cake in El Salvador, "quesadilla" cake isn’t made with tortillas but has a pound-cake-like denseness. The unusual addition of parmesan cheese gives the sweet cake its rich depth.

Meaty yet melt-in-the-mouth and with slightly caramelized edges, butternut-reminiscent calabaza comes alive with a squeeze of lime.

Encurtido de repollo In addition to mounding this refreshing slaw on every bite of the Salvadoran Stuffed Masa Cakes , you can proudly serve it as an accompaniment to burgers or grilled chicken.

In El Salvador, these satisfying little corn snacks are made with quesillo, but many Salvadorans in the United States substitute mozzarella, as we've done here. Cheese on its own is a popular pupusa filling, but we particularly like this hearty revuelta (mixture) that includes red beans and salty, crisp-fried pork rind.

In Mexico, a quesadilla is more like what we think of as a grilled cheese sandwich, but with tortillas instead of bread. In Guatemala, these sweet little cheese things are like buttery cupcakes, and they are baked as special-occasion treats for children who've had a good report card or lost a tooth.

Chojín Alma Guillermoprieto of Cambridge, Massachusetts, writes: "My guatemalan grandmother made a salad she called chojín. I remember the taste vividly, but when I went to Guatemala, no one knew the dish. This is my attempt to re-create it." While the ingredients in this recipe are extremely simple, the result is an eye-opening explosion of flavors.

Sweet Plantains with Buttered Rum and Coconut Sauce

Poblano chilies (fresh green chilies), tomatillos (green tomato-like fruits), dried corn husks, and Masa Harina are found at many supermarkets and Latin American markets.