The following is an interview with Katie DeFonzo, a Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room
We’re back with Katie DeFonzo for the final post in the “Sampling of Cookbooks and Recipes” series where she tries a new recipe and shares her experience making it.
Please tell us which recipe you chose.
This time, manifesting that the weather would soon feel more authentically like fall, I chose a soup dish. This final recipe is taken from Buen Provecho: 500 Years of Hispanic Cuisine, a publication by the New Jersey Chapter of the Hispanic Association of AT&T Employees (HISPA). This cookbook is a carefully compiled collection of recipes from many different countries and parts of the United States, and this recipe for meatball soup (caldo de albóndigas) was contributed by Steve Colyer.
Why did you choose this recipe?
This recipe includes plenty of protein as well as some of the same quintessential autumn vegetables that have been found in the previous recipes I attempted as part of this series. I often watched my Dad and Grandmother prepare meatballs for dinners during the holiday season, and this recipe similarly called for making meatballs from scratch. That the meatballs in this recipe include pimiento was a twist that I was excited to try.
Tell us more.
While attempting this recipe, I was reminded of the importance of avoiding – or at least minimizing – multitasking. Because I was tending to a few other things in the kitchen as I began to prepare the soup, I let too much of the broth boil off initially and needed to add more. The recipe does specify that the pimiento should be chopped, and if I were to make this soup a second time, I would chop the pimiento much more finely. I believe this would have made the very soft mixture easier to work with as I prepared the meatballs. The sliced pimiento halves were too large to incorporate effectively into the mixture, and the meatballs broke apart quickly as I continue to tend the soup. The pimiento became in effect another vegetable included in the soup. It might be preferable to cook the meatballs in an air fryer before adding to the beef broth and continuing with the remaining steps. I made a few small modifications to the recipe: for instance, I chose not to add cabbage to the soup and tended to add slightly less of the vegetables than the recipe demanded. I also used garlic powder in place of garlic cloves and dried coriander rather than chopped cilantro. While this soup was not particularly hearty (I would recommend a chili or a creamy soup on the coldest winter days), it was certainly a delicious and flavorful option that could easily serve a larger group of dinner guests.
Sampling these different recipes has inspired me to continue trying new recipes from these books throughout the rest of the year. And I am grateful that the Library of Congress has so many of these kinds of cookbooks representing countries from throughout Latin America. There will be no shortage of recipes to choose from. Which new recipes are you hoping to try?
Thanks again, Katie, for selecting the recipes and sharing your experience making them!
If you’re interested in this recipe or the others in this series, please submit your request through Ask-a-Librarian.
Explore the Library’s many resources related the recipe books in our collection through Alimentación, gastronomía, cultura y hábitos alimenticios: una bibliografía anotada.