Author(s): Valentina Harris

Food

Celebrity cooks such as Raymond Blanc and Giorgio Locatelli reveal how you can bring out a whole new spectrum of flavours at home from food that is refreshingly free of all the bad effects of mass market production. As increasing numbers of people buy ingredients directly from farmers' markets, food festivals, local farm shops and specialist retailers, it's clear that there is a growing desire to learn more about the provenance of our food - and to re-connect with traditional farming and enjoy the fruits of the land. But ultimately it's all about taste - fresh, bold flavours that explode in your mouth. Cut into a freshly grown tomato, for example, and enjoy the sweet ripeness that is miles away from mass-produced varieties. Roast these with peppers, perhaps, and put onto bruschetta for a quick snack; mix with goat's cheese and basil and pile onto puff pastry for a lunch-time tart; or pan-fry, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, with pork, fennel and red onion for dinner. The Real Food Cookbook gives you great recipes for meals that are simple to prepare - and shows you how to make the ingredients really sing, and your heart melt.