Vegan

Vegan.  Tony Weston & Yvonne Bishop.  Hamlyn, 128pp, pbk, £12-99.

I love this book! It is full of really clever, creative and imaginative ideas and the presentation is clear and modern and appealing. There are many, usually healthy, vegan solutions to traditional foodstuffs or dishes that often feel like a gap in the vegan repertoire - omelettes, Sunday roast drumsticks, cheesy sauces and toppings, yoghurt, mayonnaise and cream cheese, creams and ice creams, banoffee pie, creme caramel, even souffles. Clever!

I like the fact that Vegan utilises many unusual foods and different products - some that I have never seen - like vegan prawns (I shall be on the lookout for them) - and some I have heard of but never used, like ackee, a West Indian fruit that can be used like egg! I also like the fact that the recipes make use of some important nutrient-rich ingredients - especially those that can be in short supply in the vegan diet – such as iodine from seaweeds, the all important omega 3 fatty acids from linseed and hempseed oils, and the use of avocado oil is a useful alternative to olive oil as a monounsaturated cooking oil. There is rather a heavy reliance on dairy substitutes - vegan yoghurt, cream cheese and "soyannaise" - great if they are the home-prepared versions given in the book but not so great if they are ready-made processed varieties.

Vegan is a recipe book more suited to entertaining than quick family suppers, at least in my home! I found the recipes clear in their step-by-step format and clear layout, but sometimes heavy on the number of ingredients involved. The recipes with photographs really make me want to try them out - especially ones like the Black Forest Gateau and the Crispy Stuffed Pepperdew Peppers. Some of the more prosaic names put me off however - Seaweed Quinoa Kedgeree, Sea Fruit Strudel and Broccoli and Peanut Soup just sound too worthy - although looking at the ingredients I am sure they taste great!  Despite these minor criticisms, I have to say this is an innovative and extremely useful addition to the vegan recipe book range. The use of ingredients is inspirational and these are the sort of recipes that would really impress non-vegans who might imagine that vegans compromise in terms of taste and variety. I can't wait to start using it!

Liz Cook, September 2004

(Liz Cook is the author of So what do you eat? and designer of the popular kitchen wall chart.)

[ OxVeg Front Page | Index of Articles ]

Oxford Vegetarians Web site is hosted by the International Vegetarian Union.

For more book reviews, and the chance to let IVU benefit from your book purchases, visit the IVU Bookstore.

This page created 1 October 2004 by Paul Appleby.