Thrifty meals for sunny days
April seems to have taken me rather by surprise. Where did March go? Spring, it seems waits for no man, and suddenly the evenings are lighter and the garden is bursting forth with life and the promise of warmer times to come. With summer in mind and plans for travels further afield we are tightening our belts both financially and figuratively.
Cutting back is quite hard for a foodie household. There is always the temptation of a new idea, a recipe from the weekend papers that simply must be tried, a bag of something recently foraged or gifted from my green fingered dad, an unbelievable bargain that would be daft to ignore or quite simply something that just looked inviting when out on the weekly shop (yes, I am that person who is a sucker for seductive packaging). Still, over the last few weeks we have coped remarkably well. A humungous sack of late season and spectacularly ugly homegrown parsnips has been extending mashed potatoes with rather delicious results and roasted with cauliflower and curry spices to form the base of a pretty successful vegetable curry.
Roasted cauliflower & parsnip curry - serves 2 (with leftovers)
Half a medium sized cauliflower, broken into florets, stems and useable leaves included
2-3 parsnips, peeled, cored and chopped into large chunks
1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil (plus a little extra for the masala)
1 tbsp panch phoran spices (or a tsp each of mustard, fenugreek, nigella, cumin and fennel seeds)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
fresh ginger, a couple of inches, peeled and grated
1 green chilli, whole and slit down one side
2 tsp curry powder
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
200ml water
salt and pepper to taste
Place the broken up cauliflower (florets, stems and leaves, don't waste anything) and parsnip into a large roasting tin, drizzle with the rapeseed oil and sprinkle over the panch phoran (or separate spices), turmeric and a good sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper. Mix together so everything is coated, spread out into a single layer and place in a preheated oven (200℃) for about 20 minutes or until nicely roasted but still with some 'bite'.
Whilst the vegetables are roasting, fry the chopped onion gently for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another minute, then add the curry powder and sweet potatoes, stirring until everything is well coated. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and about 200ml water (you want a fairly thick sauce so you may need less) and simmer without a lid for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through.
When the roasted vegetables are done, remove from the oven and stir gently into the sweet potato and tomato masala (you can remove the chilli at this stage). Serve with some brown rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander, a spoonful of yoghurt or some toasted coconut flakes.
That larder stalwart, the red lentil, has been put to good use as the earthy base for quick and easy spiced soup with plenty of leftovers for a flask for lunch. This soup uses The Spice Tailor's peanut and tamarind 'chutni' which is widely available and is a fantastic, savoury, almost instant 'satay sauce'. It's a great way to perk up sandwiches of cold chicken or crunchy veg, add to stir fries or spice up a soup to give it a really well rounded and satisfying flavour.
Peanut and pumpkin soup - serves 2
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small squash such as Harlequin or Onion or half a medium sized butternut or pumpkin, chopped
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
150g red lentils, rinsed and drained
500ml water
1tsp Marigold low salt stock
3-4 tbsp The Spice Tailor's peanut and tamarind chutni
water
salt and pepper to taste
Fry the onion until soft, adding the garlic for the last minute or so. Stir in the chopped squash, then the tomatoes and lentils. Add the water and a teaspoon of the powdered stock. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes then stir in the 'chutni'. Take off the heat and blend with a stick blender to a thick smooth soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a naan, chapati or any other leftover bread.
The remnants of the bottom of the fridge have been scoured for a variant of shatshuka or turned into a fridge-raider salad for lunch at work. With a little bit of thought but very light on effort it's been a good exercise in restraint and some 'keepers' have been discovered along the way. Of course, these have been the photogenic and admissible creations. There have been plenty of other suppers resourced from fridge and larder foraging that may require a more adventurous palate (odds and ends of pasta and a tub of exotic octopus anyone?). However, hunger (well, greed) is the best sauce and all plates have been scraped clean. Anyone else have some strange meal combinations to admit to?
Cutting back is quite hard for a foodie household. There is always the temptation of a new idea, a recipe from the weekend papers that simply must be tried, a bag of something recently foraged or gifted from my green fingered dad, an unbelievable bargain that would be daft to ignore or quite simply something that just looked inviting when out on the weekly shop (yes, I am that person who is a sucker for seductive packaging). Still, over the last few weeks we have coped remarkably well. A humungous sack of late season and spectacularly ugly homegrown parsnips has been extending mashed potatoes with rather delicious results and roasted with cauliflower and curry spices to form the base of a pretty successful vegetable curry.
Roasted cauliflower & parsnip curry - serves 2 (with leftovers)
Half a medium sized cauliflower, broken into florets, stems and useable leaves included
2-3 parsnips, peeled, cored and chopped into large chunks
1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil (plus a little extra for the masala)
1 tbsp panch phoran spices (or a tsp each of mustard, fenugreek, nigella, cumin and fennel seeds)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
fresh ginger, a couple of inches, peeled and grated
1 green chilli, whole and slit down one side
2 tsp curry powder
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
200ml water
salt and pepper to taste
Place the broken up cauliflower (florets, stems and leaves, don't waste anything) and parsnip into a large roasting tin, drizzle with the rapeseed oil and sprinkle over the panch phoran (or separate spices), turmeric and a good sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper. Mix together so everything is coated, spread out into a single layer and place in a preheated oven (200℃) for about 20 minutes or until nicely roasted but still with some 'bite'.
Whilst the vegetables are roasting, fry the chopped onion gently for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another minute, then add the curry powder and sweet potatoes, stirring until everything is well coated. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and about 200ml water (you want a fairly thick sauce so you may need less) and simmer without a lid for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through.
When the roasted vegetables are done, remove from the oven and stir gently into the sweet potato and tomato masala (you can remove the chilli at this stage). Serve with some brown rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander, a spoonful of yoghurt or some toasted coconut flakes.
That larder stalwart, the red lentil, has been put to good use as the earthy base for quick and easy spiced soup with plenty of leftovers for a flask for lunch. This soup uses The Spice Tailor's peanut and tamarind 'chutni' which is widely available and is a fantastic, savoury, almost instant 'satay sauce'. It's a great way to perk up sandwiches of cold chicken or crunchy veg, add to stir fries or spice up a soup to give it a really well rounded and satisfying flavour.
Peanut and pumpkin soup - serves 2
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small squash such as Harlequin or Onion or half a medium sized butternut or pumpkin, chopped
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
150g red lentils, rinsed and drained
500ml water
1tsp Marigold low salt stock
3-4 tbsp The Spice Tailor's peanut and tamarind chutni
water
salt and pepper to taste
Fry the onion until soft, adding the garlic for the last minute or so. Stir in the chopped squash, then the tomatoes and lentils. Add the water and a teaspoon of the powdered stock. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes then stir in the 'chutni'. Take off the heat and blend with a stick blender to a thick smooth soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a naan, chapati or any other leftover bread.
The remnants of the bottom of the fridge have been scoured for a variant of shatshuka or turned into a fridge-raider salad for lunch at work. With a little bit of thought but very light on effort it's been a good exercise in restraint and some 'keepers' have been discovered along the way. Of course, these have been the photogenic and admissible creations. There have been plenty of other suppers resourced from fridge and larder foraging that may require a more adventurous palate (odds and ends of pasta and a tub of exotic octopus anyone?). However, hunger (well, greed) is the best sauce and all plates have been scraped clean. Anyone else have some strange meal combinations to admit to?
Comments
Post a Comment