A classic British cheap meal just like mother used to make, no frills, tasty and hearty.
Corned beef hash
Hungarian Goulash and Csipetke noodles
Goulash is more of a soup than a stew, it’s packed with lots of vegetables so feel free to swap and mix them up, swap the celeriac for parsnip or skip the potatoes and add some squash, if you don’t have fresh tomatoes then use tinned or tomato puree. The only ingredients you can’t miss out are the paprika and caraway or it simply wouldn’t be a goulash.
Anelletti pasta cake
In Italy this would be ‘Timballo di Anelletti’ or’ Anelletti alla Palermitana’ and is often translated as a pasta pie however as the final cooking process uses a cake tin then I’ve chosen to call it Anelletti pasta cake instead.
As with any traditional Italian pasta dish there are of course many variations, you can add small cubes of diced and fried aubergine into the mix, or even chopped boiled eggs and small chunks of ham. The main focus here though is to make a nice thick rich ragu and by all means use all beef if you have no pork or even some veal instead if you’d like. If you can make you’re own rich tomato sauce then all the better if not then please make sure you buy a quality tomato sauce or passatta.
Liver and onions
Liver and onions was a weekly event when I was a child, my mum used ketchup, OXO cubes and Bisto gravy browning, this is as near to her recipe as I could get.
Serve with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable of your choice.
Roasted carrot, courgette and chickpea salad, rose harissa, lime and mint
This middle eastern inspired salad came about after a glut of courgettes were delivered to us from a neighbour and we had some carrots that needed using in the fridge. Rose Harissa is an amazing chilli paste that can be used in many ways, once you start using it you’ll never stop.
Red Dragon Pie
Named red dragon pie because the Chinese call adzuki beans ‘red dragon’, these beans are packed with goodness, protein, fibre, potassium, magnesium, Vitamin B6 and iron.
A delicious potato topped savoury umami rich pie, perfect for a meat free dinner.
Sweet Onion, fennel and tomato lasagne
An indulgent vegetarian lasagne, if you use quality ingredients the blend of onion, fennel and tomato is magical.
Carrot, sweet potato and ginger curry
We love a curry but they are just not the same without the onion and garlic however with this recipe you can still appreciate other flavours typically associated with curries such as ginger, cumin and turmeric. You can amend the chilli content to suit your preference, add more or less, the tamarind sets a tart tone and the fish sauce adds a salty umami element, you can get vegetarian alternatives if you wanted to make this curry vegan.
Caribbean black eye pea, aubergine and ham hot pot
A delicious warming one pan meal to sooth your soul.
Quick ramen style noodle bowl
A meal for two in less than ten minutes using nothing but store cupboard and freezer ingredients