RIPE DELI LAUNCHES A FRESH BATCH OF RECIPES

Following the success of their 2010 cook book, Ripe Recipes, Angela Redfern and her talented team at Ripe have whipped up a fresh batch of recipes with their second book – Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch.

In the eleven years since Ripe first opened, the vibrant delicatessen has gained a reputation for creating healthy, delicious homemade style food using only free-farmed and free-range products and the best of local ingredients.

Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch is a collection of over 140 healthy-tasty recipes broken down into easy to follow sections, from finger food to ‘lunch faves’ and fresh salads packed with goodness through to scrumptious deli dinners and gooey decadent desserts. The book also features fun themed menus based on celebration days at the delicatessen, like Mexican day, Friday Pie day and Cheesecake day.

Angela, owner of Ripe Delicatessen, says “with A Fresh Batch we wanted to showcase how to create delicious food that’s healthy and tastes great with health benefits, without compromising on taste.” 

With A Fresh Batch, Angela collaborated with head chef Pip Wylie and chef Amy Melchior to bring unique new flavours to the table. “The whole team at Ripe had a part to play. Some were even kind enough to let us include their secret family recipes in the book” Angela says.

The stunning photography captures the vibrant freshness of each recipe and once again Michelle Ineson has lent her creativity to the pages with whimsical pen and ink illustrations.

Written in Ripe’s signature easy to read and fun style, filled with quirky anecdotes and now new handy nutrition bites, Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch will appeal to all food lovers and will have even the most inexperienced cook like me hopefully creating simple, fabulous dishes that are nourishing for the soul and great for the taste buds! 

The publishers have kindly agreed to me sharing with you two recipes from the book:

THE ALMIGHTY COCK-A-LEEKIE PIE

This pie has been adapted from a traditional Scottish soup. Prunes were added by the Scots to increase its nutritional value – we like the sound of that!

                               

Serves 4 to 6

2 sheets frozen PUFF PASTRY

FILLING

60g BUTTER
1 ONION, peeled, finely diced
6 cloves GARLIC, peeled, finely chopped
1½ LEEKS, white and green parts, trimmed, cut into thin rounds
2 tbsp FRESH THYME, finely chopped
2 BAY LEAVES
¼ cup (60ml) WHITE WINE
1 tbsp WHOLEGRAIN MUSTARD
600g CHICKEN BREAST or THIGH, boneless, skinless,
roughly chopped
4 tbsp FLOUR
1 cup (250ml) WARM MILK
½ cup (125ml) CHICKEN STOCK
¾ cup (120g) PRUNES, pitted
1 tsp SALT
Freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
250g SOUR CREAM

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Defrost the pastry.

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat; add the butter. When melted, add the onion, garlic, leeks, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for a few minutes, until the leeks have softened, stirring often.

Add the wine and mustard. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the chicken and stir through.

Reduce the heat and sprinkle in the flour. Cook for a further minute stirring continuously, as the flour
catches easily.

Slowly pour in the warm milk and then the stock, stirring constantly until the roux thickens.

Add the prunes, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Fold through the sour cream.

Transfer the pie mix into an ovenproof dish; cover with the flaky pastry and brush the top with egg wash
(see pg 247).

Place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until pastry is golden and puffy.

CARPET BAG PIEs

Makes 6

1 quantity of SAVOURY SHORT PASTRY (see pg 244)
or 3 sheets frozen SAVOURY SHORT CRUST PASTRY

FILLING

500g BEEF, diced into 2cm pieces
2 tbsp FLOUR, seasoned with SALT and freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
2 tbsp VEGETABLE OIL
50g BUTTER
2 ONIONS, peeled, finely diced
6 cloves GARLIC, peeled, finely diced
2 BAY LEAVES
4 FIELD MUSHROOMS, stem trimmed, sliced into 8
4 BUTTON MUSHROOMS, stem trimmed, sliced into 6
1 tbsp FRESH THYME, finely chopped
2 cups (500ml) BEEF STOCK
2 tbsp WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1 cup (250ml) GUINNESS
½ tsp SALT
Freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
12 fresh OYSTERS

Prepare the pastry, or if using frozen pastry, defrost.

To prepare the filling: place the beef and seasoned flour into a plastic bag. Shake until the beef is well dusted
with flour.

Place a large saucepan or stockpot over a high heat, add oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the beef. Cook for 5 minutes until the beef is lightly browned all over. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef and
set aside.

To the pan, add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, mushrooms and thyme. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the browned beef back to the pan with the stock, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Note: alternatively you can place the stew into a casserole dish with a fitted lid and bake at 180°C for
1½ hours.

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little. Discard the bay leaves.

To prepare the pies: preheat oven 180°C and grease a 6-hole capacity Texan muffin tray.

On a lightly floured bench roll out the pastry into a large rectangle 3mm thick.

Using a large cookie cutter, or a small bowl, cut 6 circles of pastry large enough to fill the Texan muffin tray. Cut 6 smaller circles for the tops.

Line the muffin tray with the large circles of pastry and fill evenly with the beef mixture.

Place 2 oysters into each pie. Egg wash (see pg 247) the rim of the pastry shells. Place the tops onto the pies and pinch the edges together to seal tightly.

Brush the tops with egg wash and prick each pie with
a fork.

Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Beatnik Publishing - Hardcover - $59.99

Available at good bookshops or from Ripe Deli.