Volume 1, Issue 3
“Cooking Ex-Libris” is a CasaFestiva.com series exploring new recipes from my own cookbooks. Enjoy!
By Katy Budge
Full disclosure. The cookbook I’ve chosen for this month’s “Cooking Ex-Libris” is not one of my well-worn, dog-eared, sauce-splashed tomes.
That’s only because We Are La Cocina: Recipes in Pursuit of the American Dream was just published by Chronicle Books in 2019, and didn’t hit my shelves until late last year, when I bought it as an early holiday present to myself. It was not only a way to help support La Cocina – San Francisco’s inspiring culinary incubator organization, but also a way to bring some brightness into the oppressive year that was 2020.
This vibrant cookbook certainly delivered the latter. As its subtitle suggests, it reads like a tapestry of the American experience, particularly immigrants and particularly women. It tells a myriad of stories — leaving behind family in Mexico until earning enough to send for them, getting away from an abusive husband and learning to support themselves, resurrecting the flavors of their cultures to serve to new audiences.
We Are La Cocina is also worth thumbing through just for the photography. Of course the dishes are beautifully styled, the portraits lovingly composed, and the group shots make you want to pull up a chair. But my favorites are the ones with the hands – the hands making pupusas, forming momos (Nepalese dumplings), and assembling an espresso chocolate ganache cake.
What is La Cocina?
Located in San Francisco’s Mission District, La Cocina (Spanish for “the kitchen”) operates as a non-profit dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs establish themselves in the food industry. As its website notes, “Since 2005, La Cocina has focused, exclusively, on the project of small business incubation, with a vision to increase inclusivity in the food industry and offer equitable opportunity for living-wage work and asset generation.”
Its emphasis is on assisting those typically underfunded and overlooked, whose only assets might be a palate full of memories and a willingness to work hard, then harder. The organization provides physical commercial kitchen space, plus the intangible education of how to run a business and the knowledge that others are going through the same challenges.
Among the many La Cocina success stories are those who went from selling food out of their homes, or hawking on the street, or making ends meet with informal popups. Some went on to open their own restaurants, some sell at farmers’ markets, some established their own food product companies. Arguably, all gained some degree of self-confidence, communal support, and a serving of the American Dream.
The Recipe
Given the 80 recipes in We Are La Cocina, it was a tough choice where to begin for my “Cooking Ex-Libris” project. I’m not good at dough and baking, so I winnowed out (for now) some things like the cream biscuits from Dionne Knox at Zella’s Soulful Kitchen, and I didn’t feel confident (for now) taking on the six-month fermented miso recipe from Mariko Grady of Aedan Fermented Foods. Looking for something a tad out of my comfort range, I opted not to go for the Guanajuatan pozole from Guadalupe Guerrero’s El Pipila, or the from-scratch jerk chicken from Shani Jones at Peaches Patties, her Jamaican catering company.
I found myself gravitating towards for Mafè, a peanut stew from Nafy Flatley at Teranga, a company specializing in the foods of Africa, specifically Senegal. Flatley notes that “This (dish) is said to have originated in Senegal, but many say it’s actually from the Bambara tribe of Mali.” Given that I’d never cooked something from either of those countries, off I went with the Mafè (which I’ve also seen spelled Maafe).
This is definitely a recipe I’d make again, especially since the sauce would easily lend itself to different ingredients. As is, this is a really good vegetarian/vegan dish, but you could also go the other direction and include a protein such as boneless chicken thighs.
The process of layering flavors reminded me of several cuisines, especially Indian and Latin American food. One thing that intrigued me was the method of leaving the habañero whole and removing it before the final simmer. For fear of creating an incendiary and inedible dish, I didn’t stir very vigorously until it was removed! At any rate, the pepper gave the dish just the right amount of zing, nd the tamarind paste gave it good acidity. The fish sauce and tomato paste lent some umami, as did my choice of using chicken stock.
I didn’t go for any of the last three optional ingredients, though now I’m intrigued by baobab. As Flatley’s Teranga website notes, “It has more Vitamin C than oranges, more magnesium than kale, more potassium than bananas, more calcium than milk and is high in soluble fiber.” Plus, “baobab” is very fun to say!
I’ll certainly circle back to many of the recipes in this cookbook, and maybe even get around to that miso. In any case, I’m betting by this time next year, my copy of We Are La Cocina will indeed be well-worn, dog-eared, and sauce-splashed.