Frugal Feasts 5

Spiced Puy Lentils with Cumin and Coriander Chicken

One of the best things about winter is the excuse to eat steaming bowls of carb-laden treats as they both warm and comfort the body and soul in a way a salad will always fail to do. However there’s a stew planned for tomorrow so I wanted something filling but light. This chargrilled chicken dish with spiced lentils is just such a dish and with some careful shopping came in at £4.94

I say careful as I am lucky enough to live near several ethnic food stores where I buy many of my spices, fruits, herbs and vegetables for half the prices you can pay at many supermarkets. For example two large bunches of fresh coriander cost 99p and lemons and limes were 4 for a £1. What a bargain! I’m sure I have a startled expression on my face at the checkout whenever I pay, it feels too little for the bagful of groceries I take.

Puy lentils are a regional variety of green lentil, you can use any lentil you wish but they should not break up or become mushy when cooked. The lentils are being served with chicken thigh fillets, a cheaper and more flavourful part of the chicken than the breast. I used skinless thighs as these were on special, but chargrilling with the skin on is fine, less healthy maybe but it does protect the meat from drying out but with such quick cooking this is not a problem with this recipe.
The chicken does not need to be in the marinade for long, I prepare the chicken first before cooking the lentils just to let the flavours develop.

Ingredients

For the chicken

400g chicken thigh fillets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the lentils

250g Puy lentils
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 fresh chilli
75g leek, finely chopped
75g carrot, finely chopped
1/2 stick celery, finely chopped
600 ml stock, I used chicken stock
1 lemon
Handful fresh chopped coriander

Method

• Put the oil, coriander, cumin, lemon juice and zest and salt and pepper into a dish. Season and add chicken, coat chicken well and set aside.
• Rinse the puy lentils in cold water and drain. Heat oil in a saucepan. When hot add chilli, cumin, ground coriander, red onion and garlic and stir for 2 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add carrots, leek and celery and stir for a further 2 minutes. Add lentils, stir to mix with vegetables and add stock. Simmer for .... minutes until lentils are cooked. Put lid on to keep warm.
• Heat chargrill pan or frying pan until searingly hot. Add chicken and reduce heat to medium. Depending on the thickness of the thighs cooking time should be about 5 minutes per side, less if they are very thin.
• Just before serving add the juice and zest of the lemon to the lentils and stir through the fresh coriander.

Costing
Chicken thighs £2.50
Puy lentils £1.00
2 lemons £0.50
1/2 red onion £0.10
Garlic £0.05
Chilli £0.05
Leek, carrot and celery £0.15
1 chicken stock cube or pot, I used Knorr Chicken Stockpot £0.49
Coriander £0.10

Frugal Feasts 4

Chipotle Pork Patties with a spiced Apple Chutney

This is another Mexican inspired recipe with a nice smoky heat coming from the chipotles while the traditional apple and pork combo is given a spicy kick with the addition of the habanero. If you are cooking this for children you may want to reduce the chillies, particularly in the chutney.

I serve this with a simple green salad or baby gem lettuce leaves used as scoops for the patties and this works extremely well for relaxed evenings with friends, although you could serve them with the Mexican slaw from an earlier post. I must admit I keep making more as it’s so much lighter than regular coleslaw and the lime juice makes it something quite special.

Ingredients

For the patties

750g pork mince (I found this on special at Sainsburys for £3.00
1 onion, finely chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, grated
1 bay leaf
Small stick cinnamon
2 chipotle chillies, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
2 tsp oregano (Mexican if you can find it)
2 slices bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper

Method

• Fry the onion, garlic, bay leaf and cinnamon stick in a little oil until the onions are just beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
• In a large bowl add the minced pork to the cooled onion, remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf and mix well.
• Season well with salt and pepper and add breadcrumbs. Chop the chipotles finely removing the seeds if you want to temper the heat a little.
• Add the chipotles and oregano, mix well and add an egg to bind the mixture. Form the mix into balls slightly smaller than golf balls and squash a little. Put in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 180, meanwhile pan fry each pattie for 3 minutes a side in a little vegetable oil. Place on a tray in the oven for 8 minutes to finish cooking.

For the chutney

Ingredients

4 apples, (cooking or eating apples are fine for this) chopped into chunks
1 large onion, roughly chopped
100g muscovado sugar
2 tsp mustard seeds
50g sultanas
2 tsp ground ginger
200ml cider vinegar
1 habanero chilli, finely chopped with seeds removed
* If you made the patties, add the cinnamon stick to the chutney as it will still impart flavour

Method

• Add all ingredients to a large saucepan, simmer on a low heat for 1 hour stirring occasionally. If using eating apples, mash slightly as the apples soften to break them up a little more.
• Put in a bowl and serve cold.
• The chutney can be stored in an airtight sterilised jar, otherwise cover in the fridge and use within a week.

Costings

Pork Mince £3.00
2 onions £0.20
Garlic £0.05
2 slices bread £0.05
1 egg £0.24
4 apples £0.60
50g sultanas £0.15
Cider vinegar £0.70

Total £4.99

Frugal Feasts 3

Spiced Chicken Livers 

This won’t appeal to all, I know many people are put off by the mere mention of liver, indeed until recently I was one of those people. For the most part it was due to the cook rather than the foodstuff, cooked quickly on a high heat with a good hit of spice and herbs which manages to obliterate any negative childhood memories of rubber bullet-like  unpalatable weapons served up with the promise that they were full of goodness.

If you can bring yourself to try them and please do as I hope you too will be converted, the chicken livers themselves are roughly £0.50 per pack, so for 4 people £1.50 for a high protein source leaving plenty in our £5.00 budget to tart them up a bit. Unless you have a good local butcher you will probably find the chicken livers in the frozen food section of most supermarkets so defrost thoroughly before using.

This is delicious as a light lunch served on some nice toasted bread but I have chosen to serve this with simple lemon and coriander rice and a shredded carrot and onion salad as a main course. The cost excluding dried spices and seasonings came in at £4.84.

Ingredients

For the chicken livers

750g chicken livers
4 fat cloves garlic
Handful of coriander stalks, retain the leaves for later
4cm grated ginger
3 chillies (I used green medium heat Fresno chillies but use what you can find and vary the quantity if you don’t like it too hot)
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tsp honey or agave syrup
Salt to taste
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil

Method

• Make the marinade for the livers. Place all the ingredients apart from the oil and coriander leaves into a pestle and mortar or a food processor and bash or blitz to a fine paste.
• Although I call this a marinade you don’t need to wait too long, the marinade only needs about 20 minutes to 1 hour over the livers.
• Clean the livers, I don’t bother with soaking in milk but if you want to reduce the iron richness you can. Cut off any grubby bits or sinew and place in a dish, then pour over the marinade.
• Once marinaded heat a pan until searingly hot. Add a small amount of vegetable oil, about 2 tsp and brush off excess marinade before placing the livers in the pan. The livers will take 30 seconds a side so don’t leave them. Once turned, add remaining marinade to the pan along with the fresh coriander leaves, coat livers gently and serve.
• 

For the rice

Ingredients

200g basmati rice
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 tsp tumeric
Pinch sea salt
Fresh coriander, chopped

Method

• Wash rice and cook according to instructions. Once cooked set aside
• Heat oil in a frying pan. Add mustard seeds, when they start to pop add the tumeric. Pour oil and spices onto the rice.
• Add lemon zest and juice and fork through the rice, add chopped coriander and season with sea salt if needed. Serve

Nearly done folks
Finally the carrot and onion salad

Ingredients

2 carrots, grated
1 red onion, finely sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
Small handful of chopped coriander
Salt and pepper

Method

• Mix all ingredients together and allow to sit in the fridge for an hour before serving to allow flavours to develop.

Costings

Chicken Livers £1.50
Garlic £0.30
1 bunch coriander £0.99
Chillies £0.20
3 lemons £0.90
Basmati rice £0.60
Carrots £0.20
Red onion £0.15

Total £4.84

Frugal Feasts 2

Burgers get Stuffed... and a Mexican Slaw

This is another budget recipe but one you can use throughout the year, especially for barbeques if we are lucky this year and get to see some sunshine. Minced meat is often on special offer at supermarkets, we found our beef reduced to £1.50 for 500g and our freezer is rammed with yellow sticker reduced products as neither of us can refuse a bargain. Try to get good quality minced beef with at least 15% fat, it really does make a difference in a burger helping to keep it moist whilst cooking.

Habanero chillies are very hot and they make these burgers a little bit special but you may want to try the recipe using half the amount if you’re not a seasoned chilli fiend but the cooling goat’s cheese tempers the heat a little... go on be brave, they are worth it.

We serve these with a mexican coleslaw, potato wedges and my own hot barbeque sauce aptly entitled ‘Idiot Juice’. I’ll post that recipe in time for barbecue season as I’m playing around with the recipe in time for the summer.

The burgers and slaw come in just under £5.00

Ingredients

For the burgers

1 large onion
500g minced beef
1 clove garlic, grated
50g breadcrumbs
2 tsp oregano
1 habanero chilli, very finely chopped
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 goats cheese log (roughly 125g)

Method

• Finely chop the onion and fry in a little oil until translucent. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Add minced beef, garlic, breadcrumbs, oregano, 1/2 the habanero chilli and cooled onions to a bowl and mix well, season with salt and pepper. Add beaten egg and mix again.
• Put goats cheese into a separate bowl, add the remaining chopped habanero, salt and pepper and mix well. Roll into 8 equally sized balls.
• To assemble, make the mince mixture into 8 balls, press your thumb firmly into each ball to make a well and place a goat’s cheese ball into each well. Bring the meat mixture up over the cheese to completely cover and pat into burger shapes. Chill until needed, but at least 30 minutes..
• I cook the burgers on a medium heat using a chargrill pan but a frying pan with a little oil will be fine. Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side. Check one burger as timings will vary depending on the size of your burgers.
• 
  

For the slaw

1/4 white cabbage, finely sliced
1 large red onion, finely sliced
2 carrots, finely sliced
1 red or green mild chilli, chopped finely
1/2 small pot natural yoghurt
2 tsp mustard, I use dijon or wholegrain
2 tsp mayonnaise
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 tsp honey

Method

• Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well, season to taste.
• Enjoy.

Frugal Feasts 1

Butternut Squash and Cashew Biryani

This is the first of our budget busting meals for January coming in just under £5 for 4 people excluding dry spices and garlic, it’s hearty enough to feed the family or if piled onto a pretty serving dish, special enough to serve for friends. 

It is no accident that this meal is meat-free. I’ve overdone the meat over the festive period and while I feel no need to detox completely, my body is crying out for something more gentle on the digestive system. The textural contrast between the nuts and the roasted butternut squash provide a delightfully filling and healthy dish whilst the gentle spicing makes this suitable for all the family.

I’m using the slow cooker for this. It means a little preparation beforehand but once the onions, spices and squash are sorted just place all the ingredients into the pot and forget about it until dinner. You can of course cook this in the oven in a large casserole dish with a lid.

Ingredients

1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped into large chunks
2 large onions, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, grated
2.5cm fresh ginger, grated  
225g basmati rice
Seeds from 5 crushed cardamon
2 kashmiri chillies
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
5 cloves
Small cinnamon stick
1 litre vegetable stock of your choice10 peppercorns
1/2 tsp tumeric
100g cashew nuts (unsalted)
Salt and pepper

Spices Required for this dish

Method

• Place chopped butternut squash onto a baking tray, drizzle with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a hot oven 180 degrees for about 20 minutes until softened and nicely toasted on the edges. Remove from the heat.
• Grind the dry spices in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
• Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan, fry off onions on a medium heat until crispy and golden, add the  ground spices and garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minute to release the flavour. Make up 1 litre of stock and add this to the onion mixture. Add the sultanas and simmer for 5 minutes until the sultanas have swollen slightly. Check seasoning at this point as seasoning after will disturb the layers. Add salt and pepper if needed.
• Pour 2 ladles of the stock and onion mix into the slow cooker pot. Add a thin layer of rice, followed by half the butternut squash. Repeat, finally adding remaining stock mixture carefully.
• Place lid on slow cooker and place on a low setting. If cooking in a conventional oven, add layers as above to a large casserole dish with a lid. Heat oven to 150 degrees, check the rice after 1 hour. Once the stock has fully evaporated the rice should be fluffy and perfectly cooked.
• The slow cooker will take approximately 2 hours. Just before serving scatter with unsalted cashews and some coriander if you wish.

Costings are approximate

1/2 butternut squash £0.75
275g basmati rice £0.85
Vegetable stock pots £0.60
100g cashew nuts £1.20
40g sultanas £0.15
2 onions £0.40
2.5cm piece ginger £0.20