Lindy Schneider talks food, family and intentional living with Nadia Fragnito of The Vegan Italian Kitchen
The word simpatico in Italian describes a mutual and reciprocal positive feeling. For Nadia Fragnito, it is a perfect word to capture the resonance between two defining aspects of her heart: Vegan life and Italian life. Born to an Italian Father (who emigrated to Australia as a nine-year-old) and Australian mother, Nadia’s childhood is a postcard to the best of both worlds – an Australian upbringing infused with the vibrant southern Italian cultural influences of Campania. “My mum taught me cooking skills, but my dad and my nonna taught me about my heritage, the old recipes, the ways of the garden…and of comfort food. This is what I took into the world as an adult leaving home more than twenty years ago and has become increasingly important to me as I’ve become older. These traditions are part of who I am. Veganism is also part of who I am.”
Compelled to veganism by a deep concern for animals and their suffering, Nadia adopted a vegan lifestyle at a time when cookbooks, and product options (and even the internet) were not readily available. “In those early years, I missed so many dishes from my childhood so it became a creative exploration to discover ways I could veganise the dishes I had grown up with.”
Read the full article in our #46 Winter 2021 issue – SHOP HERE
Photograph below: Sarah Lynch Photography
