New cookbook explores the cuisine of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula
Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has the draw of turquoise seas, white-sand beaches, azure cenotes and the mysterious Maya. The region’s cuisine is just as delectable, as foodies will be discovering in ever increasing numbers this year.
Some 52 million visitors are expected to visit the region this year according to the Mexican tourism agency, and the Global Heritage Network has named 2012 the Year of the Maya, This might have something to do with the much anticipated end of the 13th Maya Calendar set to take place on December 21, 2012. While some hype it as an apocalypse, folks in the Yucatán see it as a time of renewal and worthy of celebration.
Just in time for the year-long celebration is the new cookbook Sabores Yucatecos: A Culinary Tour of the Yucatán (WPR Books: Comida, 2012), which explores the foods of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
“This cookbook boasts more than 140 recipes with easy-to-follow instructions and more than 120 mouthwatering photographs,” says co-author Katharine A. Díaz. “The cookbook is also jam-packed with information about the region, its culture and the stories behind its foods.
“In fact, this is the first cookbook in English on Yucatecan cuisine by a chef from the Yucatán,” adds Díaz.
That chef is Gilberto Cetina, the award-winning chef/owner of Chichén Itzá Restaurant in Los Angeles, whose cooking has been hailed by food critics in such publications as GQ, Travel and Leisure and Hispanic magazines, as well as by foodies and other restaurateurs.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer from the L.A. Weekly, Jonathan Gold, has raved about the food at Chichén Restaurant more than once, and has written that the foods of the Yucatán “make up one of Mexico’s most thrilling cuisines.”
“I am very proud to present this cookbook that delivers the tastes of my homeland—theYucatán,” says Chef Cetina. “We have captured the essence of a cuisine with an allure that matches the mystique of the ancient Maya with Spanish, Middle Eastern and Dutch influences mixed in.
“Readers will learn about such classic ingredients as lima agria, achiote, recados and chile habanero,” notes Chef Cetina. “They will learn to make everything from delectable appetizers like panuchos and kibis, to Yucatán’s signature dish, cochinita pibil, and my personal favorite, puchero de tres carnes.” The cookbook also features recipes for the region’s banana-leaf-wrap-ped tamales and a wide selection of refreshing tropical drinks and delicious desserts.
Chef Cetina, who was born in the Yucatán, began cooking as a young boy at his mother’s knees as she prepared breakfasts, lunches and dinners for loggers in the timber town of Colonia Yucatán. After a brief detour working as a civil engineer, Cetina opened his restaurant, Chichén Itzá Restaurant, in 2001. It regularly tops the lists of the best Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles.
Katharine A. Díaz is the former managing editor and food editor/critic for Hispanic magazine and has written widely about Latino cuisine and culture for a number of publications. She has faithfullly interpreted Cetina’s delicacies step-by-step in Sabores Yucatecos: A Culinary Tour of the Yucatá. Díaz notes that Gilberto Cetina, Jr., also contributed to the cookbook, lending his skills to recipe development and food styling.
