Pataconis are simple plantain sandwiches with flavorful fillings that are a favorite among Venezuelan families. For Julia Roncoloni, a psychologist and associate professor at the University of Denver, dishes like patacones can help humanize Colorado’s immigrants and refugees from all over the world.
her new cookbook, Cocina Libre: A recipe for immigrant resistancepublishes the faces and names of Front Range immigrants, including those held at the Aurora immigration detention center.
The recipe for potato vareniki is by Tatyana Stratyrat from Kiev, Ukraine. Afsana Nouri from Falak, Afghanistan shares her version of Kotore Kacharoo. Other cooks from Denver to Fort Collins submitted recipes representing Mexico, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Colombia, intertwined with personal stories.
The patacon recipe was provided by Iraima Ilaraza from San Felipe, Venezuela. In this book, she describes her own journey to the United States through one of the world’s most dangerous immigration routes.
“We came through Darien (Gap), on the so-called Green Road. At one point, her knee swelled and she cried because she thought, “I’m never going to get out of here with her daughters.” It wasn’t easy, but we managed to do it. ”
Creating this cookbook, which will be published in both Spanish and English, turned out to be a labor of love for Roncoloni and her co-author and partner Delio Figueroa . Despite the couple’s home cooking experience, which included brewing beer and making their own yogurt, bread, and cheese, this cookbook expanded their culinary worldview. The couple went to the Lakewood Public Library and brought home a “pile” of cookbooks to study.
“My thought was, ‘I don’t know how to cook, I don’t know how to take pictures of food, I don’t know anything about cookbooks,'” Roncoloni says. “But you roll up your sleeves and learn. I made about half of the recipes in 2019, but had to stop because of COVID-19,” Roncoloni says. “We haven’t been able to sit down and eat with people. A lot of our community cooks from the heart, not by the book.”
The stories behind each recipe emerged during meals between the professor and various home cooks. Roncoloni says the best way to appreciate recipes is to gather around a table and talk.
“We have an 8-year-old and a 3-year-old,” she says. “They came with us to dinner with the cooks. They sat at the table and listened to people share their stories, so it was a really good experience.
“Immigrants were saying, ‘I don’t think people understand me here.’ We think food is one way to have this conversation.”
Proceeds from this book will be donated to the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.English and Spanish versions Cocina Libre: A recipe for immigrant resistance You can order at juliarpsychology.com/cocina-libre.
