Simple, cheap and as quick as heating a tin of soup.
Ingredients
1 tin tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 tsp. mixed herbs
A pinch of salt and pepper
A pinch of sugar
A dash of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
Method
Puree the tomatoes in a blender.
Drain and rinse the kidney beans.
Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Smush up the kidney beans with a potato masher.
Ingredients
For the base:
200g plain flour
7g easy-blend dried yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
125ml warm water
Olive oil (to grease the pan)
For the topping:
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes (well drained)
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp. vegetarian pesto (see recipe)
Grated cheese (I used mature Cheddar)
Salt and Pepper, to taste.
Method
Heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Oil a 20 x 24cm baking tray. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and the sugar in a bowl, then stir in the water. Bring the mixture together, knead until smooth, then press into the oiled tray.
Mix the drained tomatoes, mixed herbs, pesto and salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Spread over the base and top with the grated cheese.Bake for 15-20 mins or until cooked through.
Cheap, simple, nutritious. Use this to make a spag bol, lasagne, a base for chilli or cottage pie.
Serves 6 – it’s worth making in this quantity to freeze if not needed in one sitting.
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
500g bag dried red lentils
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp each dried oregano and thyme
3 bay leaves
1l vegetable stock
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook gently for 15-20 mins until everything is softened. Stir in the lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, herbs and stock. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 40-50 mins until the lentils are tender and saucy – splash in water if you need. Season.
Serve immediately. Alternatively, cool the sauce and chill for up to 3 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Simply defrost portions overnight at room temperature, then reheat gently to serve.
Rock cakes
Makes 10
Ingredients
200g self raising flour
75g caster sugar
100g butter
1 egg
1 tsp. mixed spice
100g dried fruit
1 tbsp. milk
Method
Clementine and Almond Cake
This is a Nigella recipe, I’m often sceptical about cooks who declare that, “This is the easiest cake ever.” In this case, though, she’s right. Thanks Nigella!
Ingredients
Approx 375g clementines (I used 5)
250g ground almonds
225g sugar
6 eggs
Method
Preheat the oven to Gas 5
Prick the clementines all over. Place in a microwave bowl and half fill with water. Microwave on full power until the clementines have softened. This will vary depending on your microwave – mine took about 4 minutes.
Drain the clementines and set aside to cool.
Once cool, place the clementines (whole, skin and all) in a food processor and blitz until smoothish.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs lightly, add the sugar, ground almonds and finally, the clementine puree.
Pour the mixture into an 8″ greased and lined springform pan (I use cake liners from the pound shop!) and bake for approx 1hr.
Check after 40 minutes, and cover the cake with tin foil if it is starting to brown too much – I didn’t have any foil, so i used a metal casserole lid, which worked just as well.
Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely in the tin.
This is a “damp” cake, so you will need to keep it refrigerated. It will keep for3 or 4 days (if it lasts that long!)
Serves 8
Ingredients
250g plain cooked (vacuum packed) beetroot drained
200g quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
200g plain flour
200g unsalted butter*, melted
100g dark brown sugar
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs
2tbsp cocoa powder
2tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
Icing sugar for dusting
Method
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Ingredients
1 apple
1 kiwi
1 handful frozen spinach
1 slice melon
5cm chunk of cucumber
1 pear
2cm chunk of ginger
1 cup water
Method
Put all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour over ice to serve.
Green Smoothie
Ingredients
2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups water or dairy free ‘milk’
1/4 medium pineapple
1 mango
1 frozen banana (chopped into chunks)
Method
Blend the spinach and water/ milk until smooth. Add the other ingredients and blend until smooth.
This bento box is fun, cheap and nutritious. It goes brilliantly with the quick pickled cucumber.
Serves 2
Ingredients
200g cooked rice
100g edamame or green beans
150g Minced Quorn/ Soya Beef
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Cooking Sake
2 tbsp Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Mirin
Method
If you don’t have any cooked rice – cook some now. I use any old rice for this. I use 1 part rice to 3 parts water and cook with a lid on until the water has absorbed (around 20 minutes). Then I place the cooked rice in a sieve and run cold water through it until it is cooled. You need to cool rice as quickly as possible to avoid food poisoning. Put the cooled rice in the fridge until needed.
Dry fry the mince in a frying pan, on a medium heat, with 2tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp cooking sake and 2 tbsp sugar until the liquid has evaporated and the mince is dry. Make sure it is cooked all the way through. Put aside and cover until cool.
Steam or boil the edamame beans. They should still be bright green and retain a little ‘bite’. Immediately plunge them into cold water and leave while you cook the eggs.
Pop the eggs, sugar and mirin into a frying pan and cook quickly, whilst stirring constantly (I use chopsticks). The eggs should be dry and resemble slightly rubbery scrambled eggs.
Place the mince, drained beans, cooked rice and egg into a bento box and garnish with the quick cucumber pickles.
Place back in the fridge until needed (eat within a day). Do not reheat this dish – it is meant to be served cold.
Quick-Pickled Cucumbers with Rice Vinegar
Ingredients
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
4 cups thinly sliced Japanese or English cucumbers (about 3 Japanese or 1 English)
Method
Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat. Add cucumber slices and stir. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or a double layer of heavy duty paper towels, pressing down until towel is saturated with liquid and in direct contact with the cucumbers. Let rest 10 minutes, then transfer cucumbers to a sealable container. Top up with liquid and discard the rest. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
From http://www.seriouseats.com/