La Cocina de La Vasconia (194?) – Pollo a la Cazuela / Stewed Chicken

La Cocina de la Vasconia. Mexico, D.F.: Industrias La Vasconia, [194?]. [TX716.M4 C628 1940z]

UTSA Special Collections holds the second edition of La Cocina de la Vasconia, published in Mexico City in the 1940s by Aluminum cookware company La Vasconia.

Three plates in this edition present various aluminum cookware sets available from La Vasconia and one shows shelves of cookware in an Exposition Hall. Text running along the bottom of each page also promotes the virtues of aluminum cookware through appeals to practical and aesthetic concerns:

El aluminio no localiza el calor sino que lo reparte por igual.
Aluminum does not create “hot spots,” but instead distributes heat evenly.

El Aluminio calienta rápidamente y es fácil de limpiar.

Aluminum heats quickly and is easy to clean.

El Aluminio es saludable e higiénico.
Aluminum is healthy and hygienic.

El Aluminio protege los alimentos conservándoles sus vitaminas.
Aluminum protects food and preserves its vitamins.

Los artefactos de Aluminio “Vasconia” son bellos y útiles.
Vasconia aluminum products are beautiful and useful.

Use Aluminio “Vasconia” por economía y durabilidad.
Use Vasconia Aluminum for economy and durability.

El Aluminio es el salvaguarda de su salud.
Aluminum is the safeguard of your health.

But what to cook in this marvelously beautiful, useful, and healthful cookware? What about a simple, healthy dish of stewed chicken and vegetables?

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Pollo a la Cazuela, P. 79

Se limpia un pollo tierno y se corta en trozos. Estos se doran en aceite. Una vez bien dorados, se cubren con caldo y se agregan zanahorias, cortadas muy finitas, papas, chícharos, dos tomates pelados y cortados en trozos y un ajo, pasándolo todo por aceite antes de agregarlo. Se deja reducir todo a fuego lento hasta que el pollo esté tierno. Se deshace una yema de huevo con vinagre y se le añade a la salsa, una vez lista para que se espese, sin dejarla hervir.

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Stewed Chicken, P. 79

Clean a tender chicken and cut into pieces. Brown these in oil. Once golden brown, cover the pieces with chicken broth. Meanwhile lightly saute the following in oil and then add to the chicken: carrots (chopped very finely), potatoes, peas, two tomatillos (peeled and cut into pieces), and garlic. Simmer everything until the the chicken is done. Mix 1 egg yolk with vinegar and add to the sauce. It is ready once the sauce is thickened, but do not allow it to boíl.

Librarian’s note: When adding eggs to hot pudding or stews, always temper the eggs by gradually whisking a few spoonfulls of the hot liquid into the eggs, before pouring the eggs into the main pot. This prevents the eggs from curdling