Making delicious, mouth-watering meals doesn’t have to involve a manic food frenzy in the kitchen, assures Fay Ripley.
Best-loved for her role as Jenny in hit late-90s TV series, Cold Feet, the London-born actress has reinvented herself as a foodie in more recent years, and even won the Mumsnet Best Cookbook award for her first recipe book, Fay’s Family Food, published in 2009.
As a busy, working mum-of-two, 48-year-old Ripley’s inspiration for her latest cookbook, Fay Makes It Easy, came from wanting to put the love back into cooking, eating and sharing food.
There are 100 delicious recipes that the actress says will “strip away stress like fake tan covers up cellulite”. She doesn’t shy away from the more difficult dishes, like steak with a red wine and rosemary sauce, and tackles her crusty sunflower loaf with ease, using everyday ingredients and simple instructions. “There’s also a double serving of desserts that will make you look like a genius, while leaving time for a cuppa and a box set,” she promises.
“My food always comes from my kitchen and my heart.” Here’s hoping these three recipes from Fay Makes It Easy will solve a few problems and put smiles on faces, including yours.
MOROCCAN ZA’ALOUK FISH SUPPER WITH COUSCOUS SERVES 4
6 medium aubergines 4tbsp olive oil 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 2tsp smoked paprika 1tsp ground cumin 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1tsp harissa paste 4 x 150-175g skinless, boneless white fish fillets (cod or haddock will do) 2tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves Salt and pepper FOR THE COUSCOUS 250g couscous Juice of 1 lemon 2tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C fan/220C/gas mark 7. Cut four of the aubergines in half lengthways. Put them on an oven tray and rub the cut sides with two tablespoons of olive oil and some seasoning. Cut the other two aubergines into big, bite-sized pieces, toss in a tablespoon of olive oil and spread out on a separate oven tray. Pop both trays in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the flesh of the aubergine halves are soft and the smaller pieces are crisping up. Set aside to cool slightly. In a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan, cook the garlic, paprika and cumin for a minute, then add the tinned tomatoes and harissa paste. Stir over the heat for another minute. Now scrape the flesh out of the halved aubergines into the tomato sauce, season and stir to completely combine. Keep the aubergine pieces to one side. Put the fish fillets in a large, ovenproof dish and cover with the sauce. Pop back in the oven for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the fish cooked through. For the couscous, in a large bowl, pour 350ml boiling water over the couscous. Cover and leave for five minutes. Fluff with a fork, season and dress with the lemon juice and olive oil. Serve the fish on top of the couscous, then scatter over the chopped mint and the aubergine pieces. De-stress tip: Make the sauce well in advance, then just assemble and pop it in the oven. If you want to impress, add a handful of pomegranate seeds.
CHICKEN WITH BEANS ONE-POT WONDER
SERVES 4
2tbsp olive oil 8 big, skinless, boneless chicken thighs 2 large leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced 1tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 120ml dry white wine 250ml chicken stock 2tsp grainy mustard 2 x 400g tins flageolet beans, drained, but not rinsed 3 slices Serrano ham (or Parma ham) Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped Heat half the olive oil in a heavy-based casserole dish or large non-stick pan. Brown the chicken thighs until the outside looks nutty all over. Remove and set aside. Throw in the leeks with a second glug of oil. Soften for two to three minutes, then add the rosemary and garlic for another minute. Stir in the wine and let it bubble for two to three minutes, stirring all the good stuff off the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, mustard and beans, then tear in the ham. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat, pop a lid on and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Throw in the parsley. Serve with crusty wholemeal bread to soak up those juices. De-stress tip: Any tinned pulses work in this dish; whatever you have in the cupboard.
LEMON AND PISTACHIO CAKE
SERVES 8
125g shelled pistachios 150g softened butter 150g unrefined golden caster sugar 150g self-raising flour 50g ground almonds 2 large eggs Juice of 2 lemons 150g lemon curd (half a jar) 75g icing sugar, sifted Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C/gas mark 4 and line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin with baking paper. In a food processor, grind 100g of the pistachios (keep the rest for the top) to crumbs. Add the butter, sugar, flour and almonds and whizz to combine. Then pop in the eggs and whizz again. Finally, add the juice of one lemon and whizz to bring it all together. Scrape half the mixture into the base of your tin and smooth it out. Then roughly spread the lemon curd over the top but not quite to the edge. With the remainder of the mixture, drop dollops over the lemon curd layer to cover and gently smooth with the back of a spoon. Roughly chop the rest of the pistachios by hand and scatter over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely in the tin. For the icing, just mix together the icing sugar and one-and-a-half tablespoons of lemon juice, stirring into a paste. Criss-cross the top of your cake and leave for a couple of minutes to set. De-stress tip: This keeps really well covered for two to three days. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a coffee grinder for the pistachios and an electric whisk for the rest.
Fay Makes It Easy by Fay Ripley is published by HarperCollins, priced £20.