annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Vegan Africa is a well researched and curated look at plant based food and cuisine from Africa by Marie Kacouchia. Released 15th Nov 2022 by The Experiment, it's 192 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.
This is a richly, extravagantly written and beautiful collection of plant based recipes from Pan-African culture. There are a couple types of hummus not based on chickpeas (I would have bought the collection *just* for the hummus which is glorious), snacks, sauces (peri-peri!), salads, mains, and more than enough others to keep cooks going for ages.
The recipes are arranged roughly thematically: sauces, snacks, starters, mains, rice, desserts, and drinks. Each recipe has its ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are given in imperial (American) units with metric measurements in parentheses (yay!). Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. Nutritional info is not included in the book. The ingredients are mostly easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store. Some of the more specialized ingredients and spices will need to sourced at an international or African food store.
The food styling throughout is absolutely beautiful. Photographs accompany each of the recipes and the presentations are attractive and appetizing. The index provided includes ingredients listed with referenced recipes as well as photographs in italics. The author has also included suggested menus for various occasions with relevant recipes referenced by page number.
Five stars. This is definitely a solid choice for library acquisition, for gift giving, and for cooks who want to eat less (or no!) meat without giving up flavor, texture, and taste.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.