Allegra McEvedy’s Colour Cookbook
“Why does nature flood us with dark, forest-greens in late winter and save the orange of the beta-carotene laden pumpkins for later in the year?
Whenever you go to your local supermarket you are confronted by an extraordinary spectrum of colours, but head to your local farmers’ market and you become aware of seasonal shades: early in the year it’s all about powerful greens, strong enough to withstand the full force of winter.
When spring kicks in, yellow shoots turn into adolescent greens like asparagus. Summer is all about the sun and with the heat come vibrant red tomatoes and strawberries or pink raspberries. With autumn shades turn to golden oranges, also saturated with stupendous seasonal powers. It makes sense to eat with the seasons. Eating what nature tells us with her simple colour-coded system gives us all we need in terms of flavour and health. A strawberry that’s travelled 5,000 miles to get to us in midwinter has roughly one tenth of the iron, minerals and antioxidant properties of a British one in season. And that’s without even thinking about all those nasty sprays to keep it looking good, or the air miles involved, let alone the flavour.
Allegra McEvedy’s Colour Cookbook contains a chapter for each season, with its own palette of colours, and recipes that use ingredients that are at the top of their game. Now is the time to enjoy a Swiss Tart, but wait for autumn to try Duck and Baked Plums.”
Allegra McEvedy is a seasoned chef and co-founder of Leon, winner of the Best New Restaurant in Britain at the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2005. She has a column in The Guardian.
Allegra McEvedy’s COlour Cookbook is available from Amazon.co.uk
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