cover image Just Tacos: 100 Delicious Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Just Tacos: 100 Delicious Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Shelley Wiseman. Taunton, $19.95 trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-1600854071

This outstanding collection of tortilla-based treats from Wiseman (a former food editor at Gourmet) lives up to its titular promise and then some, offering an impressive collection of recipes for all tastes and diets. Grouped by main ingredient (vegetable, seafood, chicken, beef, etc.), Wiseman fights taco fatigue by encouraging readers to try new cuts, techniques, marinades, salsas, and sauces to liven up their meals. Yucatecan Pulled Pork, Lobster and Mango Salsa, Swiss Chard and Potato, and Duck Legs Braised in Chipotle-Tomatillo Sauce are just a few of the book's the inventive selections. While there are recipes for basic Chicken Tostadas and fish tacos, many of Wiseman's dishes call for ample prep time, in the form of slow cooking (the pulled pork), marinades or sauces (her ambitious mole), or ingredients (homemade chorizo and homemade Hibiscus-Flavored Corn Tortillas). Readers with an adventurous appetite will appreciate her attention to Mexico's regional dishes, such as Octopus Tacos with Jalape%C3%B1os, Olives and Capers from the coastal Veracruz region, and the Pueblan Tacos with Chicken in Poblano Chile Sauce. Fans of Mexican cuisine can grow with this book, continuing to explore the myriad ways that the humble tortilla can offer such variety. (Oct.)