Four MSE Ingredients (Recipes)

Blue_Diamond

http://www.amazon.co.uk/400-Three-Four-Ingredient-Recipes/dp/0754817032

£14.99

Kiwisaver_2

I'm another cook book fan and probably have more recipes than the number of meals I will ever cook in my lifetime. Still doesn't stop me looking and I had a leaf through this book in the shop and wasn't at all inspired.

See this review:

http://books.scoop.co.nz/2008/06/18/four-square-meals-or-meals-for-squares/

Pretty much sums it up, the way I saw it. Also I would have to say some of the ingrdients would be Aussie / Kwi centric and possible not everyday ingredients for the UK market. I would save your money for something more worthwhile.

If I get a chance at the weekend I will take another closer look for you and report back.

LondonDreamer

First post here, I've been lurking for awhile though.

I'm currently in Australia, they have a TV show here as well. I tried watching it once but couldn't get past their "recipe" of a burger served on a buttered roll with lettuce, or something like that anyway - it was awhile ago.

Relies on quite a bit of ready made items (e.g. antipasto mix, bottled/packet sauces) and a lot of the recipes seemed to be only for a portion (usually the meat) of a dish, not a complete meal.

You can see a lot of the recipes on the tv show's website, hope it's OK to post the link:

http://www.lifestylechannel.com.au/factsheets/results.asp?keywords=&show_id=411&author_id=&category_id=&x=38&y=10

MindaJ

I have both books written by these ladies (well, my brother does) and I'm not all that impressed by them. A lot of the recipes are ones that you probably already know, but they've been modified so they have less ingredients. There's things like "puff pastry twists" which is just puff pastry, twisted, and cooked in the oven.

Some of the dessert ones look kinda cool, but I don't think the books are worth it just for that. They might be okay as a beginner cookbook, but not for people with experience in the kitchen.

And like LondonDreamer said, they rely on a lot of ready made things. It would be cheaper to use more ingredients and make things from scratch.

SnowyOwl_2

I heard them on the radio the other day too. I got the impression that initially their target audience was for busy mothers (like themselves) who didn't have time or inclination to spend in the kitchen. Maybe that's why they rely on preprepared sauces and so on. It seems they have unwittingly struck a nerve with lots of people who want to cook something but be in and out of the kitchen in double quick time and don't have ambitions to create restaurant standard meals. Their website says:

If you are a busy person, or on a tight budget, have moved out of home, are still fine tuning your culinary skills, are going camping, are on the move and haven't a lot of room for a full pantry, OR you simply haven't had time to do the groceries, then this is the book for you!

Their website address is: http://www.4ingredients.co.uk/

I don't work for them, honest! I was however impressed by them on the radio - it was 3.30am in Australia so they were up in the middle of the night, but they were funny and enthusiastic, not dreary and serious like some celebrity chefs can be.


Wasn't there a thread for recipes with four/five ingredients or less in Old Style a long while ago - maybe a year or two ago? Pink...do you know??

jackieb

Isn't there a website where you put in what ingredients that you have already and it searches for a recipe?

jackieb

Here it is. http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/recipe-search.aspx

kunekune

Do you think that reply re whitebait was really from Keri Hulme?

I have quite a few aussie/kiwi cookbooks, and mostly they work fine. But the ingredients they rely on aren't always things we can get here - eg, the sweet potato in UK shops is not the same as kumara (not even when it's labelled kumara) and they don't have the different kinds, eg, golden kumara. Cuts of meat aren't all the same - you never get lamb rump here - and the fish used are often different, eg, terakihi. So while I do still use the books, they work because I know what the ingredients are meant to be like, what I can replace and what is going to be impossible.

I get annoyed with publishers who flood the UK market with reprints of Aussie cookbooks without any hint that they are not 'local' (apart from the fact they contain asian-inspired recipes using lots of south east asian greens, prawns and barramundi).

blueberrypie

I think the whole idea of "only x ingredients" is misleading, really. Within reason, the number of ingredients doesn't matter. For a beginner cook, it's going to be the techniques that are more important, and for a busy cook, it's going to be the time it takes. And anybody who was a reasonably good cook would know that - so why would they write a book that was based around a maximum number of ingredients? - I can only think it's so they can take advantage of those who are new enough to cooking to be intimidated by longer lists of ingredients. And they're not helping new or uncertain cooks by limiting the flavours - which is what many recipes like this *must* do. I mean, you can make a good spag bol sauce (for example) from four ingredients - but if you allow for another few ingredients, you can make a really *great* spag bol sauce, and it's no more difficult.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

I have just been watching Market Kitchen and there were 2 ladies who wrote a book of recipes using ONLY 4 ingredients.

I thought maybe it would be a good idea to start a thread that we could turn too if we only had a small amount of ingredients to use but could make a proper meal with IYKWIM.

The only items you may use freely are salt, pepper and water!

I will start with:

Shepherds Pie:D

(1)Minced Lamb, (2)Baked Beans, (3)Potatoes & (4)Butter.

Cook lamb and add beans. Mash spuds with butter/salt/pepper and place in oven or under grill.

What would be your 4 ingredient meal????

PP
xx