Food for thought and thought for food - Auckland cafe owner Angela Redfern’s latest book goes beyond her and her team’s yummy food to look at the importance of doing better with the way food is produced and consumed.
Redfern’s Ripe cafes — there are five — are well known for their tasty salads and baked goods, which have also featured in her three previous books, but the business has always done its best to be environmentally friendly as well in the 20 years since the first Ripe store was opened in Grey Lynn.
"From having worm farms, welcoming Keep Cups before they were commonplace and banishing single-use packaging for compostable packaging — but I know we need to take it up a level to make a real difference. We probably all do.
"I know I don’t get it right all the time, but I am determined to keep trying and do better when it comes to sustainability, as I don’t underestimate the challenge ahead."
She hopes her latest book, Ripe Recipes: Thought for Food will encourage readers to make some small changes for the better of the planet and to be more curious.
"We can collectively make a difference if we all just do out bit."
She also asked author and conscious consumer Nicola Turner to contribute some of her eco home tips on shopping smarter and freezing food, as well as some of her suppliers like Anthony and Angela Tringham of Curious Croppers to share their stories.
The book also includes a range of recipes with chapters on pickles, dishes for warmer and cooler weather and sections on dressings and bits and bobs.
The book
RIPE RECIPES: Thought for Food by Angela Redfern & The Ripe Deli Team, RRP $60.00, https://beatnikpublishing.com
Photography by Sophie Merkens
The Big Brunch Salad
Serves 8
GF, NF
A great hearty warm brunch salad to serve for a gathering with family or friends, or a special occasion like Father’s Day or Mother’s Day.
TIP
This salad is easily halved to serve 4 people, but we recommend making the whole quantity of dressing though, as it’s delicious used as a mayo in sandwiches or served with grilled vegetables, chicken or fish. Trust us, you will find a use for it.
Ingredients:
Creamy chipotle dressing
1 -2 tsp chipotle hot sauce
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup (60ml) natural yoghurt
¼cup (60ml) homemade or store-bought mayonnaise
½ tsp maple syrup or honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
1kg baby potatoes
4 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 Tbsp butter, diced
2 Tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
600g small vine tomatoes
80g pancetta or streaky bacon
1 cup (40g) baby spinach
1 avocado, de-stoned, skin removed and chopped into bite-sized chunks
A small bunch of summer herbs (we used baby basil and parsley), finely chopped
8 eggs, freshly poached or soft boiled and peeled
Method:
To prepare the dressing: in a small bowl combine all the ingredients.
Season to taste and refrigerate until required.
Preheat the oven to 200degC. Line a large baking dish and 2 baking trays with baking paper.
To cook the potatoes: place the baby potatoes into the baking dish, drizzle with half of the olive oil, season well and toss to coat.
Cook for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the butter and rosemary to the tray. Lightly crush the potatoes using a potato masher or the base of a cup. Give them a good toss in the butter and return them to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes or until crispy and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little.
To cook the tomatoes: on one of the baking trays, place the tomatoes.
Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 10 minutes until the tomatoes just start to burst and blister. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little.
To cook the pancetta or bacon: on the other baking tray, lay the pieces of pancetta or bacon and roast for 8-10 minutes, or until crispy.
Remove from the oven and break the pancetta/bacon into pieces and set aside.
To serve: on a large serving platter place the roasted potatoes, tomatoes, spinach and avocado.
Drizzle over some of the dressing and top with the cooked eggs.
Scatter over the shards of pancetta or bacon and sprinkle with the herbs.
Drizzle with a little more dressing and serve the remaining dressing on the side.
French Kiss Salad
Serves 6 to 8
DF, EF, GF, NF, VEGAN
A Ripe twist on a classic French ratatouille with a zingy caper dressing, and it’s a lovely one-tray wonder. This salad is perfect for those summery long lunches, served with French-style cheeses, warm baguettes and a lovely chilled glass of rose.
This is another fab salad created by Amy Melchior. It has a vibrant green dressing which is also delicious drizzled over greens and fried fish, or on spaghetti as a simple meal.
Caper dressing
Makes 1½ cups
DF, EF, GF, NF, VEGAN
Ingredients:
1 cup (40g) parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp capers + 2 Tbsp juice from the jar
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 2to 3 Tbsp)
½ cup (120ml) olive oil
2 Tbsp water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 large eggplant or 2 small ones, cut into large bite-sized chunks
3 capsicums, cut into large bite-sized wedges
3 courgettes, cut into large bite-sized pieces
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
600g mixed heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ cup (20g) basil leaves, torn
½ cup (20g) Italian parsley, roughly chopped
¼ cup kalamata olives
Method:
To prepare the salad: make the caper dressing and set aside.
Place all the ingredients into a jug. Using a stick blender, blend for a few minutes until well combined, smooth and very green. Season to taste. Store in a clean sterilised jar. This dressing keeps well for a few days, stored in the refrigerator.
Make salad
Preheat the oven to 200degC. Line a large baking tray and add of the olive oil to the tray. Place the eggplant, capsicums and courgettes on to the baking tray.
Add the rosemary, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with a good grind of salt and pepper. Toss until the vegetables are well coated in oil. Place in the oven to cook for 35-45 minutes, or until the vegetables are nicely roasted. Turn the roasting vegetables halfway through the cooking time so they cook evenly on both sides. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little.
To serve: transfer the roasted vegetables on to a serving platter and add the tomatoes. Drizzle over some of the dressing. Top with the fresh herbs and olives. Serve the remaining dressing on the side.
TIP
Any leftovers can be heated with a little tomato passata and tossed through pasta the next day as a quick meal.
Summer Roulade
TIP
You can make this with any fruit you fancy; try it with a tropical twist by filling it with sliced mango, peach and pineapple, or in the cooler weather you could lightly roast some frozen berries and rhubarb.
Serves 10 to 12
NF, VEGETARIAN
A delightfully light classic sponge filled with summer berries, lemon curd and vanilla mascarpone cream. This is the perfect dessert — it’s nice and easy to make and it holds well stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. A fantastic recipe from Maros Vanovec, our amazing talented head baker at our store at The Goodside.
Sponge
½ cup (75g) plain flour
¼ cup (35g) cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
5 eggs
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
Filling & topping
1½ cups (375ml) cream
¾ cup (180g) mascarpone
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
⅓ cup (85g) lemon curd
500g of mixed berries (we used blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and sliced strawberries)
Freeze dried berries, crushed for garnish (optional)
Mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 160degC fan bake. Line a 24cm×34cm sponge or lamington tin with baking paper.
To prepare the sponge: sift the dry ingredients together 3 times into a bowl.
Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment.
Whisk on high for 8-10 minutes until the mixture has tripled in size and is glossy and voluminous.
Fold the flour mixture gently through the eggs and sugar. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 15 minutes or until the sponge is golden brown and springs back when gently pressed.
Its important not to open the oven door during the cooking time as the sponge will collapse. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin.
To prepare the filling: whip the cream, mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Place in the refrigerator to firm up.
To assemble: remove the sponge from the tin and flip it over so the baking paper side is sitting on the bench. Peel the baking paper away from the sides, but leave it attached to the bottom of the sponge (you will use it to help you roll the roulade up).
Spread the lemon curd over the sponge, cover with most of the mascarpone cream (save some for the top) and scatter over most of the berries, saving some for decorating the top. Carefully roll the sponge lengthways, by holding the paper to help you roll it up and peeling away the paper as you roll it.
Decorate the top with the extra cream and berries. Sprinkle over the crushed freeze-dried berries and mint just before serving.
Serve immediately, or you can make this in advance and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
