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The quest for vegetarian Mexican dishes has proven to be harder than I thought.
“We were hungry the entire trip.”
“We just ate beans all day.”
“They didn’t know how to serve a meal without meat; they were confused.”
This is a glimpse of a conversation I had with my vegetarian friends after their trip to Mexico.
Consequently, as a vegetarian myself, I sadly crossed yet another country off my bucket list. Was I doomed to limp leaves of lettuce and carrot sticks with hummus for the rest of my life?
Is there more to life than salad for a vegetarian?
As my bucket list grew shorter, and my enthusiasm for finding authentic meals grew weaker, I almost gave up on flicking through cookbooks that didn’t have the word ‘curry’ in the title.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the diversity of vegetarian Asian cuisines as much as the next girl. But I longed for more options and variety, and it felt like I was running out of options. That is until I stumbled upon Jocelyn Ramirez’s new cookbook La Vida Verde: Plant-Based Mexican Cooking with Authentic Flavor.
I was nervous as I carefully held what could be the answer to my unsatisfied culinary dreams. Was she really going to bring the flavor of Mexico to my hungry chops, without including a pound of minced meat in the recipe? Was I really holding a rare trove of authentic vegetarian Mexican recipes?
This was Ramirez’s promise – and she delivered.
Jocelyn Ramirez vs Vegetarian Mexican Cuisine: the plant-based revolution
Ramirez is on a quest to make plant-based Mexican recipes accessible to everyone and she has done so with style. In her authentic Mexican vegetarian cookbook, you will find classics such as plant-based chorizo tacos, wholesome handmade tortillas, and mouthwatering mushroom fajitas.
For the more adventurous, she provides guidance for making hibiscus flower tacos, purple sweet potato ice cream, and strawberry-rose tamales. Though she introduces some interesting new options, Ramirez doesn’t at all reinvent Mexican cuisine. In fact, she recalls many Mexican traditional dishes and time-honored flavors that we all needed to see more of.
Although beans do make an appearance, this vegetarian cookbook is more unique than that. Ramirez also she also features the oft-forgotten nuts and jackfruit heavily, as flavorful protein alternatives to meat products.
My favorite dish in the colorful edition is the grilled corn and cream. It’s simple, full of flavor and, most importantly, delicious.
After reading her cookbook, all I can say is – thank you. Thank you Jocelyn, for inspiring me and showing me that plant-based cooking can be just as hearty, varied, and satisfying as meat-based meals. May my limp leaves of lettuce rest in peace!
More from Jocelyn Ramirez and more vegetarian cookbooks:
If you’re new to veg-based cooking, Ramirez offers online cooking classes!
Alisa Nemirovska is a freelance content writer, world traveler, yogi, and, most of all, a lover of food. She is passionate about cooking from scratch and spends a good chunk of her day watching cooking shows on YouTube.
