80 • July | August 2026 • abasto.com • FLAVOR FOCUS POR DOREEN COLONDRES lacocinanomuerde.com Garlic, the Soul of Our Kitchens What you’ll need: · 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil · 16 medium shrimp, cleaned, deveined, and with tails removed · 6–8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced · 1 dried chili pepper, peperoncino, chile piquín, or 1 whole chile de árbol · 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (or cilantro) · Salt to taste · 2 tablespoons white wine, sherry, or brandy Here’s what you need to do: · In a skillet or clay pot over medium heat, add the garlic and the whole chili pepper and cook until the garlic is golden brown, about 3–4 minutes, sti- rring constantly so it doesn’t burn. · Turn up the heat slightly, add the shrimp, wine, salt, and pepper, and cook for three minutes, tur- ning them once, until they turn pink. · If it gets too hot, lower the heat so the garlic doesn’t burn. · Remove from heat, add the parsley (or cilantro), and serve. Serve over bread, tostones, or rice. Enjoy your meal! Doreen is an author, chef, wine educator, creator of lacocinanomuerde.com and founder of vitishouse. com. Follow her on social media @doreencolondres Garlic Shrimp burning. If you’re making garlic oil, cook it slowly over low heat: let it sweat and soften. If it browns slightly, it’ll be perfect for dipping bread. And with that same oil, you can start almost any recipe, like this one: A lthough I’ve never seen a festival in its honor, Gar- lic Day is celebrated every year in April. My dad would probably organize one without a second thought, and the truth is, he deserves it. Because garlic isn’t just an ingredient—it’s a tradition. It’s the starting point for almost everything we cook at home. In our Latin American kitchens, garlic lives in sofrito, in rice, in meats, in beans, and even in fish and seafood. It’s in that first aroma that wafts from the skillet, signaling that something good is on the way. And if we cross the At- lantic, in Spain, garlic isn’t optional... It’s the law. But beyond the romanticism, there’s something impor- tant to understand, garlic starts working before it even hits the heat. From home remedies to miracle capsules, garlic has taken center stage even in nail care and overall health, as it’s credited with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Back in the kitchen, buy it fresh. Look for firm cloves with intact skin. Fresh garlic doesn’t shout—it whispers. And take good care of it: keep it away from moisture, in a dark, well-ventilated place. The refrigerator, while prac- tical, isn’t always its best friend. The true power of garlic lies not only in what it does for the body, but in what it brings to the table: flavor and me- mories that linger. So, to celebrate garlic, I invite you to try something sim- pler: heat a skillet, add a little olive oil, and let the gar- lic work its magic. The rest, almost always, takes care of itself. Because let’s be honest: a sauce or dip, rice, soup, stew, shrimp, or a good mofongo wouldn’t be the same wi- thout it. If the garlic will be part of a sofrito, chop it finely and cook it over low heat, letting it release its aroma without