Leon: Ingredients and Recipes

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It would be easy to say that I just want an easy life and to be happy, but that would be a lie. Life is not easy, there will always be trials and disappointments, so you can’t just tell yourself ‘I want to be happy with my family’,” she replies.

Blitz the chilli, ginger and garlic to a paste in a food processor. Stir the paste into the onions once they have begun to soften, along with the spices (including the onion seeds). After another five minutes, season with salt, add the sweet potato chunks and the almonds and mix well so that everything is well coated. Finding a balance between her passions and priorities took several years and progressive attempts. In 2016, she and Martínez welcomed their son, Cristóbal. In the second half of 2018, they moved Central from its original location in the Lima neighbourhood of Miraflores to a building in Barranco, which also houses their family home. A month later, León opened her own restaurant, Kjolle. At Casa Tupac, León and Martínez seek to create a different model for their restaurants’ 80-strong combined team. “For me, it’s important that people come to work happy, that they feel that they work in a place where they don’t only learn, but can also make their voices heard, where they are respected and where they can build a family,” she says. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and gently fry the crushed garlic. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and harissa and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the sauce has reduced. Put in the meatballs and continue to simmer for a further 20 minutes with a lid on until the sauce looks about right. At Leon we give the veggies who eat with us quite a lot of TLC, and this curry took a long time to get spot on before it went on the menu: it's all about the balance of spices, sweetness and making sure you time the veg right so it doesn't all fall apart. The Gobi refers to the cauliflower. It's the addition of ground almonds that provides the wonderful consistency.As a young cook full of quiet determination, León threw herself into her work at Central from the very beginning. “At that time, for me it was all about work. And when I got together with [now-husband] Virgilio, forget about it – we didn’t have children so we travelled every month, it was work 24/7,” she recalls. What was the key to her success? “Everyone knows that I'm very competitive and I'm happy to admit it, I've always been competitive and tough,” she says. “Over the years the intensity has dropped a bit, but if I know I'm good at something, I go for it. León’s turning point came when she heard that a local chef was opening a promising new restaurant in Lima. Intrigued, she arranged an interview and landed a job at the fledging Central in 2009 to work the cold station. Within five years, she had gone from being the only female cook in the kitchen to its head chef – the right hand of chef-owner Virgilio Martínez. Over a medium heat melt the butter in a big heavy-bottomed pan. When it's just about going nutty brown, scatter in the bacon in separate pieces, not a clump. Keep cooking on a medium heat until the bacon starts to crisp and takes on a nicely golden brown appearance. Then stir in the garlic and cook for a further few minutes to release the flavours.

I always tell my team that they have to be one step ahead. Not in a hypocritical way or acting badly towards the rest of the team, but you have to be active, attentive and alert. If you want that job, do it in the right way; be honest, but get there. I've always worked like that, trying to be a little bit ahead,” she explains. In a large saucepan, cook the onion and carrot over a medium to low heat in the oil for 15-20 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Season with salt. Take extreme care not to over-bake. The brownie is ready when the edges are slightly crusty and the middle is still soft. The middle should be very moist but should have a firmish feel to it - about 20-25 minutes. Remember that fructose goes much darker when baked than sugar. The brownie also develops a glossy sheen and does not look baked when it is. I'll say it again - you need to be very careful not to over-bake. The original Leon recipe uses pine-nuts rather than sunflower seeds, but I always substitute these as pine-nuts are so expensive and the sunflower seeds work perfectly.

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This is a perfectly balanced lunch. We have some wonderful regulars who have been eating this three times a week for years. León often refers to the members of her team as her family – stressing that this isn’t just a word for her, but a holistic attitude to how she runs her restaurants. “We share the same values, the same ideas and thoughts. We have managed to build that trust that is essential for all of us to be able to achieve a mission together, not only professionally, but also in life,” she adds. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ I’ve always been cautious. People were always asking me ‘why don’t you open your own place?’ when I was at Central, and I kept saying ‘let’s wait, I’m not ready, it’s not my time yet’,” she says. “In the end, we opened at the right time. Cristóbal was already two years old, and on a personal level, I was prepared.” Chowders are associated with clams, summertime and New England, but this is a slightly heartier recipe that gently slides into autumnal eating.