“A Vegan Taste Of…” cookbook review – Vegan MoFo Day 12

I thought long and hard about what cookbook to choose for the “Favourite cookbook” prompt. Well, to be honest, I didn’t really as I don’t own many cookbooks.

This is the extent of my collection – squeezed in next to my exceedingly larger Terry Pratchett collection.

I was very tempted to write about Vegan Richa’s cookbook which is one I do love, but I decided to bend the rules a bit. Instead of writing about my favourite cookbook, I’ll write about my favourite series of cookbooks.

I first came across the “Vegan Taste Of…” series, by Linda Majzlik, when on holiday in Norfolk at the Hillside Animal Sanctuary. They had vegan cookbooks in their shop and we picked up the “Greece” one.  It became a firm favourite and we swiftly ordered four more countries off Amazon!

The books do not have pictures or descriptions of the food – and thus are very simple and to the point. I do love a good book with pictures to drool in but these books are packed full of recipes and I find it makes a nice adventure to cook something when you have no idea what it’ll look like!

Here are a few pictures of what I have made from them:

Spaghetti with Sundried Tomato and Vegetable Sauce from “A Vegan Taste of Greece”

Sundried Tomato & Onion Bread from “A Vegan Taste of Greece”

Cinnamon Crunchies from “A Vegan Taste of Mexico”

Pea and Mushroom Risotto from “A Vegan Taste of Italy”

Vegetable and Kidney Bean Tacos from “A Vegan Taste of Mexico”

And finally, here is the recipe I promised last week in my sandwiches post. It’s slightly adapted from a recipe in A Vegan Taste of Italy.

Sundried Tomato and Oregano Rolls

• Servings: 7 large rolls
• Print

Ingredients

• 675g plain flour
• 100g sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp fast action yeast
• 4 tbsp olive oil (or use the oil the tomatoes come in)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 450ml hand-hot water
• olive oil for brushing

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, oregano and salt in a bowl.
2. Stir through the chopped sundried tomatoes and the olive oil.
3. Dissolve the tomato puree in the hot water, and gradually add to the flour mixture, until a soft dough forms.
4. Knead well, then cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.
5. Knead again, and break into equal pieces (the amount of rolls you want to make).
6. Roll in the palm of your hand to make them round.
7. Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet, then cover again and leave for 30 more minutes to rise.
8. Preheat the oven to 200C.
9. After the final rising, brush the top of the rolls with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes
10. The rolls are done when you can tap the bottom of them and they sound hollow inside.
11. Leave to cool on a wire rack.