A TRULY SPECTACULAR YEAR FOR NZ COOKBOOKS

Is it just me and my passion for cookbooks or has 2010 been a golden year for cookbook publishing here in New Zealand?

Consider these titles all released in the second half of 2010:

The Free Range Cook - Annbel Langbein
A Good Spread:Recipes from the Kitchens of Rural Women New Zealand
Kiwi Favourites Cookbook
Cook &and the Baker - Mark McDonough and Dean Brettschneider
The Speights’ Southern Man Cookbook
Masterchef New Zealand - The Cookbook Vol.1.
It's Easier than you Think - Jo Seagar
Fresh!  Peter & Anne Blakeway
The Cook's Herb Garden revisited -
The Cook's Salad Garden revisited- Mary Browne, Helen Leach, Nancy Tichborne
Comfort  - Food for sharing - Edited Lauraine Jacobs
Culinary Adventures in Marrakech - Peta Mathias
The New Zeakand Vegetable Cookbook - Lauraine Jacobs,Ginny Grant & Kathy Paterson
Cooking with Charles Royal - Charles Royal
Made by Hand - Julie Le Clerc
Annabelle White’s Best Recipes - Annabelle White
A Year's Worth - Recipes from the Dunsandel Store-Sam Mannering & Annabel Graham
Martin Bosley -Martin Bosley

No doubt I have missed some and of course I haven't mentioned any of the stunning imported titles! That will be the subject of a later blog post.

Just when I am thinking to myself that my cup runneth over along comes another, an absolute cracker from out of left field from a publisher of whom I have not previously heard, a gorgeously designed and illustrated hardback that I suspect is going to take the Christmas cookbook market by storm.
I am talking about RIPE RECIPES by Angela Redfern with illustrations by Michelle Ineson and photography by Sally Greer published by Beatnik Publishing.

RIPE is of course the much-loved deli in Grey Lynn's Richmond Road and this book took over a year to prepare but Angie Redfern and her talented team of chefs have now served up Ripe Recipes – the first cook book from the highly successful delicatessen which
in the eight years since it first opened its doors, has established a reputation amongst Auckland food lovers for creating fresh, home-made style, seasonal food.

Showcasing more than 130 recipes its customers have come to love, Ripe Recipes includes wholesome meals, fresh salads crammed full of herbs as well as baking treats for the home cook. There are recipes for dips, dressings and preserves which you can make and then label using the illustrated stickers at the back of the book.

As Angie, owner of Ripe Delicatessen, says, “This book is not about fuss and bother. It’s all about getting back to basics and creating uncomplicated, tasty food and thinking about where your food comes from.”

It is this philosophy which underpins the book’s focus on free range products along with souring local produce and using seasonal ingredients.

All the recipes seem approachable and achievable at home; from the Black Forest Roulade filled with fresh cherries to the gorgeous combination of grated beetroot, carrot, seeds and pomegranate molasses in the Raw Energy Salad, the delicious Smoked Fish & Asparagus Salad to the Pumpkin Sage Risotto with Crispy Pancetta (recipe below).

The colour and flavour of Ripe’s fresh signature-style food is captured with simple, beautiful photography of every recipe. These are complimented by Michelle Ineson’s delightful pen and ink illustrations.

Written in an irreverent, fun style Ripe Recipes includes quirky anecdotes – like the customer who has Ripe’s toasted muesli posted to him regularly in Paris – as well as humorous food quotes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New Zealand-born Angie Redfern was raised in England. Her career in the hospitality industry blossomed when she earned a work placement at The Savoy in London. She later worked with Tricia Guild at Designers Guild before returning to Auckland and opening the ever-popular Ripe Deli in 2002.

Ripe Recipes is the first cookbook by Angie Redfern – created primarily because her customers kept asking for it! These renowned recipes are based on seasonality because Angie believes that by cooking in season you taste nature’s finest at its best and support local producers at the same time.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHERS
Beatnik Publishing is part of the Auckland-based Beatnik Group, a boutique, independent one-stop shop for high-quality print design, photography, illustration and publishing.
Established in 2006, Beatnik produces beautifully illustrated, luxury books on a range of subjects, including art, music, cuisine and popular culture. Its founder, versatile visual creative Sally Greer, draws on twelve years of design and publishing experience in New Zealand, the UK and Canada, and collaborates on Beatnik projects with some of the country’s most cutting-edge writing and artistic talent.

Ph: 09 365 2223
Email: info@beatnikpublishing.com

BOOK TRADE SALES & DISTRIBUTION
David Bateman Ltd
Ph: 09 415 7664
Email: bateman@bateman.co.nz

PUMPKIN SAGE RISOTTO WITH CRISPY PANCETTA

When cooking risotto make sure you have the stock warm and everything you need ready to go as the cooking method will consume your time.

Serves 6

1.5ltr (approx 6-7 cups) CHICKEN STOCK
2 Tbsp OLIVE OIL
50g BUTTER
2 medium RED ONIONS, finely diced
4 sticks of CELERY, finely diced
8 cloves of GARLIC, finely chopped
ZEST of 1 LEMON
½ cup FRESH SAGE, chopped
500g PUMPKIN, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
2 cups (400g) ARBORIO RICE
1 cup (250ml) WHITE WINE
1 cup (80g) PARMESAN, grated (reserve half for serving)
SALT and freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
knob of BUTTER
½ cup FRESH SAGE, whole leaves
100g PANCETTA, slices ripped into small pieces

Place a large saucepan on a medium to high heat. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.

Place a heavy based large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter. When hot add the onion, celery, garlic and lemon zest. Cook for few minutes or until the onion is soft.

Add the chopped sage and pumpkin and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add your rice and cook stirring constantly for approximately 3 minutes or until the grains have become slightly translucent.

Pour in the wine and allow it to reduce for a minute or two. Start adding your stock one ladle at a time. Each time allow the liquid to be absorbed almost entirely. Remember to keep stirring.

When you have added approximately 5 cups of the stock (one ladle at a time) the pumpkin should be cooked but still holding its shape and the rice al dente (firm in texture but not hard). If not, add one more cup of stock and cook for a bit longer. This should take 20-25 minutes.

When the rice is cooked to your liking, remove from the heat. Add half of the parmesan and stir to combine. Season well with salt and pepper and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. If you like a slightly wet risotto add one more cup of the hot stock.

Place a frying pan over a medium heat and melt the knob of butter. Fry the whole sage leaves for 1 minute. Add the pancetta and continue cooking until the pancetta and the sage are crispy.

Into individual serving bowls place the risotto. Sprinkle over remaining parmesan, a few of the whole sage leaves and some pancetta.

The book's technical details:

TITLE: RIPE RECIPES
ISBN: 978-0-473-17347-0

AUTHOR: ANGELA REDFERN
RRP: $59.99
HARDCOVER: 224 pages
PHOTOGRAPHY: SALLY GREER
ILLUSTRATIONS: MICHELLE INESON
PUBLISHER: Beatnik Publishing
DIMENSIONS: 210 x 250 x 21mm
RELEASE DATE: December 2010