Fay?s Family Food

I have come across Fay Ripley’s ‘Fay’s Family Food’ a few times and have half heartedly flicked through it without so much as a second thought. However after reading a few reviews where Fay’s book has been very positively received by Mums throughout the UK and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I have been very pleasantly surprised – great, simple, quick recipes! A working families dream!

Just a week in and already the pages are splattered and folded down!

First of all we tried Fay’s ‘Little lamb burgers with sweet potato wedges’. Next time I will make up a double batch so that I can freeze more. I never would have thought to coat in sesame seeds but it adds something special to it. This dish went down well with the whole family and will certainly be on the menu again in the not too distant future!

Little lamb burgers with sweet potato wedges (courtesy of Fay Ripley – Fay’s Family Food’)

Ingredients:-

For wedges:

500g sweet potatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil

For the burgers:

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

500g lean minced lamb

75g bread

a handful of mint leaves (approx 15g)

4 spring onions, roughly chopped

60g sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cut up the sweet potatoes, skin on, into chip like wedges, drizzle over half the oilve oil, toss to coat and roast on a try for 30-40 minutes, depending on size.

Meanwhile in the remaining oil, fry the garlic for 1 minute. Then pop it into a bowl along with the cumin, coriander and minced lamb.

Whizz the bread, mint and spring onions in a processor to make breadcrumbs and add to the mince. Get your hands in there and mix it al together. Divide into about 20 balls, then using your hands, form into little patties.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds on a plate and press each burger into them to coat. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until needed (or freeze at this stage and defrost thoroughly before cooking).

In a little olive oil, fry the burgers for 5 minutes each side or until cooked through.

Easy peasy! This was fun to make with Izzy as she was able to help mix together, form into patties and then cover in sesame seeds. I love that Izzy has taken such an interest in cooking and often she will now drag over a chair and hop up asking ‘Mummy, what is my special job?’. It is a lovely time to spend together and I think we both get lots out of it. There are so many dishes that Izzy can get involved in making now – each week there is something new to be added to her repertoire. I love the age she is at and as she approaches 3 I can say that so far we have been relatively unscathed by the terrible two’s. That’s not to say that she hasn’t had her moments, she has had some moments alright, but the good has far out weighed the not-so-good!! Long may it last