A review of:
VEGAN
ITALIANO
By Donna Klein

This cookbook keeps its word as 225 recipes which are Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, and its themes are all from "Sun-Drenched Italy." A handy part of the Table of Contents is the section titled, "Meal-in-a-Bowl Soups. The Introduction has a fine section describing The Regional Cooking of Italy, starting in the north with the Piedmont and Lombardo, down through Liguria, Umbria, Campania, Sicily and ending with Sardinia. In each region, its food preferences/geography-dictated foods explain why certain dishes are popular there.

Italian-Style Butter Butter Bean Dip
Lemon, chopped red onion, green and black olives
make this a hit with sliced Baguette rounds.

California Soup with Parsley
Includes garlic, crushed red pepper flakes
and flat parsley

Chickpea and Pasta Soup
Make with stewed tomatoes, rosemary
and ditalini pasta

Split-Pea and Tomato Soup with Spinach
Combine onions, carrots, celery plum tomatoes,
herbs and ditalini pasta

Farfalle with Fennel and Lima Beans
Includes carrots, onion and bow tie pasta

Macaroni with Artichokes and Olives
Add kalamata olives and pimento

Baked Orzo with Olives and Fresh Herbs
Basil, oregano, thyme and mint make this delicious

Tuscan Beans with Tomatoes and Sage
Tomatoes tie this dish together

Lemon-Basil Pesto Sauce
Garlic and fresh lemon juice bring this together

Compote of Dried Figs with Toasted Walnuts
A little water, some sugar and baking 20 minutes
makes this one come together.

Chocolate-Expresso Balls
Unsweetened cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar,
instant expresso, baking chocolate and some
shortening make this yummy.

Peaches in Chianti
Fresh peaches, fresh lemon and sugar make this happen

Donna Klein is author of the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen and The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook. She is also a contributor to some of the largest vegetabian food sources and makes her home in Montgomery Village in Maryland.