A Sampling of Cookbooks and Recipes: Arroz con Camarones

The following is an interview with Katie DeFonzo, a Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Hispanic Heritage Month falls just as the seasons are beginning to change here in Washington, D.C. – the perfect time to enjoy trying some new recipes. Cooking and baking are two especially meaningful ways that family traditions can be passed down, and visitors to the Library will find recipe books that can help with doing exactly that. The Library of Congress’ Hispanic collections are home to so many recipe books, in fact, that in 2013, scholar Natalia Silva Prada spent time onsite creating an annotated bibliography detailing some of the highlights. To celebrate the beginning of Hispanic Heritage month, a reference librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room decided to try her hand at making several distinctive recipes, using a selection of cookbooks found on the Library’s shelves.

Please tell us who you are, and what recipe you chose.

I’m Katie DeFonzo, a new Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room. To begin this blog post series, I chose several recipes from Nilda Luz Rexach’s The Hispanic Cookbook (1995). I first attempted arroz con camarones (rice with shrimp), one of the entrees found in the book’s “Rice Dishes” section.

Why did you choose this recipe? 

There are many ways someone could prepare rice and shrimp: the perfect meal for a late summer gathering. As a lover of most types of seafood, this recipe stuck out because it seemed straightforward and easy to make but was still sure to be filled with flavor. I also love dishes, like this one, that include sweet peppers.

Tell us more.

This recipe was different from others I have seen due to its use of annatto seeds, an ingredient that Rexach highlights in the introduction to her cookbook. Primarily used to add a distinctive red color, it has been described as having a “slightly sweet and peppery” flavor. Instead of using annatto seeds, I used a spice mixture that included annatto. The recipe called for using these seeds to add flavor while sautéing the other ingredients before combining with rice. I first prepared arroz amarillo (yellow rice) and added the listed vegetables and spices, heating rather than cooking the shrimp by mixing in at the end of the process. Since seafood is an important staple of many Central American cuisines, it seemed fitting to start with this dish that includes camarones. This turned out to be a delicious and easy-to-make meal, and while I halved the recipe, it could easily be served to a large group à la paella.

Rexach’s cookbook is just one of many recipe books that are currently part of the Library’s vast collections. This one is notable for its inclusion of fairly simple recipes in both English and Spanish. Rexach’s decision to dedicate this recipe collection to her grandchildren is a clear reminder that sharing recipes with family members can be an important way to celebrate language and culture across generations.

Thanks, Katie, y ¡buen provecho!

Please continue to follow the Four Corners Blog during Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) for more recipes.

To learn more about Latin American, Caribbean, and Spanish food at the Library of Congress, visit Alimentación, gastronomía, cultura y hábitos alimenticios: una bibliografía anotada