„Deftig Vegan - Mediterran“

By:
Anne-Kathrin Weber & Wolfgang Schardt

8.2 / 10

Who wrote it?

Behind this title are the author and food stylist Anne-Katrin Weber and the food photographer Wolfgang Schardt. Together they run the blog veggielicious.de and have already published a variety of other mainly vegetarian cookbooks, as well as the predecessor of this book: “Deftig Vegan”. The blog is dedicated to seasonal vegetable cuisine and definitely (more than) worth a visit. Unfortunately to date the books as well as the blog are only available in German.

And what is it about?

The title is unambiguously chosen and quickly gives an idea of what you can expect here: Mediterranean dishes that are vegan and hearty at the same time. To get the umami flavor out of vegetables by means of certain cooking methods, such as roasting, braising, or grilling. The cuisine moves between Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey, never only delivering the classic recipes of the countries' cuisines, but new creations that still give a Mediterranean feeling.

What does it look like?

The visual appeal of this author duo's books is always mainly due to the food photos styled by Anne-Kathrin and shot by Wolfgang Schardt. Both are masters of their craft and make the dishes look appetizing, colorful, but never overdone. Also, the layout is to a large extent clear, with one column for preparation time, ingredients, and nutritional values and another block for the preparation steps, which would perhaps be somewhat more readable by individually separated work steps. Nevertheless, visually appealing all around.

What can I expect?

The book contains 70 recipes, divided into the following chapters: “Antipasti and Tapas”, “Soups and Stews”, “Vegetables and Legumes”, “Pasta and Risotto”, “Pizza and Quiche”, “Dessert and Cake”. In addition to the recipes and a brief introduction to the topic of Mediterranean cuisine, there are a few pages of product information spread throughout the chapters, all of which are, of course, beautifully illustrated.

Can I do that?

All the recipes I’ve tested so far have turned out well for me, even the more elaborate ones like moussaka or gnocchi. Even with a little less kitchen experience, you can approach the recipes and achieve good results. A degree of difficulty is not mentioned, but from the preparation time, you can estimate which recipes are rather quick and easy and which require more patience and effort.

What do I need?

Olive oil, garlic, fresh (and dried) herbs, chili flakes …do you have all that in stock anyway?! Perfect, then you’ll only need fresh (preferably seasonal) produce and can start immediately. In fact, there are no extraordinary kitchen appliances in use, sure there is sometimes a soup pureed, but it does not get much more exotic. With reasonable knives, pots and Co. you can already work through most of the book.

Substitute products?

Here and there the recipes make use of stuff like vegan feta, parmesan, grated cheese, crème fraîche or yogurt, for example, and vegan chocolate (dark and also white) is also used in the dessert section. However, for those who prefer to avoid such products, about half of the recipes in the book are also suitable, since they don’t use any substitute products at all.

Who needs it?

For Mediterranean fans on vacation withdrawal (hello, here I am!) the book is quite wonderful. Limited only, if you prefer to eat without substitutes. Vegetarians can of course simply replace back, but I did not just say that now.

Oh yes, and does it taste good?

I tried a lot of things, many of them tasted good, some of them were really, really convincing, and there were no total failures. This is a very good conclusion and means that I have certainly not cooked from the book for the last time.

You can find all the recipes tested and my recipe reviews on Instagram under the hashtag #VCRdeftigveganmediterran.

Recipe tips to get cooking or baking:

Summery bean and peach salad with hazelnuts (find the recipe here)
Moussaka with lentils
Almond lemon cake

Conclusion

“Deftig Vegan Mediterran” is a worthy successor to “Deftig Vegan”, which I will definitely also introduce to you here sooner or later. I hope the Veggielicious duo decides to add more vegan titles to their cookbook portfolio because the recipes are always creative, succeed safely and mostly easily and – last but not least – always taste really good! Additionally, I want to mention again that you can also feast on the books visually without even taking a step in the kitchen.