Cuban-Catalan Cook Books

El Arte de cocinar: Recetas de cocina catalana y cubana

Publication: Matanzas, Cuba: Ediciones Vigía, [n.d. but ca. 2003].

Notes: 51 pages. 6 by 9-1/2 inches. One of 200 copies. Colección del Estero.

A collection of about 30 recipes, the first half appear to be Catalan dishes as they are presented in Catalan and Spanish translation; the last section appears to be Cuban recipes as these are offered only in Spanish (which almost all Catalan speakers also know). The text is digitally printed on brown recycled paper. The illustrations are line drawings and some digital clipart. The covers are blue triangles tied with string, which reveal handcolored collaged illustrations beneath.

This book was published by IX Brigada de Cooperación de la Universidad de Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain. The book was designed and illustrated by Norlys Ortega Ruiz.

Cookbooks are almost all aspirational, with recipes beyond the capability of the average home cook. This is particularly true in Cuba, where ingredients that are common in North America and Europe are hard to find on the island. In this book, for example, the first recipe calls for both snails and a "llauna de coure caragols", a special pan for cooking snails, which might be essentially unobtainable in Cuba.

OCLC: CRU CUI DEIAI DRB GZM EEM FQG UMK WAU

Edition + Condition: Light wear to corners, else very good.

Item No: #306758

Price: $250