The SalviSoul Cookbook
Salvadoran Recipes and the Women Who Preserve Them
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A beautifully photographed cookbook that celebrates the vibrant culture and community of El Salvador through 80 recipes and stories from twenty-five Salvadoran women.
“A heartfelt tribute to heritage, a testament to the power of storytelling, and an invitation to savor the true essence of El Salvador, one delicious recipe at a time.”—Hawa Hassan, James Beard Award–winning author of In Bibi’s Kitchen
ONE OF NPR’S BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR
In search of the recipes and traditions that made her feel at home, food historian and Salvadoran Karla Tatiana Vasquez took to the internet to find the dishes her mom made throughout her childhood. But when she couldn't find any, she decided to take matters into her own hands. What started as a desire to document recipes turned into sharing the joys, histories, and tribulations of the women in her life.
In this collection of eighty recipes, Karla shares her conversations with moms, aunts, grandmothers, and friends to preserve their histories so that they do not go unheard. Here are recipes for Rellenos de Papa from Patricia, who remembers the Los Angeles earthquakes of the 1980s for more reasons than just fear; Flor de Izote con Huevos Revueltos, a favorite of Karla's father; as well as variations on the beloved Salvadoran Pupusa, a thick masa tortilla stuffed with different combinations of pork, cheese, and beans. Though their stories vary, the women have a shared experience of what it was like in El Salvador before the war, and what life was like as Salvadoran women surviving in their new home in the United States.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Food is an anchor and safety net when documentation, distance, and language are challenges," writes debut author Vasquez in this earnest cookbook and foodways study of El Salvador. Conversations with 33 Salvadoran women interspersed with recipes from them and others make this valuable as sociology. Interviewees include Maricela, who sells street food from a stall in Los Angeles, and the author's late grandmother Mamá Lucy, who was known for her cow's hoof soup. Nourishing and satisfying dishes include flatbread-like Salvadoran tortillas and flor de izote (yuca flowers) with eggs. Variations abound: El Salvador's "national dish," pupusas, can be stuffed with three different fillings, and the fruity beverage ensalada is endlessly adaptable. Per the book's title, these are soulful dishes linked to home and family; for example, the recipe for fried cheese-stuffed chayote is from the author's mother. Main courses include rooster simmered in chicha, a fermented drink made with pineapple peels, and crabs in a pumpkin seed sauce. Desserts run along the simple lines of charred whole plantains and eggless bread pudding. The project originated online, and occasionally the writing has the inelegant feel of a social media post, but the recipes are clear—impressively so, considering they hail from a variety of sources—and the context is heartfelt and fascinating. This is a valuable work of cultural preservation.
