Cookbook and events celebrate the stories and cuisine of Houstons many Salvadorans

The SalviSoul Cookbook chronicles important recipes from Salvadoran culture. Ahead of events here next week celebrating its publication, Houston Matters talks with its author and a local chef who incorporates her own Salvadoran heritage and flavors into her dishes.

Michael Hagerty

| May 17, 2024, 8:45 AM (Last Updated: May 17, 2024, 11:47 AM)

The cover of The SalviSoul Cookbook next to an image of Platanos Fritos con Frijoles Licuados — The SalviSoul Cookbook celebrates and preserves important dishes from Salvadoran cuisine, such as platanos fritos con frijoles licuados (fried plantains with pureed beans).

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Nearly one in every four Houstonians was born outside the United States, according to 2021 census data. Of that population, nearly 119,000 were born in El Salvador, which was second only to the nearly 600,000 people here born in Mexico.

Houston's concentration of Salvadorans and people of Salvadoran descent was one reason why the publishers of a new cookbook about that culture’s food decided to host a pair of events here next week promoting its publication.

For many, The SalviSoul Cookbook is a long-overdue documentation and celebration of Salvadoran cuisine that goes far beyond the pupusa – those thick, fluffy flatbreads made with cornmeal or rice flour and stuffed with a variety of flavorful ingredients.

Pupusas de Queso con Loroco — Pupusas de queso con loroco as featured in The SalviSoul Cookbook.

The book tells the stories of specific women and the dishes they make while preserving the way they make them with detailed recipes and vibrant photos.

The cookbook's author, Karla Tatiana Vasquez, tells Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty her desire to collect these stories and recipes came from a craving to make a particular dish, salpicón de res salvadoreño, which is technically considered a salad because the meat is cooked and cooled, then minced and served alongside vegetables and herbs.

A plate of salpicón des res salvadoreño — An image of salpicón des res salvadoreño from The SalviSoul Cookbook. A desire to learn how to make the dish herself launched Karla Tatiana Vasquez on a mission to gather the recipes that became this collection.

Vasquez tells Michael about the dish, about hearing her mother tell stories about her family history while cooking, about the hallmarks of Salvadoran cuisine, and the importance of documenting these stories and recipes.

EXTENDED CONVERSATION WITH KARLA TATIANA VASQUEZ:

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Vasquez will be in town for events next week promoting the book, including one at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on Monday night at 6:30.

Food writer Karla Tatiana Vasquez is the author of The SalviSoul Cookbook.

And, while she's in Houston, Vasquez will also take part in an event on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to showcase Salvadoran cuisine, teaming up with local Chef Evelyn Garcia, who was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award for her restaurant JŪN and was a runner-up on Top Chef: Houston.

Garcia's father's side of the family hails from El Salvador, and members of her father's family are cheesemakers who supply all the cheese for Garcia's restaurant in The Heights. That's where Michael and Houston Public Media social media producer Janett Avalos – whose mother is of Salvadoran descent – met up with Garcia, who talked about growing up in Houston with members of the Salvadoran and Mexican sides of her family always cooking around her.

Garcia also talks about how she incorporates Salvadoran food and flavors into particular dishes at her restaurant, including her Salvadoran quesadilla.