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The Latin Explosion |
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| From Miami and the Florida Keys to middle America, all things Latin are making their presence known. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the menus of America's restaurants. Latin cooking is creating excitement with a plethora of new tastes, colors and flavors. Once consigned to fine dining establishments like the Nuevo Latino restaurant, "Patria" in New York, we now can experience Latin in virtually every city in the country, in small cafes and on the menus of national chains. Chef Allen Susser of Chef Allen's in south Florida says, "Latin Cuisine has made a marked difference in the cuisine in South Florida. The culture has changed the way we live, eat and cook."
We have embraced Latin cooking with open arms. Our sleeping palettes eagerly awaiting the next morsel, bursting with flavor, hunger for more. Allen Susser says "there is great flexibility in the application of Latin. Ceviches, Sofritto, Escabiche and Mojo are several cooking techniques that can easily be applied to other menu concepts." The foods of Latin America are closer to home than any of the other emerging cuisines on the horizon. We have been eating Mexican food for years, and the crossover to other Latin cuisines is an easy transition. The foods are the ones we love and have grown up with, albeit done with a twist. We are a country of meat eaters and there are plenty of flavorful options for beef, pork and chicken. Tropical fruits, rice and beans and fresh fish prepared in unique ways sweeps us back to our last Island vacation.
Anito Lo of Restaurant Annisa states, "Latin flavors and ingredients will continue to seep into contemporary American menus across the country with increasing frequency." A restaurant's perpetual search for new appetizer sales need look no further than Latin offerings. Hand held empanadas and Taquitos, seafood appetizers like cevichi, or griddle corncakes can all be accented with the addition of Mojo. "Comida Latina, La Buena Vida" |
Latin cooking comprises a conglomeration of many differing countries, cultures, cooking styles and ingredients. One thing they all have in common is a preponderance of flavor enhancing accompaniments. A Brazilian steak with the herb based chimi churi, fresh fish topped with sour orange mojo (pronounced mo ho, for you Bostonians) are popular examples. Even the over used and tired salsa has taken on new dimension with the additions of different types of citrus and seasonings not usually found in Mexican salsas. In fact, the regionalization of Mexican cuisine pioneered by Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill in Chicago, has shown us real Mexican cooking is closer to its Caribbean and southern neighbors than originally thought.
By simply adding an accompaniment like sour orange mojo as a topping or dipping sauce to grilled fish or chicken can take an otherwise dull item into a new arena. Mojos, and there are many forms, are the next craze in our pursuit of flavorful and colorful food. A sour orange mojo is made from the juice of a Seville or sour orange, olive oil, herbs and red onions. Note no hot peppers! The tropical fruitiness of this mojo makes it perfect for all types of protein and seafood.