Mezcla – Cookbook Review

Last Updated on February 28, 2026

Flexitarian Feasting with Mezcla

Mezcla (Ebury) is a wowzer of a cookbook. Ixta Belfrage burst onto the cookbook scene via Flavour, which was co-written with Ottolenghi when she worked in his test kitchen. Both in Flavour and in her new cookbook, Mezcla, gutsy flavours abound, and surprises burst off the pages. Although it is not exclusively a vegetarian book, it is gratifying to see how meat and fish are relegated to the place where the vegetable recipes used to be – after the main dishes. In Mezcla, the vegetarian and vegan dishes take pride of place with 60 per cent of the recipes being vegetarian, and most dishes easily veganised.

The title of the book derives from the Spanish word for mix, mixture, blend or fusion. In her introduction to Mezcla, Belfrage explains that the book is not only about the fusion of ingredients but is also an ode to the multi-faceted influences from her childhood. She grew up in Italy while travelling frequently to her mother’s country of origin, Brazil, and to Mexico, where her grandparents lived. This background informs her food and ingredients, creating colourful, palate-tingling dishes.

Belfrage divides the book into Everyday and Entertaining sections so that readers can pick what level of energy or time they have and select recipes from the relevant section. Finally,  there is The End section – sweet dishes – which is subdivided into Quick Fixes and Showstoppers.

I tried four recipes, each of which was a crowd-pleaser. I enjoy serving particular vegetables to family members who profess not to like these items. It must be a hangover from the toddler days when I would make tomato sauces packed with veg, all put through the food processor and eaten with gusto by small people who were none the wiser that they were wolfing down their five a day. I was at this ploy again with a terrific recipe for charred red pepper sauce with omelette noodles from the Entertaining section. Romano peppers are roasted and then pureed with a range of ingredients – Belfradge shows her training in the Ottolenghi kitchen with the length of her ingredients list. This fabulously tasty sauce is served with noodles made from very thin egg crepes, essentially omelettes, which are rolled up and then cut into wedges prior to being unfurled into noodles. I not only enjoyed making these noodles, but they also worked a treat in the sauce as they warmed through together. The dish was very filling. The sauce was mopped up by a family member who could not identify the taste. Asked if he liked it, he said he did. Only then was he informed it was peppers, a vegetable he always refuses to eat. The sauce is sweet from the peppers, creamy from double cream, olive oil and parmesan,  warm with nutmeg and garlic, and spicy with ’50 grinds of black pepper’ – the most exact recipe direction I can recall following. 

Crispy oyster mushrooms skewers with crushed chickpeas was another marvellous dish. This was easy to make, albeit with several stages. First, a chilli oil was made into which the oyster mushrooms had a whirl before being threaded onto skewers. These were simply roasted. While the mushrooms cooked – and the kitchen filled with mouth-watering aromas – chickpeas were mashed with yoghurt and garlic (do heat this before serving, it is optional but I feel it improves the taste). Then a simple salsa verde was quickly chopped. This is not cooking for beginners; one has to be confident to multitask and keep an eye on pots and pans, bowls and marinades all at once. Or take your time and prep some of the sauces and stages in advance. The dish itself was lovely – the nutty taste of chickpeas providing ballast, the gentle mushrooms having absorbed the spicy chilli oil and the herby salsa verde adding a sharp freshness. A great mouthful, and you will no doubt wish you had more mushroom skewers in reserve.

The third dish I tried was equally surprising and very quick despite being in the Entertaining section. The non-pepper eater at the table also has no love for celery. Yet, he came back for a third helping of this sweet and sour celery salad. Celery was gently cooked until softening but retaining its bite. It was then marinated in a sweet and sour dressing with fresh herbs and creamy ricotta, which can be omitted to make the dish vegan. With forkfuls of crunch and creamy soft textures, plump, golden raisings and crispy toasted pine nuts, the dressing was both sweet and piquant. This dish was beautifully balanced. I have now made it several more times.

We ate all three of these dishes for dinner, and I felt excited to be savouring a meal that all too often is a rush at the end of the day. These lovely flavours made us slow down to properly appreciate the bounty of gorgeous vegetable dishes gracing the table. I had planned to make a fourth dish but ran out of time – as I mentioned, these are complex dishes and take time to cook – so I made the tomato salad with tahini ginger sauce, chilli oil and crumpet croutons the following day. If you think that all crumpets are good for is toasting and being slathered with butter – yummy though that is – think again. Belfrage pulls out the stops every time. Buy yourself a copy of Mezcla – I would be very surprised if you didn’t learn a whole lot of new ideas to put flavour and pizzazz into your cooking. Belfrage is known for her love of heat, and her list of chillies is impressive. They are also optional as she realises not everyone shares her capsicum obsession.  I am off to source some of her ingredients that are new to me – azeite de dendê or red palm fruit oil being top of my list.

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