The Cook and the Gardener: Recipes and Writings from France (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781324105411)

The ancient link between the gardener and the cook is at the heart of this remarkably evocative cookbook, in which Amanda Hesser recounts a year she spent as a cook in an old ch?teau in Burgundy. She and the property's wary gardener became friends, and he showed her a way of life that was quickly disappearing from France.

Each season, Hesser puts the garden's harvest at the center of her cooking. In spring, it's carrots with tarragon and braised lamb with peas. Summer chapters feature zucchini-lemon soup and raspberry eau-de-vie. The colder months inspire leek vinaigrette and Brussels sprouts with brown butter.

Hesser's recipes are simple yet sublime, with accessible ingredients and vivid instructions. With a new preface and updated illustrations, this anniversary edition of The Cook and the Gardener helps home cooks develop new ideas for how to work with seasonal produce, whether it comes from the supermarket, the farmer's market, or their own gardens.