United with other Mediterranean diets by olive oil as their primary source of fat, Italy uses it to enhance the flavor of its favorite fruit, the tomato, and its vegetables, legumes and grains. Thus, Italian cuisine is a diet friendly to the vegan, one who eats no animal products -- no meat, eggs or dairy products. Red wine completes the Italian meal, which modern science has now established can be beneficial to your health.

Donna Klein of Montgomery Village, Md., author of The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen and The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook, has written "Vegan Italiano," a 192-page Home paperback cookbook with 225 vegan recipes for dishes from sun-drenched Italy. The book will be published Oct. 3 and will sell for $18.95.

Here, summaries of Klein's synopsis of the delicacies offered by each of the Italian regions:

PIEDMONT -- Known for white truffles, chocolate desserts and world-class wines -- Barolo, Barbaresco and Asti. Turin, the capital, is home of grissini, thin breadsticks.

LOMBARDY -- Minestrone alla Milanese, a variation of the famous soup made with rice instead of pasta; and risotto alla Milanese, a creamy saffron-scented rice dish, come from Milan, the capital. Also known for panettone, a tall sweet Christmas bread with raisins and candied orange peel.

TRENTINO and the ALTO ADIGE -- Barley, corn, oats, rye and wheat grow here; grapes, raspberries and fruit trees also thrive. Cabbage, potatoes, turnips, dumplings, pancakes and strudels are popular.

VENETO -- Affluent Venice serves rice and risotto with artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms, onions, peas, pumpkins, tomatoes and zucchini. Treviso famous for radicchio rosso (red chicory). Sgroppino, an after-dinner drink made from vodka, Prosecco and lemon sorbet, for dessert. Verona source of some of best Italian wines, namely Valpolicella, Bardolino, Amarone and Soave.

FRUILI and VENEZIA GIULIA -- Many esteemed wines -- Ribolla, Picolit, Pignolo and Pinot Grigio. Vegetable risottos. Cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, figs, apples and pears cooked in savory dishes as strudels and sorbetti.

LIGURIA -- Pesto, a rich basil-and-pine-nut sauce tossed with pasta and vegetables, and stirred into soups. Easter fruitcake known as pandolce. Stuffed vegetables, vegetable tarts, focaccia and sweet pizzas made with walnuts, chestnuts and candied fruit. Abundant olive groves, vineyards and orchards.

TUSCANY -- Where Italian cooking was born. Bruschetta, crostini; panzanella, a hearty bread salad; ribollita, a rib-sticking bread and bean soup; and panforte, a spiced fruit cake from Siena. Olive oil from Lucca. Savored Tuscan wines: Chianti, Vernaccia di San Geminiano and Brunello.

EMILIA-ROMAGNA -- Modena is home of balsamic vinegar and Bologna is the gastronomic capital of Italy. Grows wheat for its famous ravioli and lasagna, invented here. Abundant fruits and vegetables; known for its liqueurs and fruit brandies. Fruity, sparkling red Lambrusco produced here.

UMBRIA -- Wheat, figs, mushrooms, olives, plums thrive. Known for truffles, and risotto with truffles is a specialty here. Perugia, the capital, is famous for its chocolate.

LE MARCHE -- Fruit and olive trees, grapes, vegetables and wheat. Risotto with mushrooms is a favorite. Potato soup with greens and farro and chestnut ravioli are specialties. Also known for aniseed biscuits, made with local Mista liqueur.

ROME and the LAZIO -- Vegetables, often dressed with agrodolce, or sweet and sour, sauce. Its carciofi alla Romana, artichokes stewed with olive oil, garlic and mint, and carciofi alla giudea, deep-fried artichokes, are famous. Pasta prevails, but also gnocchi, polenta and rice croquettes. Italian ices the quintessential dessert.

ABRUZZI and the MOLISE -- Pasta and olive oil rule. Hot peppers in many dishes, even a cooked called pepatelli. Chickpeas so popular they are in a dessert ravioli with chocolate and walnuts.

CAMPANIA -- Capital, Naples, the birthplace of pizza. Also famed for rich tomato sauces, usually signified by "alla Napoletana" added to the recipe name. Year-round vegetables. Pasta and gnocchi immensely popular, as are babas, rum-soaked yeast cakes, and zeppole, fried pastry rings covered in powdered cinnamon sugar. Huge lemons of the Amalfi Coast used for Limoncello, a liqueur.

BASILICATA -- Poor region, but citrus fruits, figs, nuts, olive trees, wine grapes and wheat sustained here. Fresh herbs, hot peppers, capers and garlic used for flavors. Pasta with spicy lentil sauce a favorite. Figs served for dessert.

CALABRIA -- Also poor, but almonds, artichokes, citrus fruits, eggplant, figs, grapes, olives, peppers and tomatoes grow here and appear in many dishes. Local favorites: Ciambatta, a heavy vegetable stew, and tomatoes stuffed with pasta and mint.

APULIA -- Producer of olive oil. Wheat is major grain crop. Bread and pasta are staples. Artichokes, asparagus, citrus fruits, eggplant, fava beans, fennel, grapes, greens, melons, onions and potatoes grow well. La capriata, a bean puree served with cooked green; pizza rustica, a two-crust pizza; and tiella, a layered potato, onion and vegetable casserole come from Apulia.

SICILY -- Largest producer of citrus fruits; grows much of Italy's wheat. Artichokes, broccoli, capers, eggplant, fennel, figs, grapes, nuts, peppers, tomatoes and zucchini thrive; bread and pasta are staples. Caponata, the sweet-and-sour eggplant, celery and olive appetizer; and impanata, a spinach- or broccoli-stuffed bread pie, are Sicilian. Also known for almond marzipan pastries called fruitta de martorana (or pasta reale) colored to resemble real fruit, a fortified dessert wine used in cooking.

SARDINIA -- Artichokes, cauliflower, eggplant, fava beans, nuts, peas, tomatoes and fruits grow well here. Gnocchi flavored with saffron and ravioli stuffed with spinach are specialties. Also known for cauliflower soups, vegetable tortas and sweet pastries.

Note: Should you decide to sprinkle a cheese substitute on your pasta or pesto, vegan cheese substitutes are not recommended as they do not melt well. The only acceptable ones contain casein, a milk derivative.

For Italians, the first course is an antipasto. Antipasto teases the palate as well as appealing to the eyes and preparing the stomach for courses to come. When you have a ripe tomato, garden-fresh basil and extra-virgin olive oil, all you need is some garlic-rubbed bread to create a memorable antipasto.

SOUPS

Zuppe are thick soups that don't contain pasta or rice, are not creamed and are usually ladled over toast or croutons.

Minestre are vegetable soups that usually contain pasta, barley or rice.

Minestrine are thin broths that contain tiny pasta, such as pastina.

Minestrone is thick vegetable soup often containing pasta or rice and served with pesto, olive oil or Parmesan cheese.

Passati are pureed vegetable soups, thickened with potato or cream.

SALADS

The most basic is insalata verde, or green salad, consisting of mostly one kind of lettuce, such as romaine, plus one or two other greens, usually bitter or sharp, such as curly endive, escarole, arugula, Belgian endive or radicchio.

Insalata mista, or mixed salad, combines a variety of lettuce and green with tomato, onion, olives and sometimes cooked vegetables, such as artichokes, asparagus, beets, green beans and potatoes.

Toss salad with wooden utensils to avoid bruising the greens. Make sure the dressing is at room temperature.

Several cooked vegetables together as a salad is called insalatone.

PASTA

Sturdy pasta is paired with full-bodied sauces, while delicate pasta is matched with light sauces.

Add salt when adding the pasta to the water. Don't rinse after cooking as the starchiness helps the sauce adhere to the pasta. Fresh pasta cooks in half the time as dried.

RICE and OTHER GRAINS

Rice rules in northern Italy. Piedmont and Lombardy supply the world with the plump, starchy, short-grain arborio rice that is the basis of creamy risottos. Long-grain and brown rice are used in baked dishes, salads and stuffed in vegetables. Once made with barley and other grain, polenta has been a basic since Etruscan times. Corn replaced the buckwheat after Columbus brought it back to Europe, and Northern Italians began to be called polentoni, polenta eaters. Barley is eaten all over Italy. The Roman gladiators were known as hordearii, barley-men. Used in soups, casseroles and salads, it is regarded as a source of strength to the body and soul; mothers feed it to sick children.

VEGETABLES, BEANS AND OTHER LEGUMES

Many experts attribute the healthiness of the Italian variation of the Mediterranean diet to its focus on vegetables as well as olive oil. Broccoli, spinach and tomatoes have been associated with lower rates of cancer and heart disease. The highly esteemed bean -- borlotti, cannellini, chickpeas and kidney -- are filled with iron, protein and fiber, as are some of Italy's favorite nuts -- almonds, pine nuts and walnuts.

PIZZA, BREADS, SANDWICHES and OTHER LIGHTER FARE

No Italian meal is complete without bread. They eat about 1/2 pound of it a day, as pane (bread), panini (rolls), pizza, focaccia, calzoni, stromboli and stuffed breads.

Pizza may be Italy's national dish and can be one of the healthiest foods. But American pizza often has excess cheese and meats. Popular in southern Italy, Neapolitan pizza is unadorned except for a smear of tomato sauce, a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of herbs and one or two toppings, such as mushrooms, onions or olives. Cheese is used sparingly.

DESSERTS

Fruits in season are the real dessert stars in Italian homes, with tiramisu and cheesecakes saved for special occasions. Grilled peaches stuffed with raspberries are served in summer. Figs are dried to make compote with toasted walnuts. Oranges and figs are popular in the south; apples, pears and peaches in the north.

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