Recipes: Simple idea that gave two friends huge success

After being turned down by every publisher in their native Australia because they were told the market was saturated with cookbooks they self-published in March 2007.

Eight months later 4 Ingredients was the biggest selling book in Australia and New Zealand, second only to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Fast forward to 2011 and the 4 Ingredients book series is a publishing phenomenon selling over three million copies worldwide which has grown into a household brand with a TV series shown in 13 countries, including UKTV’s Good Food Channel.

“We’re not celebrities, just two Aussie mums on a mission to show how easy it is to put together quick, easy and delicious recipes that save time and money in the kitchen without compromising on flavour,” say the two women.

The book is all about making cooking easy: the ingredients are familiar, the method simple and you won’t need to spend a fortune in measuring utensils, you just need one cup, one teaspoon, one tablespoon and all recipes use ingredients found in your fridge and cupboards.

Whether you’re a busy person or on a tight budget; an exhausted mother, a cash-strapped student or maybe you’ve just run out of ideas and haven’t had time to do much shopping, then these are the books for you.

Married with several children between them, the notion of a book offering busy women quick, simple recipes made with four or fewer ingredients was born of necessity.

Kim came up with the original idea and it was Rachael who recognised its potential: “I was working and trying to do the best for my family, but every day at about five o’clock I would think, ‘Oh no, what am I going to cook for dinner’?

“I knew that potentially this book would un-complicate the lives of millions of women by showing them how to make a flan with just four ingredients, and how to have a cottage pie on the table in 10 minutes.”

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday most people won’t have time to prepare a special dinner.

Kim and Rachael have come up with these tasty treats using just four ingredients.

Pesto and chicken parcels

Serves 4

4 chicken thighs, 4 tbs basil pesto, 125g Camembert cheese, 2 sheets puffed pastry

Preheat oven 180°C. Rub one side of the chicken thigh with pesto and season with sea salt and pepper.

Cut Camembert into thin strips and cover chicken. Start from one end of the chicken thigh and roll it up.

Place a sheet of the puffed pastry flat and cut diagonally, place the chicken in the middle and fold to cover sealing the edges with a fork. Bake for 30 minutes.

Florentine Carbonara

Serves 4

2 free range eggs lightly beaten, 1½ cups parmesan cheese, grated, 5 rashes rindless bacon, diced, 350g pkt spaghetti

Bring a medium bowl of water to the boil.

Add spaghetti and boil till al dente (about 8 minutes). While spaghetti is boiling, lightly fry bacon strips in a frying pan.

Once spaghetti is cooked, drain and add beaten eggs immediately, stirring through hot pasta.

Add bacon, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Option: Fry bacon with a little garlic.

Peppermint chocolate slice

1 pkt dark chocolate melts, 3 drops peppermint essence, ½ pkt white chocolate melts, 4 drops green food colouring.

Line 20cm square cake tin with baking paper or foil.

Melt dark chocolate melts in a lightly heated saucepan, stirring throughout melting process.

Add peppermint essence and stir. Spread half the mixture evenly over bottom of tin. Set in fridge for 5 minutes.

Melt white chocolate melts the same way then stir in green food colouring. Spread this over layer of dark chocolate and then refrigerate until set.

Spread remaining dark chocolate over white/green chocolate and set in fridge. Cut into pieces and store in fridge.

Little lemon cheesecakes

Serves 8

250g cream cheese, softened, 280g jar lemon butter, 8 round, crunchy biscuits

Line 8 holes of a muffin tray with paper muffin shells and place a buttersnap bickie flat side up in each.

Using an electric mixer, beat cheese until creamy, then add all the lemon butter, mixing until nice and creamy. Spoon mixture onto biscuits and freeze for 2–3 hours or until firm. Five minutes before serving, remove paper and serve decorated with fresh seasonal fruit.

Black Forest cake

1 double chocolate sponge cake, 600ml double cream with brandy, 1½ x 260g cans of pitted cherries in natural juice

Break the cake into small pieces and spread a layer into the base of a jelly ring (or other round flexible container).

Sprinkle some cherries and juice over the top.

Spoon a layer of cream over the cake.

Repeat the process until all ingredients are used.

Place in the fridge for 4 hours to set, or until firm.

For more recipe ideas go to www.4ingredients.co.uk and watch our for their two new books this year – Gluten Free in May and Fast Fresh & Healthy in September.