Cous cous

I profoundly dislike ready-made cous cous from supermarkets, as I always think it has a very acidic taste.  This is a way to make shop-bought deli cous cous taste fresh and flavoursome.  Obviously it is easy to make your own cous cous at home!

Ingredients:

Tub of tomato and basil cous cous (reduced from £1.82 to 46p)

 2 spring onions, sliced

Cucumber, diced

About 14 black olives, sliced

Large red chilli, finely chopped

~

Mix the ingredients together and serve.

(Served 3)

~

Roast chicken, fresh garden peas and fried potato cakes

Roast chicken, served with fresh garden peas and carrots with some fried potato cakes for a slight twist on 'meat and two veg'.  Easy, quick, flavoursome and nourishing.  What's not to love?

 

 

 

Ingredients:
Whole fresh chicken, reduced from £3.99 to 49p
Fresh peas (reduced from £1.19 to 59p)
Carrots (store cupboard)
Potatoes "
Milk
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Olive oil

~

Rub the chicken with a little olive oil, and season with sea salt.  Cover with foil and roast according to instructions.  Remove the foil for the last quarter of an hour or so to crisp the skin.

 

Peel, chop and boil the potatoes.  When they are cooked, drain and add a little milk, butter and salt and pepper.  Mash the potato until smooth.

 

Then prepare potato cakes - use flour to coat the patties so that they don't stick and keep their consistency when frying.

 

 

Add a little oil to a frying pan and fry the potato cakes in batches (don't over-crowd the pan).

 

 

 Slice carrots and boil.

 

Shell the peas, and cook.  (I put a little water in with the peas in a microwavable bowl and cooked them that way.)  Serve with a knob of butter on top.

 

Serve with gravy if liked.

 

 

 Or without! 

~ Served 2, approx cost £1.50 ~

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fried potato cakes with cheese and 3 onion

This is a great way to use up leftover mashed potato, but for this recipe I have made the mash freshly.

Ingredients:

Potatoes

Cheese - any, grated

Onion (I used white onion, red onion and spring onion because these were what I had in my fridge)

Butter - knob

Milk - a splash

Creme fraiche (optional) - couple of tablespoons

Salt

Pepper

Flour

~

Peel and cut potatoes.  Boil until cooked and drain.

 

Dice onions.

Add the ingredients to the potatoes while the spuds are still hot.  It will help the butter and cheese to melt and incorporate.  

Add everything, season and mash til the mixture is smooth and blended.

 

Form the mixture into flat patties.  Use flour to hold the mixture, coat your hands and if you have put in too much milk and the mixture is very wet and sticky, you can mix through a little flour to thicken the mix.  Coat the surface of the cakes with flour.  This will help them hold when you fry them.

 

 

Add a little oil and heat in a frying pan.  Add the potato cakes and fry on a medium to high heat.  When they are golden, turn them over and fry until golden on that side.

 

These potato cakes will keep in the fridge after frying and can be heated up easily.

The best thing about making these is that what you put in them need only be limited by your imagination.  Cheese, chives, ham, fresh herbs, peas - they are versatile and such a tasty way to use up random leftover ingredients.  Similarly, quantities don't matter - you can put in any amount of ingredients to suit yourself, or depending on what you have.

 

 

Made 4 cakes.

Cost - negligable, as all ingredients were store cupboard.

 ~

Poached haddock fillet with an egg and 5 vegetables

Ingredients:

2 haddock fillets (reduced from £4.84 to £1.19)

Milk for poaching

New potatoes (one of Aldi's super six, 39p)

Potatoes (storecupboard)

Carrots"

Parsnips "

Cabbage (one of Aldi's super six, 39p)

Broad beans (reduced)
2 eggs

Garlic

Butter

Oil

Salt

Pepper

Orange juice  (a dreg)

The reduced haddock fillets made a meal for two - one with baby new potatoes, and one with roast potatoes.

Peel and parboil the potatoes for roasting.  Drain, shake to fluff up the outsides and roast on a high heat for about 40 mins.  I put the potatoes in the oven first for ten minutes on 230C to get a good colour and crispness on them.

Prepare parsnips and carrots. Put a little butter and oil on them and put them in the oven with the potatoes, turn down to 200C or 190C.

Boil new potatoes.

Add a little fresh orange juice to the carrots and parsnips.  Season.  Back in the oven.

Cut the beans and cabbage and put in a microwavable dish with a little water.  Heat on full for two and half minutes or so.

Put the haddock in a microwavable dish.  Cover with milk and cover the dish.

Heat in the microwave for about 4 minutes.  Stop earlier to check if it is cooked and keep heating if not.  It's easy to overcook fish this way, and it always needs less time than you think!

Meanwhile poach an egg - I bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a little vinegar.  Crack the egg onto a plate and swirl and implement through the boiling water to create a little whirlpool.  Tip the egg into the whirlpool and cook for about a minute.  Then use a slotted spoon to rescue the egg.

Serve the egg on top of the haddock fillet, with the potatoes and veg.

Simple and surprisingly tasty!

(Served 2)