Leon

After yesterday's post about the Leon cookbook, I stumble upon this photo. It was taken last year when we were visiting England. I can't recall the exact location and unfortunately we did not go into Leon; as we were focused to get to another venue in London. It was good to put a face, so to speak, with the cookbooks and the Leon name in a culinary context. Perhaps another visit we will pop into Leon and enjoy their culinary delights. 

- JD 

Leon ~ Fast & Free

The creators of Leon have this new wonderful cookbook ~ Fast & Free. A cookbook to which they felt they should have wrote 12 years ago. Their recent inspiration, Paleo, and Jane's travels in Southern Europe, Southwest Asia and beyond. When Leon first started they were probably seen as radical... a bit alternative however times have changed and our way of eating... eating better, has changed, becoming more mainstream.   

Recipes are gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free as well some recipes may be vegetarian, vegan, and nut free. Although they carry the main principles of paleo they have interpreted their own version of paleo... called Paleon. A bit of play on words there. Their premise, as with all their cookbooks, is to try and make it easy for everyone to eat well. Something anyone can appreciate. If you like... love food then the Leon cookbooks are for you.

All recipes have a Nutritional Key which gives you a quick reference if the recipe is applicable for you and your eating choices. They range from Low Glycemic Load, Low Saturated Fat, Paleon, Nut-free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Contains Added Natural Unrefined Sugar, and No Added Sugar. 

The book discusses free from, the term which represents when a recipe is free of something or an ingredient such as diary free... free from dairy. You get the idea. They have included a 4 page fold out called Your Kitchen Cupboard, the essential ingredients to stock your kitchen with.  Within this 307 page cookbook there are 7 chapters, Good Mornings, For Starters, Everyday Easy, Speedy Suppers, Meals For A Crowd, Bits On The Side, and Treat Yourself. There is something for everyone although a few recipes may send one on a culinary hunt, depends on where you live and if a shop in your area carries certain things like... chestnut flour, for example. Still, do not let that deter you. 

The recipe I would like to share is from the For Starters chapter. Even though these are being toted as a starter I feel you could serve them with grilled salmon or chicken, grilled halloumi cheese or tofu or a salad. Besides they sound delicious! This recipe is low in saturated fat, nut-free, vegan, vegetarian, and no sugar added.

Spiced Spinach, Pea & Potato Cakes

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Prep time: 5 mins  • Cook Time: 20 mins

2 tablespoons gram flour, plus extra for dusting

1/4 cup cooked spinach

1/2 lb potatoes, mashed

2/3 cup peas

1 green chile, chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

a pinch of ground turmeric

a pinch of ground cardamon

a pinch of garam masala

canola oil, for frying

salt and ground black pepper

1. Dry-fry the gram flour until lightly toasted. Place in a large bowl. Squeeze out any excess moisture from the spinach, season, and chop. Add to the gram flour along with the rest of the ingredients except for the oil. Season and mix together well.

2. Shape into small cakes and dust with a little gram flour. Shallow-fry in a little oil for 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Drain in a paper towel before serving.

The sunny long weekend came and went and now the midweek rain is falling.  - JD   

Leon ~ Ingredients & Recipes

This was on my cookbook list however it was gifted to me and after posting about Leon's pocket sized cookbooks I thought this would be the perfect book to post about now. The Leon cookbook covers quite a bit throughout it's 293 plus pages. Loads of culinary information with the importance on ingredients. Stressing, the purchases we make at the shop are the factors that will affect the way food tastes. This cookbook is for anyone who loves food, those that care about what they put into their body and people who get excited about food. Leon cookbook talks about superfoods, ingredients they love and ingredients they can not be without. Then again, don't we all have a list of favourite ingredients and ones that we can not be without. To them ingredients are everything which equals good food and food that is good. The book is divided up into two parts, one being the Ingredients half, and all it's detailed information and the other being the Recipes with entertaining stories and personal photos.   

I could go on about this book, believe me, and the post would be a long one. To share much of it's detail information and recipes would be great however this cookbook is one to be added to your collection, to be given as a gift, and to be enjoyed. 

Thought I would share this lovely recipe from the cookbook. Enjoy! 

Apricot Madeira Cake

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Makes 8 fat slices

1 3/4 cup dried apricots

scant 2/3 cup Madeira or sweet sherry

butter or oil for greasing the pan

6 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup fructose

2 1/2 cups ground almonds

a handful of sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

Put the apricots in a small saucepan and fast simmer in the booze for about 10 minutes, or until there is no liquid left.

Roughly chop eight of the apricots; purée the rest.

Grease an 8-inch cake pan with butter or oil.

Beat the eggs until big and fluffy, preferably with an electric mixer.

In another bowl mix the fructose, ground almonds, and baking powder and then fold the mixture into the eggs.

Add both kinds of apricot to the batter and pour into your prepared pan.

Scatter the surface of the cake with sliced almonds.

Bake for 40 minutes, turning it around halfway through. 

Let cool in the pan. 

WF - wheat free •  DF - diary/lactose free •V - vegetarian • low or no animal fat


Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far. - JD 

Leon - Brownies, Bars, & Muffins

Thought I would do a tag team post with Leon's Brownies, Bar, & Muffins, seeing how yesterday I did a post on their Soup, Salads, and Snacks. Again, the recipes in this mighty little book are selected from their full sized Leon cookbook; and feature the Better Brownie, Nutty Almond Date Oat Muffins and Bar of Good Things recipes. They put their best baked treats forward and offer plenty of wheat, dairy, gluten or sugar free options. Since 2004 Leon has been selling their famous Better Brownies upon the opening of their first restaurant in Carnaby Street, London.

Although my baking declines in the summertime, due to warmer temperatures, I occasionally like to fire up the cooker and bake a round of cookies, squares or a pie. However, this does tend to happen on those cooler or rainy days. Having a quick and fast recipe book is positive, meaning, being in and out of the kitchen and able to enjoy the sunshine while we can. 

Even if you follow a recipe to the letter and it turns out great nothing will taste like the original. That being said I thought I would share the Better Brownie recipe with you; in hopes that you will enjoy and recreate this luxurious wheat and sugar free recipe by one of their favourite bakers, Emma Goss-Custard. Do not let the 9 steps sway you. It may be therapeutic.  

Better Brownie

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Makes 12 large brownies ~ Prep time: 25 minutes ~ Cooking time: 25 minutes 

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

7 oz semi sweet chocolate (54% cocoa solids)

1 orange

2 teaspoons espresso or strong coffee

1/2 cup whole almonds

4 eggs

1 cup ground almonds

7 oz semisweet chocolate (54% cocoa solids), in chunks

7 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids), in chunks

3/4 cup fructose

a pinch of sea salt

3 - 4 drops of vanilla extract

1. Heat the oven to 350ºF. Generously butter a 12x8x2-inch baking pan, or one of similar dimensions. 

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and let it cool slightly.

3. In a separarte bowl, melt the 7 oz of semisweet chocolate over a saucepan of hot water, stirring well to make sure that it is properly melted, and being careful not to burn it. Finely grate the orange zest directly into the melted chocolate to catch the oils that are released during the zesting process.

4. Add the coffee to the melted butter.

5. Spread out the almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, then coarsely chop.

6. Crack the eggs onto a large mixing bowl. Add the ground almonds, the chopped almonds, all the 14 oz of the chocolate chunks, and finally the fructose. Stir in the salt and vanilla, followed by the butter mixture and the melted semi sweet chocolate. 

7. Mix well until creamy and thickened, but do not overtax, because too much air will cause the brownie to crumble when baked.

8. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Be careful not to overbake the brownies. They are ready when the edges are slightly crusty but the middle is still soft.

9. Remove from the oven. Let cool in the pan before slicing into 12 large brownies to serve.

Tips: as suggested from the book...

* Fructose turns a much darker colour when baked than sugar. The brownie develops a glossy sheen and will not look cooked, when, in fact, it is. Resist the temptation to bake the brownies for too long.

* You can replace the fructose with 1 cup of sugar. 

Have a great weekend everyone! - JD 

Leon - Soups, Salads, & Snacks

In 2004 the first Leon restaurant opened in London and from there the founders Henry Dimbleby, John Vincent and Allegra McEvedy have probably never looked back. Creating fresh wholesome food with bold flavours and using simple natural local ingredients, winning awards and creating lovely cookbooks seems to be their speciality. Owning a few of their Little Leon - Naturally Fast Recipe cookbooks is a great idea. They are handy and most of the ingredients one may already have on hand. 

With warmer temperatures my appetite may wain however my enjoyment of all things, soothing, crispy and snacky go up. Which makes Soups, Salads, & Snacks perfect. The recipes are fast and may be prepared in 20 minutes. Recipes are taken from their full-sized Leon cookbooks. The Soup chapter offers recipes ranging from comfort to exotic, the Salad chapter offers quick recipes fit for dinner, and the Snack chapter has plenty of inspiration. The pages on, Things on Potatoes and Things on Toast offer a bit of a refreshment for those culinary staples.

This lovely salad is wheat free and vegetarian.   

Laura's Jewelled Salad

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Serves 4 ~ Prep time: 5 minutes ~ Cooking time: 5 minutes  

1 cup barley coucous

8 oz good quality feta cheese

1 cucumber

a bunch of mixed fresh green herbs, e.g. mint and cilantro

3/4 cup pine nuts

seeds of 1 large pomegranate

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 1/2 lemons

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Prepare the couches following the package instructions. Let cool in a large bowl.

2. Crumble the feta and slice the cucumber into chunks. Add these to the bowl, then roughly tear the herbs and add them, too.

3. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a skillet over low heat. When they turn a light golden colour, scatter them, along with the pomegranate seeds, onto the salad.

4. Peel and finely mince or grate the garlic. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic and pour the dressing onto the salad. Toss gently to coat, season well with salt and pepper, and serve. 

I have seen a carrot dip recipe before and have been intrigued by it's simplicity and vibrancy. Therefore I thought I would share this recipe from the book as well. This dip is gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, and vegetarian, of course! 

Roasted Carrot & Cumin Dip

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Serves 4 to 6 ~ Prep time: 10 minutes ~ Cooking time: 50 minutes

10 - 12 carrots (about 1 1/2 lbs), coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

a pinch of sugar (optional)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 clove of garlic, peeled and coarsely crushed

2 tablespoons water

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oven to 400ºF.

2 Toss the carrots in a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, a pinch of sugar (if you feel like it), and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper.

3. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a knife goes through the carrots easily.

4. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

5. Once the carrots have cooled, put them into a food processor or blender and process, adding the cumin, garlic, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the water, until you have a nice creamy consistency. Serve at room temperature. 

Hope everyone is having a great week. - JD