Italian and Vegetarian. The Sicilian Vegan And Other Vegan-friendly Cuisines. By Emily Monroy In an edition of Toronto's Italian-Canadian weekly Tandem, food columnist Rita Simonetta asks whether one can be a vegetarian and still enjoy Italian food to the fullest. Her question was spurred by a cousin's decision - apparently a temporary one - to embrace vegetarianism. Though Simonetta goes on to list several Toronto establishments that serve Italian vegetarian dishes, her ultimate answer is no, vegetarians can't fully partake of the pleasures of Italian cuisine. My first thought on reading Simonetta's article was that she had probably never set foot in Sicily, my father's region of origin. The Sicilian cuisine was traditionally vegetarian, albeit out of necessity as opposed to choice. Meat was scarce and expensive, so Sicilians met their needs for iron and protein from the fish in the waters surrounding the island and from the vegetables that grew on the fertile volcanic soil. While eating habits have changed somewhat in the last few decades, it's still possible to be a vegetarian with relatively little effort in Sicily. On my last visit to the island three years ago, for example, I didn't eat meat once (this was before I decided definitively to become a vegetarian). _______________________________________________ ...the Sicilian diet is much less meat-heavy than that of places such as Germany and England. _______________________________________________ One reason why it's not so difficult to lead a vegetarian lifestyle in Sicily (and in other Italian regions as well, though I'm not as familiar with them) is that the Sicilian diet is much less meat-heavy than that of places such as Germany and England. A typical Sicilian meal consists of pasta with tomato sauce, bread on the side, fish or seafood, vegetables such as greens or eggplant, and fruit for dessert. On the other hand, a vegetarian friend from Germany told me that she half-starved herself during her teenage years because she would eat the vegetables but not the meat her mother prepared for dinner. Unfortunately for my friend, because meat constitutes the bulk of the German diet, depending on other foods for sustenance meant depriving herself of most of the meal. Sicilian cooking offers a range of choices for people who define "vegetarianism" in different ways. For those who eschew animal products altogether (vegans), Sicily's fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and nuts make for an interesting and varied diet. The book Sicilian Vegetarian Cooking, for instance, does not include recipes with animal products. Lacto-vegetarians can take advantage of the many types of cheeses manufactured on the island, such as the traditional ricotta made from sheep's milk. Other dairy products include ice creams of various flavours - many of which, such as almond, are not typically found in North America - as well as cream-filled pastries, the most prominent example being the cannolo. And for those vegetarians who go by the definition of meat as the "flesh of mammals" and include fish and seafood in their diet, Sicily offers a vast array of both products. _______________________________________________ ...and last but not least the little Lebanese grocery where I buy whole wheat pita bread and black olives _______________________________________________ My own diet includes many of the above-mentioned things. A typical shopping trip for me consists of a stop at the cheese store, the fish market, an outdoor stand with various fruits and vegetables, and last but not least the little Lebanese grocery where I buy whole wheat pita bread and black olives (the Lebanese, by the way, boast an excellent cuisine that while not strictly vegetarian contains a number of delicious meatless dishes). When I go out for dinner, I choose restaurants in which meat is not the "meat and potatoes," figuratively speaking, of the meal; Indian and Japanese are good examples of such cuisines. When I told my brother about my newfound vegetarianism (actually it wasn't an instantaneous decision like St. Paulís conversion on the road to Damascus; I had never really liked meat much anyway and had begun to phase it out of my diet unconsciously long before I decided to give it up for good), he said I was "rebelling." Against what he didn't say, but I replied that being a vegetarian was by no means a rebellion for me; on the contrary, it was a return to my Sicilian roots. So when people like Rita Simonetta claim you can't be a vegetarian and enjoy Italian food, I respond: you should know better. Emily Monroy is a professional translator and is of Irish, Italian and Norwegian descent. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she now resides in Toronto. Her articles have appeared in several publications, including Interracial Voice, Cats Canada, and Urban Mozaik. She welcomes feedback on her articles.You can contact Emily at emonroy@interlog.com This website: Copyright © 2000 Studio Q Int'l Inc / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. 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