Inspiralized and Beyond

April 2, 2018
Maffucci sells a spiralizer kitchen tool and has authored two previous cookbooks for using its shoestring-cut produce. Here she branches out with other techniques, but still includes a primer on spiralizing and enough recipes that require the instrument that anyone without a spiralizer will be hampered. In high-energy prose, the author touts the health benefits of substituting vegetables for other ingredients, usually bread, as when a slice of rutabaga stands in for the crouton in French onion soup. Each recipe indicates a number of different categories: paleo, vegan, one pot, and so on, as well as estimated time required, difficulty level, and nutritional data. Ersatz comfort food rules the day: spiralized sweet potatoes are tossed with eggs, raisins, and cinnamon and baked in a donut pan to mimic bagels; and ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella filling is rolled in collard greens for so-called manicotti. A “dessert pizza” is served on watermelon slices. Carnivorous recipes include Philly cheesesteaks broiled atop bell pepper halves. Dishes not masquerading as something they’re not, such as a chickpea-flour socca from the South of France and seared tuna with brown rice and carrot and cucumber “noodles,” are the more successful and original options. The recipes are certainly solid and accessible, but the gimmickry wears thin.