“As time goes by, I find the island has become too westernised with people going crazy for western foods like cronuts, bagels, sushi, and many other meals,” he said. 

Pisani shared that his main inspiration for this publication was Vincent’s Eco Farm, where he has worked and lived for the last two years. 

“Working and living surrounded by nature, harvesting seasonal produce, conversations with farmers and villagers all helped inspire me to create this book,” he said. 

The modernised cookbook revisits traditional recipes of the past and aims to shape them into more nutritious versions free from animal products.

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or simply interested in cutting down on your consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy, this book offers a seasonal variety of delicious and easy-to-follow plant-based recipes influenced by the rich culinary history of the Maltese islands.

It all started when Pisani made a veganised ‘Pudina Tal-Ħobż’ back in 2019 after he had already been posting vegan-related content on his blog since 2016.

“Everyone just loved it and was like, how about I compose a small collection of veganised Maltese recipes and publish an ebook,” he recounted. 

“Then the pandemic hit, I luckily had the opportunity to keep living on the farm and slowly the project was becoming too big in my head for just an ebook,” he said. 

“Then around June 2020 I decided to publish a book so I worked much harder on my photography, making sure to give it that Maltese nostalgic touch.” 

Pisani spoke of all the sources of inspiration that he encountered while living in the locality of Mġarr and often travelling up to the sister island of Gozo.

“I met so many inspiring people including farmers, beekeepers, and salt harvesters among others. These small events and encounters made me appreciate the simplicity and happiness of a life connected to nature,” he said. 

The book is dedicated to Pisani’s late grandmother, who passed away halfway through the creation of the book.

“She was a simple woman happy with less, the traditional-loving nanna always stuffing my face with her food,” he said. 

When it comes to the creation of his recipes, Pisani follows quite a simple process, starting off by tasting the traditional recipe.

Then he moves on to looking for old recipes from his grandmother’s collection and local recipe books, then finally recreating them with plant-based and healthier alternatives. 

The book is divided into four chapters, mirroring the four seasons of the year and the different products available during each period. Therefore, one will not find recipes with fresh oranges in the summer chapter or recipes with fresh tomatoes in the winter chapter. 

The photography seen in the book was also all done by Pisani, mostly shot on the premises of Vincent’s Eco Estate in Mġarr.

Check out this fresh collection of traditional Maltese recipes re-imagined to make them more nutritious, contemporary, and all plant-based.

Pre-order the book here.

Tag someone who needs to buy this book