Leon Family & Friends: Book 4 [Hardcover]

This is the 4th Leon book to be released and having owned the previous three I knew that I would have to add this to my collection. I knew I would not disappointed and I wasn't. Firstly, it is a very attractive book, one that would not look out of place on your coffee table. Recipes are laid out against a white background which makes the book easy to refer back to when following one of the recipes. Not every recipe in this book comes with an accompanying photo. That isn't an issue to me but I know it is to some people so I thought I would mention it.

In the back of the book you will find an index. The index is split into two. The first index is split into categories and they are as follows:

Low glycemic load
Low saturated fat
Wheat free
Gluten free
Dairy free vegetarian

The second index is traditional index, listing recipes from A-Z.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Part one: Today:
Breakfast and brunch
Speedy lunches
A walk in the park
Tea time and high tea
Super weekday suppers
After lights out
Something sweet

Part two: Tomorrow:
Food on the move
Weekend blow-outs
Kids' cooking classes
Birthdays
Christmas and boxing day
10 things you should know how to cook before you leave home

Part three: Yesterday:
Memery lane

I have taken the time to list all of the recipes featured in the book. I do hope this is a help to you when you come to decide whether or not this is the book for you.

Energy booster smoothie
Ralph's mango lassi
Pick 'n' Mix
Happy cakes
Kow mun gai
Perfect scrambled eggs
Perfect poached eggs
Jonny Jefferey's fluffy eggs
Deconstructed huevos rancheros
Posh poached eggs in a cup
Roasted pumpkin soup with a zing
Leek and potato soup
Kay's minestrone maltese
Marion's lentil soup
Katie's sprout and caramelized onion soup
The wheel of tomato based pasta sauces (Pomodoro & Basilico, All 'Arrabbiata, All 'Amatriciana, Papalina, Con Tonno e Piselli, Zucchini)
Fish finger wrap
Leon's halloumi wrap
Natasha's chicken fajitas
Kay's California rock 'n' roll wrap
Prawn satay wrap
Auntie Qing's sushi roll
Hummus
Lentil masala dip
Tangy cheese dip
Kay's guacamole
Roasted carrot and cumin dip
Mackerel skies salad
Justin Ovenden's mackerel ceviche
Gomasio
Kay's cajun magic
3 sisters superfood salad
Gill's spinach, chorizo and halloumi salad
Chicken and tarragon casserole
Chilli game hot pot
Joyce=Ann's Jamaican curried lamb shanks
Jamaican curry powder
Storecupboard daube
Georgia's eggy potato
Cheesy spinach and mushrooms
Eleanor's top table potatoes
Herb butter
Beetroot, creme fraiche and chives
The leftovers spud
Brown crab, lemon and dill on toast
Marmite, avocado, tomato, basil amd gomasio on toast
Graig farm's all meat sausage on fig jam on toast
Poached egg and sauteed mushrooms on toast
Goat's cheese, honey, thyme and walnuts on toast
Cinnamon butter with sliced apples on toast
Miss Morton's lemon cake
Flatplanet brownies
Courgette fairy cakes
Susanna Mattana's amaretti macroons
Ot's chicken ton-katsu
Chef Ann's Malaysian prawns
Bo-that's bananas
Jenny's sagu gula melaka
Watermelon slurpie
Date shake
Toph's strawberryade
Tiger's milk
Spiced honey and orange cake
John's ultimate cold-buster
Kay's hard core cold-buster
Honey and rose baklava
Basic risotto bianco
Pea and ham risotto
Grilled asparagus and lemon risotto
Traffic light risotto
Summer squash and nasturtium risotto
Tasty herby chicken thighs and salad
Grilled chicken angelus
Pesto chicken
Deb Henley's chicken enchiladas verdes
Kim's Spanish-style chicken
Sweet soy salmon with mushrooms and pea shoots
Provencal salmon
St Clement's salmon
Thai salmon
Easy pad thai
West Indian seafood curry
Linguine with crab and tomato
Henry's meatballs with herb salad
Quick guay tiew nam moo
Midweek lamb
John's big bowl of Sunday night lamb
Fred's ragu alla Toscana
Kay's pad krapow neua
Cabbage, peas and pancetta
Fragrant cardomom basmati rice
Stuffed tomatoes
Sauted summer vegetables
Sauted radishes with their tops and peas
Will's onion rice
Alice's vegetarian shepherd's pie
Mrs V's shepherd's pie
Fisherman's pie at 91a
Cottage pie
Chard and bacon tart
Tomato, thyme and goat's cheese tart
Katie's tartiflette
Fred's classic beef burger
Kay's Hollywood turkey burger
'Ciao bella' Italian burger
The veggie burger
Spicy thai pork burger
Betty's quick prawn red curry
Perfect pepper steak
John's wild mushroom saute
Spatchcocked poussins with rosemary and garlic
Moules marinieres
Aioli
Roast cod with salsa verde
Salsa verde
Lychees with fresh ginger and sherry
Prosecco and nectarines
Cheese, pears and honey
Roasted figs with triple sec
The building block choc
Mexican hot chocolate
Swedish hot chocolate
Natasha and Eleanor's hot chocolate
Jamaican hot chocolate
Rachel McCormack's tortilla Espanola
Diamond jubilee chicken sarnie
'Rubies in the sand' salad
Benny's scotch eggs
Ploughman's in a box
Oven-fried chicken with collard greens
Quick and easy collard greens
Henry's sunday lunch
Chilli lemon kale
Butt chicken with cajun spices
Almost-Philippe's coleslaw
Roast topside
Cheat's demi-glace
Celeriac dauphinoise
Mum's chicken curry
Aubergine pickle-style bhaji
Garam masala
Rob Elliott Smith's prawn creole
Cornbread
Gardener John's roasted vegetables
Lamb boulangere
Momma's apple pie
Anna Hansen's pumpkin and miso cheesecake
Banana and flake ice cream surprise
Eleanor's eating mess
Impasto per la pizza
Pasta fresca
The spritz
Vince Jung's maragrita
The rude boi
Devilish chicken drumsticks
Annette's sweet and sour chicken drumsticks
The Italian job
Henley Regatta smoked trout and cucumber club
Porchetta on a stick
Samurai on horseback
Cold roast beef, blue cheese and grapes on a stick
Grilled cheese on a stick
Honey mustard sausages on a stick
Chorizo and halloumi skewers
Fig or pear and cheese on a stick
Vicke's sponge squares on a stick
Cake pop on a stick
Natasha's buttered toffee apple ice cream
Saffron, honey and orange blossomo ice cream
Apple's easy chocolate birthday cake
Roast turkey with Scarborough fair butter
Sausage and wild rice stuffing
Herby sausage and apple stuffing
Polenta stuffing
Perfect roast potatoes
Spiced red cabbage with dates
Sauted brussel sprouts
Pureed brussel sprouts
Shredded brussel sprouts
Bryn Williams's bread sauce
Cranberry sauce
Spiced cranberry and apple crumble
Steamed spiced marmalade pudding
Creme Jamaique
Glogg
Rulle pulse
John Derham's potato cakes
Frank Plunkett's bubble and squeak
Mum's roast chicken
Homemade chicken stock
Quick cheap student's risotto
Chicken curry
Chicken pot pie
Quick cornerstone curry
John's cheat's chicken
Bumper beef stew with dumplings
Tagliatelle aglio, olio e peperoncino
Simple Thai pad pak ruam mit
Jasmine rice
Affogate Arabesque
Cheat's chocolate trifle
Fred's chocolate mousse
Henry's salted caramel bananas
Marion's bacon and egg pie
Som tam Thai
John's chicken ce soir
Leon's poker night chilli
Kay's coq au vin
Mary's Victorian diable
Stella Matthew's cawl
Pam Edwards's date and walnut loaf
Crepes suzette
Chicken a la Grecque
Nanabhai's kulfi

Leon family and friends is, as the name suggests, a cookbook aiming to provide unpretentious recipes for feeding your nearest and dearest. It's co-written by one of the founders of "healthy fast food" concept restaurant Leon (an establishment which I most admire, incidentally)

It's a very appealing book, lavishly illustrated with photos of the authors', er, family and friends, but in a way that's charming rather than irritating. Some great ideas on children's cooking, both for things they'll enjoy making and for heathy dishes they might actually eat. Examples include pesto chicken, fish finger wrap (actually a posh fish finger sandwich but made me laugh), and showing kids how to make fresh pasta and pizza, to name but a few.

Difficulty rating is mild to moderate - even the most inexperienced cook will find plenty to get stuck into.

There are lots of digressions into snippets of nutritional info, which are entertaining and informative. The book is divided into three sections: Today - which covers breakfast, brunch and quick meal ideas for tired kids in the evenings; Tomorrow - cooking for special occasions where some planning might be required; and Yesterday - indulging in the authors' nostalgic family food memories and which contains such classics as Crepes Suzette and Coq Au Vin.

The book spans a wide range of cuisines and dishes,- I guess a lot of which passes for British these days with plenty of both Asian and traditional English recipes. Among other digressions, there's also a useful and inspiring chapter on quick meal ideas from the tins and packets languishing in your store cupboard.

Some quite creative categories - "A walk in the park" which are things you can leave in the oven for an hour or so and go out, and they'll be done when you get back. Recipes are very clear and well laid out.

I tried out a couple of the pasta dishes - the Ragu a la Toscana for entertaining friends - and the chill crab linguine when I had some over-ripe cherry tomatoes to use up, and both were absolutely delicious.

I'm going to give this book four stars, with the caveat that if you already possess the Nigels, the Nigellas, the Jamies and the Delias there might be little new for you in here, but as a good all-round family cookbook you could do a lot worse if you're just starting to build up your library.

We brought this LEON recipe book for my son for Xmas to accompany his other LEON collection. He uses them a lot and highly recommends it. Great easy to follow recipes, yummy!