Latin Grill: Sultry and Simple Food for Red-Hot Dinners and Parties

Latin Grill

Sultry and Simple Food for Red-Hot Dinners and Parties

by Rafael Palomino With Arlen Gargagliano

Photographs by Dan Goldberg

DEDICATED TO ALL WHO SHARE OUR LOVE OF FOOD, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my terrific writer, Arlen Gargagliano; my agent, Jane Dystel; my editor, Bill LeBlond, along with Sarah Billingsley; Doug Ogan, Anne Donnard, Ben Kasman, Peter Perez, and the staff at Chronicle Books; my Chronicle publicity manager, David Hawk; and my staff at Sonora, Pacífico, and Greenwich Tavern.

—Rafael Palomino

Table of Contents

HOLA (HELLO)

THE BIG DECISION: WHICH GRILL?

TOOLS FOR GRILLING EN CASA (AT HOME)

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

CHAPTER 1:

CEVICHES, TORTILLAS & AREPAS

Ceviches

Sea Scallops, Yellow Tomatoes, and Grilled Asparagus Ceviche

Striped Bass and Grilled Mushroom Ceviche

Yellowfin Tuna and Mango Vodka Ceviche

Yellowfin Tuna, Avocado, and Grilled Tomatillo Ceviche

Tuna Toro Tiradito with Ginger and Soy Sauce

Tortillas & Arepas

Grilled Flour Tortillas with Goat Cheese, Peruvian Olives, and Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers

Tortillas with Palomino’s Guacamole

Crisp Tortilla Topped with Prosciutto and Shaved Manchego Cheese

Grilled Arepas with Farmer’s Cheese (or Queso Blanco)

Grilled Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich with Avocado and Chipotle Tartar Sauce

CHAPTER 2:

SALADS & SIDES

Salads

Hombre Pobre (Poor Man’s Salad)

Grilled Caesar Salad

Grilled Calamari, Tomato, Cucumber, and Arugula Salad with Feta Cheese

Grilled Shrimp with Watercress and Sweet Corn Vinaigrette

Grilled Sea Scallops with Avocado and Apple Salad

Pan-Seared Duck Breast and Pear Arugula Gorgonzola Salad

Grilled Lamb with Gorgonzola and Goat Cheese and Frisée Lettuce

Sides

Grilled Asparagus Spears with Wisconsin Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Grilled Asparagus, Shiitake Mushroom, and Roasted Pepper Escabéche

Yellow Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled Wild Mushrooms and Parmesan Cheese

Trio Roasted Peppers in a Basil, Garlic, Olive Tapenade on Bruschetta Toasts

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms Brushed with Mint Pesto

Grilled Sweet Plantains, Abuelita Style

Tostones, Ahogado Style

Boiled Yuca with Cilantro Garlic Mojo

Grilled Pineapple Coconut Rice

Grilled Maine Lobster Skewers with a Mango-Basil Relish

CHAPTER 3:

MEAT & POULTY

Meat

Grilled Chorizo (Colombian Sausage) with Ají Rojo

Grilled Pork Chops with Passion Fruit–Jalapeño Barbecue Sauce

Grilled Lamb Chops with a Pomegranate-Citrus Glaze

Grilled Lamb Chops with a Niçoise Chimichurri Sauce

Grilled Lamb Chops with Sun-dried Tomato Chimichurri

Grilled Sirloin with Chipotle-Mango Barbecue Sauce

Grilled Skirt Steak with Basil-Garlic Olive Oil

Grilled Skirt Steak with Rosemary and Thyme Chimichurri Sauce

Grilled Palomino Burger with Manchego Cheese and Avocado

Poultry

Arroz con Pollo, Palomino Style

Grilled Chicken and White Cheese Romaine Lettuce Chipotle Tacos

Grilled Chicken Mini Brochettes with Avocado and a Mango-Honey-Mustard Glaze

Roasted Muscovy Duck in a Honey-Black Pepper-Pineapple Glaze

CHAPTER 4:

SHELLFISH & SEAFOOD

Shellfish

Grilled East Coast Oysters with Corn Jalapeño Salsita

Grilled Sea Scallops with a Cumin and Garlic Rub

Grilled Jumbo Shrimp and Sun-dried Tomato Chimichurri

Grilled Ecuadorian Shrimp with a Cilantro and Garlic Marinade

Grilled Lobster Tails with Paprika-Garlic Oil

Seafood

Grilled Yellowfin Tuna, Yucatan Style

Grilled Washington Salmon Steak with a Soy Panela Glaze

Grilled Hawaiian Tuna in a Soy and Citrus Marinade

CHAPTER 5:

POSTRES (DESSERTS)

Grilled Sweet Plantains Topped with Guava and Melted Mozzarella

Churros with Dulce de Leche, Mora, or Chocolate Sauce

Coconut Flan with Guava Sauce

Semisweet Chocolate and Coffee Brioche Bread Pudding

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

CHAPTER 6:

BEBIDAS (BEVERAGES)

Strawberry Lemonade

Mango Lemonade

Blueberry-Pisco Sour

Pineapple and Raspberry White Sangría

Mango Sangría

Grilled Pineapple Mojito

Kiwi Mojito

Mango and Sake Martini

Pomegranate Martini

Dulce de Leche Martini

Strawberry and Cucumber Cosmopolitan

Watermelon and Kiwi Cosmopolitan

Blueberry and Raspberry Margarita

Pomegranate and Raspberry Margarita

CHAPTER 7:

BASICS

Chicken Stock

Chipotle Purée and Chipotle Tartar Sauce

Chocolate Sauce

Dulce de Leche (Caramelized Milk) and Dulce de Leche Sauce

Grilled Pineapple

Guava Sauce

Mora Sauce

Mustard Vinaigrette

Peruvian Olive, Cilantro, and Thyme Tapenade

Roasted Bell Peppers and Chiles

Roasted Garlic and Garlic Oil

Roasted Onions

Simple Syrup and Sour Mix

Sun-dried Tomato Chimichurri

Sweet Shallot Vinaigrette

IT’S HARD TO USE A RECIPE IF YOU CAN’T FIND IT (INDEX)

TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS

Hola

(hello)

The golden sunlight illuminates smiling faces as everyone enjoys appetizers of freshly toasted tortillas, topped with prosciutto and shaved Manchego cheese. Grown-ups enjoy mango sangría from wine glasses. The kids, meanwhile, are munching on grilled arepas (Colombian corncakes), in between playing soccer and sipping strawberry mango lemonade. Dinner, barbecued Chilean salmon brushed with soy panela (rich brown sugar) glaze, is just about ready, as is the side dish of Cartagena-style grilled pineapple rice, along with grilled portobello mushrooms topped with a fresh mint and pecan-studded pesto. It’s late Sunday afternoon—the time when we all get to kick back with friends and family—and I’m exactly where I want to be: at home, grilling and relaxing!

Grilling is an intrinsic part of both my cultures. Every time I go back to my native Colombia, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into an Asado Bogotano: a Bogotá-style barbecue that includes perfectly caramelized and fragrant corn on the cob, seared chorizo—classic Colombian sausage—and a roasted ripe plantain, which, upon peeling, will yield golden and perfectly sweet meat. The elements in this grilled dish vary somewhat throughout my home city, but one thing remains constant: the flavors of this and every barbecue—thanks to one of the world’s oldest cooking methods—yield a depth of taste unmatched by any other type of cookery. Here at home in New York, I treat my family and friends to grilled dinners (inside and outside the restaurants!) just about every week.

This book presents you with a collection of recipes for easy-to-make grilled dishes, several cooling ceviches, and fabulous sides, including colorful and tasty salads, delicious desserts, and an assortment of festive drinks to complement them all. These dishes, inspired by my years in Colombia, my travels, my studies in France, and my personal and professional grilling experience, are especially designed to be tasty without being weighted down with too much toiling. Whether it’s for a summertime barbecue or a midwinter get-together, this book offers a treasure chest of fun, gorgeous, tasty—and healthful—dishes to choose from. Here I’m using the terms barbecue and grill synonymously, though technically they’re different; one refers to cooking on direct heat—grilling—while the other refers to cooking using indirect heat. But the bottom line for me is that we’re talking about cooking over fire. The fire can come from charcoal, gas, or wood.

Latin Grill is for people who enjoy grilling and who enjoy extending the warmth of their homes to their families and friends. Following in the tradition of my other books—Viva la Vida, Nueva Salsa, and Fiesta Latina—the recipes in this collection are accessible, clear, and uncomplicated; you won’t find overwhelming numbers of hard-to-find ingredients in these ingredient lists. But unlike Fiesta Latina, which is its predecessor, Latin Grill focuses on the barbecue, and its recipes are generally somewhat simpler.

Latin Grill presents all aspects of a barbecued dinner—including simple marinades, fruit-filled barbecue sauces (mango, pomegranate, coco, and citrus), appetizers, side dishes and dipping sauces, main dishes, desserts, and cocktails. Meals can start with appetizers like Yellowfin Tuna and Mango Vodka Ceviche—which is at once exotic yet elegant and festive. They can continue with a salad, like my simple and incredibly tasty Grilled Caesar Salad, and lead into my sirloin steak grilled medium-rare and lightly topped with Chipotle-Mango Barbecue Sauce. Or you could go with Grilled Lobster Tails with Paprika-Garlic Oil—like the kind you might enjoy in Lima, Peru—with a light brush of spark that leaves your mouth with a deliciously lingering aftertaste. Dinner could be followed by