Alexa Soto was raised in San Diego, California, in a tight-knit family who held their Mexican traditions close, especially at dinnertime. Her “heart flutters,” she writes, when she thinks about walking into her grandma’s home, where barbacoa was served every Christmas and huge pots of pozole routinely simmered on the stove.
When she announced to her parents she was going vegan, they were “beyond shocked.” Crash diets and an unhealthy relationship with her body image led her to get serious about cooking, she explains in “Plantas: Modern Vegan Recipes for Traditional Mexican Cooking” (Voracious, $35). The more she learned about ingredients, the more she considered their impact on her body as well as the planet.
But she didn’t want to stray from her heritage. Turns out she didn’t have to. “Mexican cooking is rooted in plants,” she states in the first line of her debut book. Corn, chiles, squash and tomatoes were staples of the pre-Columbian Aztec and Mayan diet, she continues. And fresh fruit juices, maize-based dishes, and vegetable accompaniments occupy much of the Mexican marketplace today.
That’s the underlying theme of Fueled Naturally, the blog she started nearly a decade ago, and throughout the beautifully photographed pages of “Plantas.” She begins with instructions for making staples such as lard-free tortillas, almond milk-based cotija cheese, and assorted rice and bean side dishes. Salsas, tacos and moles each get their own chapter, as do breakfast dishes, starters, drinks, main dishes and desserts.
Sliced mushrooms marinated in citrus juices, soy sauce, chipotles and spices stand in for beef in Hongos Portobello y Soya Asada Tacos — a hit with me and my carnivore husband, especially when swathed in Guacasalsa, a tangy puree of tomatillos, chiles and avocados.
Other recipes demonstrate how sauteed jackfruit mimics carnitas (pulled pork), hearts of palm substitutes for fish in ceviche, and potatoes and plant-based cheese alleviate the need for a roasted poblanos dairy filling.
While Soto’s now-deceased abuela never gave up meat, it’s a good bet she’d feel right at home at her granddaughter’s vegan table.
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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