Moroccan Not-A-Tagine

This was another Jack Monroe dish I tried at university. Whilst I enjoyed eating it, I would not say that I was wowed by this particular meal. Perhaps I needed to cook it for slightly longer to allow the flavours to settle slightly – as at university I find I run more on the side of undercooked as I am always hungry and in a rush!

I didn’t find this meal quite as economical as others I have tried with Jack Monroe but I think this is perhaps because this involves more ingredients that I don’t usually stock in the kitchen (such as prunes) so I found that after buying them I didn’t have much further use for them.

MOROCCAN NOT-A-TAGINE

Serves 4:

1 large onion
2 fat cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
a splash of oil
zest and juice of half a lemon, or 1 tbsp bottled lemon juice
1 heaped tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp cumin (ground or seeds)
1 heaped tsp paprika
1 x 400g carton or tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
a fistful of fresh mint, chopped
a fistful of fresh coriander, chopped
2 large potatoes or 40g tinned potatoes (drained weight)
50g prunes
1 stock cube, dissolved in 500ml boiling water

Gigantes Plaki

Surprisingly this is another favourite new recipe from Jack Monroe! I have lived off this cookbook since I got it for Christmas and many of my flatmates have also been cooking out of it. This meal is another one which has got very simple ingredients but comes together to make a delicious meal.

GIGANTES PLAKI

Serves 2 ( I doubled this recipe to feed a hungry family of 5, plenty to go round.)

1 onion
1 fat clove of garlic
a splash of oil
a pinch of ground cinnamon
1 x 400g carton or tin of chopped tomatoes (I used 400g fresh tomatoes chopped instead.)
a splash of lemon juice
1⁄2 a bunch of fresh basil, plus extra to garnish
1 x 400g tin of butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 vegetable stock cube
75g Greek cheese (such as feta), crumbled

We had guests round and I served this as move of a side dish with couscous, lamb kebabs, pitta bread and Moroccan Humus. However, I believe that the dish has enough about it to be served alone, or with couscous or on a jacket potato as a midweek meal or cold with lunch.

When flicking through the recipe book this was not one that immediately stood out for me but one of my flatmates was tempted and I would say its one of my favourite meals I have had in a while. Some really fantastic flavours for what seems like a very short ingredients list.

 

Mixed Bean Goulash

As a student you have to learn to cook yourselves tasty, healthy meals on a budget. Jack Monroe’s cookbook A Girl Called Jack has become a personal favourite as it is full of simple, delicious and easy meals.

Luckily, many of her recipes are also available on her blog (available here) for anybody that would like to try them. I would really recommend her recipes as they are easy to do for a group, for families and there are some meals that I do at university just for myself as well.

MIXED BEAN GOULASH

This is a good meal to do for a group, I like to serve this as suggested with tortilla wraps, cheese, iceberg lettuce and red onion. I also normally add red peppers and ground cumin to taste to the recipe as I think it adds another depth of flavour and bulks the beans out slightly. This recipe came about as I owed one of my vegetarian friends dinner which isn’t easy for me as I will have meat with most of my meals but I found that with this I didn’t even notice the absence of meat.

Serves 4-6:

1 x 400g tin of red kidney beans
1 x 400g tin of baked beans (or borlotti, canneloni, etc)
1 onion
1 fat clove of garlic garlic
4 tablespoons of oil
3 teaspoons paprika
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon marmite or similar
1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
1 teaspoon sugar
(And then I will often add red peppers and cumin)

Jack Monroe’s full recipe is available at the link above.

 

 

Peach and Chickpea Curry, Hummus and Saffron and Lemon Chicken

Now I’m at university I haven’t had much of an opportunity to update my blog!

I am still enjoying trying new recipes but, i’m trying to do so on a budget now! As a present from my parents for Christmas I got a new cookbook: A Girl Called Jack. This has become a new favourite and I thought I would share this easy and affordable meal.

Recipe: A Girl Called Jack, also available on blog http://cookingonabootstrap.com/2014/09/02/jardaloo-ma-murghi-curry-with-apricots-22p/

PEACH AND CHICKPEA CURRY

Serves 2 for dinner, with leftovers for a light lunch.

250g canned chickpeas (drained weight)
1 onion
1 fat clove of garlic
1 chilli
a splash of oil
1 rounded tsp cumin (ground or seeds)
1 x 400g tin of peaches (or apricots or mandarins)
1 x 400f carton or tin of chopped tomatoes
a handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 stock cube, veg or chicken

This was really good just with rice.

The next day I had the leftovers with pitta bread, homemade hummus and saffron and lemon chicken. All the elements of the meal complement each other really well!

Hummus (makes lots! I have lots frozen now in my freezer, will sort me out for the whole term I think!)

Recipe: Persiana by Sabrina Ghayour

HUMMUS

3x 400g can of chickpeas (reserve liquid of 1 1/4 cans)
4tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp garlic oil
juice of 3 lemons
4 tbsp light tahini
2 tbsp sea salt
sprinkling of paprika

I found the recipe had too much salt and liquid, but it is easy to alter this to your preference. I also added more lemon juice and coriander – as this is my favourite way to have hummus, and I had some in my fridge from the above curry.

Recipe: Persiana again!

SAFFRON AND LEMON CHICKEN

Serves 4

4 onions, cut in half and thinly sliced into half moons
juice of 5 lemons
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
400g Greek Yoghurt
3 tbsp sea salt flakes
generous pinch of saffron threads
3 tbsp boiling water
6 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into 5cm pieces

I found half this recipe was enough to feed me, a flatmate and enough for leftovers. Again another really easy recipe as long as you plan far enough ahead to marinate the chicken. I originally started grilling the chicken but put it in the oven after it took too long. Tasted fantastic, think grilling or barbecuing would be better but working in university halls can be limiting!

 

 

Herby Chicken Curry

This is a family favourite, definitely worth a trip to the local market to get the herbs as using the little packets of fresh herbs from Tesco etc. can get quite expensive. Again it is quite a straightforward recipe but really delivers on flavour.

I ❤ Curry – Anjum Anand p.90

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the chicken curry:

5 tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
700g chicken on the bone
1 good tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. sour cream

For the spice paste:

100g fresh coriander leaves and stems, washed
1-2 green chillies
40g mint leaves
5 large garlic cloves
10g fresh root ginger, peeled weight
2 tsp. ground coriander
3 tbsp. cashew nuts
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 good tsp. salt

Vegetable Jalfrezi

I had a curry night at the rowing club a few weeks ago and I spent all day cooking four curries. I chose this one as it was cheap due to the vegetables and made a large amount, but it was the most disappointing in terms of flavour. I found it quite acidic, and usually I like cauliflower curries but this did not meet expectations. It was easy to make, cutting up the vegetables was obviously time consuming but overall I don’t think its worth the effort.

Recipe: Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food (p. 77)

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 medium onion
1 fresh red chilli
A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves garlic
A small bunch of fresh coriander
2 red peppers
1 cauliflower
3 ripe tomatoes
1 small butternut squash
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
oil
Butter
1/2 a 283g jar of Patak’s Jalfrezi Paste
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes (I used 400g fresh tomatoes)
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
2 lemons
200g natural yoghurt

Mega Chocolate Fudge Cake

I made this recipe a lot at university. Its a really good sharing pudding. Would recommend eating when warm and gooey! This is easily overcooked as it is still ‘wobbly’ when you take it out of the oven but it firms up as it cools.

Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food p.339
Serves 8

Cooking time: 18-20 minutes (160C)

Ingredients

200g good quality dark chocolate
175g butter, plus extra for greasing
100g blanched almonds (I used ground as you add to food processor until smooth)
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
4 large eggs
150g self-raising flour
100g fudge

 

Honey and Mustard Sticky Chicken

This recipe is really straightforward and tasty. All you need to do is heat the marinate ingredients and pour the marinade very the chicken to roast. We usually have this meal with wedges and vegetables and the chicken can be eaten cold on picnics etc.

Recipe Book: Tina Ramsey’s Real Family Food (Pg. 56)

Ingredients

12 chicken drumsticks (skin on)
12 chicken thighs (skin on)

For the marinade:
4 tbsp. runny honey
4 tbsp. wholegrain mustard
Zest and juice of two lemons
4 tbsp. soy sauce

Serves: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes (190C oven temp)

Bakewell Tarts and Jam Tarts

My boyfriend made a request last week that I made him a Bakewell tart. I don’t often make deserts and I hate making pastry! But, I found (aside from the stress of having to make pastry) this was very easy to make and extremely tasty. It didn’t take very long at all and I would definitely make it again.

I got the recipe from Mary Berry off this BBC Website. Its easy to follow and I would recommend it.

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry

• 175g/6oz plain flour

• 75g/2½oz chilled butter

• 2-3 tbsp cold water

For the filling

• 1 tbsp raspberry jam

• 125g/4½oz butter

• 125g/4½oz caster sugar

• 125g/4½oz ground almonds

• 1 free-range egg, beaten

• ½ tsp almond extract

• 50g/1¾oz flaked almonds

For the icing

• 80g/2¾oz icing sugar

• 2½ tsp cold water

With the leftover pastry I made these jam tarts (as I already had the jam for the Bakewell tart). I just rolled out the pastry and used a circle cutter to make the base. I put them on a baking tray and filled each with 1 tsp. of jam. I put them in the oven for 15 minutes and they were a lovely treat which stopped the leftover ingredients going to waste.

Sunshine Baked Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Sausage

This is a recipe that I have made a couple of times. It tastes absolutely fantastic but it is a bit of a fiddle scooping out the insides of the sweet potato to mix in the ingredients and then putting them back inside the skin of the potato. A big tip would be to make sure that the potato is soft through. In the past I have microwaved the sweet potato to speed up the cooking process as it works a lot better if the inside is completely soft. My family doesn’t have a particularly high tolerance for spicy food so when I make this I rarely put in the amount of chilli stated in the recipe. I have used honey and pork chipolatas for the sausages and often only half the chilli but I find this is hot enough for me and the meal is still really flavoursome.

Levi Roots – Spice it up! (Page 94)

Ingredients, serves 2

• 40g butter
• 2 spicy pork sausages, chopped into 2cm chunks
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 30g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Roughly chopped fresh coriander
• Salt and pepper
• 2 small eggs