Traditional
Italian food is much, much more vegan-friendly than mainstream
cookery lets on – it holds simplicity and emphasis on fresh
ingredients, and often without the focus on meat at the centre of the
plate.
Mama
Tried draws mostly from
fresh ingredients, and leaves the reader to go and find local,
seasonal fruit and veg. Cecilia rarely reaches for substitutes for
animal products; with the exception of seitan stew with porcini
mushroom, vegan goat’s cheese (using unsweetened vegan yoghurt), or
tofu skewers. Throughout,
Mama Tried
strives for the simple and achievable – sweet and sour onions,
“aphrodisiac” asparagus or the excellent tomato and olive bread
rolls.
Cecilia
badges herself as a vegan tattoo artist, who grew up cooking with her
family in Italy.
With
a librarian-like love of organising, categorising and menu-building,
Cecilia presents exquisite ideas for dinner – try potato
croquettes, Sicilian vegetable stew and fresh fruit tart, as well as
exceptional stand-alones such as frittatas or chilli pepper truffles.
Now based in California, Cecilia has oodles of ideas for burgers,
which are countered by heaps of summer and winter salads. Sometimes
Mama Tried verges on the bizarre (strawberry risotto anyone?), but
often the sublime (tiramisu or “Not Nutella”!).
With
a clear, fun, design from a tattoo artist’s hands Mama Tried sits
equally on the kitchen bookshelf or coffee table. If I've a criticism
of this excellent book, it's the absence of photography – a I'm
sure food fans would much prefer to see the results of her labours.
(available through
www.turnaround-uk.com)
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