Skip to content Skip to Menu KAL Accessibility Statement

OP: The Art of South American Cooking

Write a review
| Ask a question
by Felipe Rojas-Lombardi

HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. Hardcover. Near Fine. Frist printing.

Felipe Rojas-Lombardi (1946–1991)—a multi-ethnic, Peru-born protégé of James Beard—was the founding chef of the Dean and Deluca gourmet grocery store and, in the 1980s, came to own a cabaret/restaurant called The Ballroom in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. He is credited with introducing, or at least popularizing, tapas in the US.

The chef’s fourth cookbook, The Art of South American Cooking (1991) is an expansive survey of a continent whose cuisines are still not well-covered in English. Despite its breadth, the contextualizing headnotes catch us up to speed with an easy and conversational tone.

Each dish is culinary temptation:

  • Carbonada criolla: beef stewed with aromatics, squash, corn, and peaches
  • Corvina con frijoles blancos: baked striped bass marinated in achiote oil and stuffed with bacon, garlic, sage, cayenne, and white beans
  • Ternera con anchoas y tomillo: roasted veal loin marinated in spiced anchovy paste and thyme
  • Calabazas rellenas: acorn squash filled with lemongrass-, clove-, and nutmeg-scented quinoa studded with rum raisins and chopped nuts

This is a highly worthwhile book that maybe didn’t get as much attention as it deserved, owing to Riojas-Lombardi’s too-soon passing right before it was published. We’re pleased to highlight it once more. Our copy is a Near Fine first printing, the jacket spine somewhat sun-bleached.



Shopping Cart