Afro-Vegan

In his latest cookbook, Bryant Terry (Vegan Soul Kitchen and Grub) takes African, Caribbean and Southern flavors and gives them a vegan once-over that could make believers out of skeptics. The success in creating vegan dishes that omnivores will devour lies in Terry’s emphasis on farm-fresh ingredients and plenty of herbs and spices. When your mouth is humming with pleasure, who cares if there’s no meat in it? For example, the creamy coconut-cashew soup with okra, corn and tomatoes ditches the heavy cream for coconut milk that adds creaminess without weighing down the spoon. A paste made from sun-dried tomatoes, peanuts and cashews infuses an easy-to-make corn broth with an earthy depth that makes the soup filling, and the corn brings a fresh sweetness that enables this dish to hold its own in winter or spring. Other recipes include Za’atar, a spice blend wonderful on toasted flatbread; sweet pickled watermelon rinds and jalapeños—a perfect way to use leftover rinds from backyard barbecues; and salty lemon cream with parsley, a tofu-based substitute for sour cream that adds zing and a touch of spring instead of saturated fat to a dish. While Afro-Vegan might reside on the bookshelf, it belongs carried around farmers’ markets and featured in spring dinners on the patio.