Leon by Allegra McEvedy

This is a book of two halves. "The Ingredients Book" arms you with everything you need to know about the basic building blocks of any recipe. Leon chooses it's ingredients above all for their flavour and healthiness but also with a view to the world we live in, so that such shark-infested waters as sustainable fish are tackled and easy to navigate. In the first half of the book Leon's top 250 fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, dairy and store cupboard ingredients are all given their own entries. Nutrition, a bit of history, flavour and the best way to get the most out of any given ingredient are all covered...seasoned with a fair amount of random miscellany. You will also travel to the outer-starburst that is 'Brassica Galatica', discover 'Passports for Herbs' and have your very own pull-out "Rainbow Seasonality Guide".The second half is "The Recipe Book" - this is where you can put your newly found knowledge of ingredients to great use. Here are over 140 recipes: some are familiar favourites taken from Leon's menus such as the Original Superfood Salad, Moroccan Meatballs or Magic Mackerel Couscous and, for those Leon Lovers everywhere, at last a recipe for the coveted Leon Better Brownie. Plus there are some recipes from the founders, their friends and those who helped make Leon what it is today, like Fred's Millennium Octopus and David Dimbleby's Spanish Omlette. Leon's food message is a simple and honest one - cook and eat with the best ingredients available...and don't forget the naughty bits that are so necessary for a fully-rounded life. Food is the greatest pastime we all share, and this book will fill you with interest, warmth and smiles like being shown round a garden you've always loved by a gardener you slightly fancy.