Book of Days Tales

On this date in 1492, Rodrigo de Triana, lookout on the Pinta in Columbus’ flotilla, sighted land in the New World. Columbus had first sailed to the Canary Islands, which belonged to Castile, where he restocked his provisions and made repairs. After stopping over in Gran Canaria, he departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera on 6^th September, for what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the Atlantic.  Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermeo), spotted land about 2:00 on the morning of 12^th October, and immediately alerted the rest of the crew with a shout. Thereupon, the captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the discovery and alerted Columbus by firing a lombard. Columbus later maintained that he himself had already seen a light on the land a few hours earlier, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand and Isabella to the first person to sight land. Gives you an inkling of the man’s character.

12^th  October is marked in many countries in the Americas and Europe (in the United States as Columbus Day). The most common name for the date in Spanish is Día de la Raza. The day under this name was first celebrated in Argentina in 1917 (since changed to Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural), Venezuela and Colombia in 1921, Chile in 1922, and Mexico in 1928. The day was also celebrated under this title in Spain until 1957, when it was changed to the Día de la Hispanidad, and in Venezuela until 2002, when it was changed to the Día de la Resistencia Indígena. In Uruguay it is called Día de las Américas.  Originally conceived of as a celebration of Hispanic influence in the Americas, as evidenced by the complementary celebrations in Spain and Latin America, Día de la Raza has come to be seen by many nations and individuals in Latin America as a counter to Columbus Day; a celebration of the resistance against the arrival of Europeans to the Americas by indigenous peoples. In the U.S. Día de la Raza has served as a time of mobilization for pan-ethnic Hispano activists, particularly in the 1960s.

The so-called Columbian Exchange, the trade of ideas and biological items between Europe, Asia, and Africa, on the one hand, and the Americas, on the other, was, let us say, uneven. Europeans got tomatoes and potatoes, and the Americas got smallpox and measles.  Obviously that is a cynically gross oversimplification, but it is true that  got enormous gains, especially in the culinary world, out of the bargain. I can’t imagine a cuisine of Africa, Europe or Asia that is not monumentally indebted to American cultigens.  Where would southern Italy be without tomatoes, England without potatoes for fish and chips, or Thailand without hot peppers?

When I was teaching I used to ask my students once in a while to imagine the produce section of a supermarket without American cultigens.  Pretty bare.  Pre-Columbian Eurasian food had its high points, but was very limited.  There’s only so much you can do with lentils, broad beans, cabbage, and carrots. Here’s a reasonably complete list of domesticated fruits and vegetables from the Americas that spread globally:

Agave, amaranth (for pseudograin), arrowroot, avocado, common beans (pinto, lima, kidney, black, etc.), black raspberry, bell pepper, blueberry (not to be confused with bilberry, also called blueberry), canistel, cashew, chia, chicle, cherimoya, chile peppers, cranberries (large cranberry, or bearberry species), coca, cocoa, custard apple, guava (common), huckleberry, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, maize (corn), manioc (cassava, tapioca, yuca), papaya, passionfruit, peanut, pecan, pineapple, potato, prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica), pumpkin, quinoa, rubber, sapodilla, squash, strawberry (commercial varieties), sugar-apple, sunflower, sweet potato, tomato, vanilla, wild rice (not directly related to Asian rice), yerba mate, yucca.

Even this list tells only a small part of the story. Potatoes available in most of the world, for example, represent maybe a dozen out of over 5,000 varieties available (3,000 found only in the Andes). Likewise squashes, peppers, and beans, which come in immense varieties.

Here is a recipe from my home, Argentina.  I have mentioned locro before as a festive food.  It is perfect at this time of year in North and South America.  The base ingredients are white hominy (maize) and white beans simmered for hours with some meat.  Then various vegetables are added – notably squash, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.  Modern meats and spices are of Eurasian origin, making this dish representative of the Columbian Exchange. Commonly the dish is served in deep bowls with a bowl of sofrito made from crushed tomatoes, paprika, oregano, cumin, and chiles passed around for guests to add as desired. If you like you can use chopped fresh cilantro in place of the oregano, but Argentinos do not usually use it.  Neither do Argentinos in the Buenos Aires region and southern Argentina use hot peppers. In my version here (which I learnt from an old country woman, with my own wrinkles added), I use spices directly in the cooking in place of sofrito. I am not going to bother with precise measurements; local cooks (including myself) work by intuition.

© Tío Juan’s Locro

First ingredients: meat (bacon, stewing beef, and tripe), hominy, garlic, leeks (or onions),  and beans. I used canned beans, but you can use dried and add them with the hominy. I took this set of photos 3 yrs ago when I was being lazy. Meats are your choice.  I’m a tripe nut, and it is very traditional here. You can omit it. Pigs’ feet are also common.

Bring water (or light stock) to a boil.

Add the first ingredients (chopping the meats into bite sized chunks), including beans if they are dried.  Simmer for about 2 hours or until the hominy is soft and fluffy.

Second ingredients: squash, sweet potato, bell pepper, and potatoes, plus spices. Here I use cumin and paprika. You can also use chile peppers, oregano, and cilantro — cook’s choice.

Simmer until the vegetables are well cooked.

Eat for a week.  Argentinos usually have a side salad of tomatoes, lettuce, and onions, plus Italian bread.