The anti-Jack Monroe budget recipes thread, a slop-free zone for all your good cheap eats.
(HT Allegra McEvedy for the thread title).
(HT Allegra McEvedy for the thread title).
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I want to put forward my endlessly useful cashew/pumpkin seed soy sauce topping.
Simply fry cashews (nuts and seeds are interchangeable) in hot oil until slightly browned and then throw a couple of tbsp of soy sauce at them. The soy sauce will cling to the nuts (oo eer) and add a lovely, salty, crunch topping to any stir fry or asian curry. We love doing this as it gets nuts and seeds in the kids belly’s and can really jazz up a sad stir fry if we’ve little in
Simply fry cashews (nuts and seeds are interchangeable) in hot oil until slightly browned and then throw a couple of tbsp of soy sauce at them. The soy sauce will cling to the nuts (oo eer) and add a lovely, salty, crunch topping to any stir fry or asian curry. We love doing this as it gets nuts and seeds in the kids belly’s and can really jazz up a sad stir fry if we’ve little in
This is a great idea for a thread, have found some of the tips on the current JM thread super helpful. If anyone has any good gluten free and lactose free tips I would love to hear them.
Ricotta-spinach pasta, for 2
(sorry, I am a rude colonial, so not all measurements will be by weight)
6 nuggets of frozen spinach, or approx 200g fresh spinach
1/2 cup ricotta
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1/3 cup parmesan or other grated sharp cheese
red pepper flakes, or nutmeg
2 cups fusilli pasta
Equipment: two saucepans, strainer
- For frozen spinach, boil until it's unfrozen, then drain the water into the other saucepan and use that to cook the pasta. For fresh spinach, wash it and remove the stems, and and boil the pasta separately.
- Put the butter or marg into the saucepan, melt it at a medium-low heat, and then cook the spinach in it until the spinach is limp and most of the moisture in it has evaporated. Turn the heat to low, stir in the ricotta, parmesan, and whatever spice you choose, and simmer for a couple of minutes.
- When pasta has cooked, drain it and then add it to the ricotta/spinach sauce and stir it until the pasta is coated in the sauce. Serve with extra cheese if desired.
This recipe is pretty much idiot-proof, as I have demonstrated many times. The proportions don't have to be exact, so if you have a bit more or a bit less of something, it will still work.
(sorry, I am a rude colonial, so not all measurements will be by weight)
6 nuggets of frozen spinach, or approx 200g fresh spinach
1/2 cup ricotta
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1/3 cup parmesan or other grated sharp cheese
red pepper flakes, or nutmeg
2 cups fusilli pasta
Equipment: two saucepans, strainer
- For frozen spinach, boil until it's unfrozen, then drain the water into the other saucepan and use that to cook the pasta. For fresh spinach, wash it and remove the stems, and and boil the pasta separately.
- Put the butter or marg into the saucepan, melt it at a medium-low heat, and then cook the spinach in it until the spinach is limp and most of the moisture in it has evaporated. Turn the heat to low, stir in the ricotta, parmesan, and whatever spice you choose, and simmer for a couple of minutes.
- When pasta has cooked, drain it and then add it to the ricotta/spinach sauce and stir it until the pasta is coated in the sauce. Serve with extra cheese if desired.
This recipe is pretty much idiot-proof, as I have demonstrated many times. The proportions don't have to be exact, so if you have a bit more or a bit less of something, it will still work.
Highly recommend this courgette masterpiece by Nigel Slater; courgettes are easy to come by at the moment;
Ok I’m massively 
here but for kids:
Wrap pizzas but so bloody tasty
1 x tortilla wrap (per child)
1/4 tin of tomato soup (per child, max tbh)
Cheddar cheese
Other toppings
You all know how to make tortilla pizzas so I won’t patronise you but honestly using tomato soup as the sauce is an absolute massive bleeping game changer 🤌
here but for kids:Wrap pizzas but so bloody tasty
1 x tortilla wrap (per child)
1/4 tin of tomato soup (per child, max tbh)
Cheddar cheese
Other toppings
You all know how to make tortilla pizzas so I won’t patronise you but honestly using tomato soup as the sauce is an absolute massive bleeping game changer 🤌
This Dahl is so cheap and so delicious. You can have it cold in a wrap with tomatoes the next day and it's a great packed lunch thing.
www.jamieoliver.com
A guide to lentils & basic tarka dhal recipe | Features | Jamie Oliver
Lentils can be a very important part of a vegetarian diet, so here is a quick guide to those lovely pulses and a basic recipe for a wicked tarka dhal.
www.jamieoliver.com
Pasta with chickpeas:
50 to 100g guanciale(best)/pancetta/bacon
1 fat (haha) garlic clove
1 sprig of rosemary (or a full tsp of dry, but fresh is best)
Pasta small shapes or broken spaghetti, about 50g per person
Chickpeas - one can of cooked ones, two if you are cooking for 4+. You can use dried ones cooked after the soaking bit but good luck with that because I tried and I couldn't get it to the edible stage.
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Water OR stock
Chop the guanciale into smallish cubes, add in a fairly deep pan, brown it on a medium heat until you have some of the fat rendering out (you don't need any extra fat)
Add your garlic, let it get golden
Add the chickpeas with the juice from the can, add a can of water/stock, add your sprig of rosemary, let it boil gently for 10 minutes or so
Now add your pasta, and about 1 litre of boiling water, add a little salt , stir and keep an eye on it
When the pasta is cooked, check for seasoning and serve. Add a swirl of oil (possibly olive) and black pepper.
Trust me when I say you'll love this.
Variation: potatoes diced very small, one-ish per person.
Variation #2: no bacon for a vegetarian version.
I should add that it's a soupy kind of dish, not a dry one. I will make it in the next couple of days and post a pic to see what it looks like.
Sort of daal. And no, I've never been shown how to cook so amend as you see fit!!
As many cloves of garlic as you can handle. Don't peel. Just cut off a tiny bit of the pointy end- This lets the clove out later when cooked and soft. Chuck olive oil in a pan and warm up whilst chopping an onion. (I know, I know!) Throw in the chopped onion, and the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves, get sizzling and then turn down low. Go dig in the spice cupboard. My go-tos are garam masala, ground coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, mustard seeds, ground ginger, chilies which I grow and/or buy from the Asian shops in 1kg packets, or loose in the supermarket (way cheaper, store in airtight containers forever!). Chuck a measure of each to your taste in with the onions and garlic, pref just before you turn the heat down. Cook slowly. Once you can pop the garlic cloves out of their skins, smush them up into the onions and spices and chuck the skins in your Compost bin.
Then, get a tin or jar of precooked lentils, drain it, lob it in. I tend to do veg as side dishes so not included here. Throw a stock cube in, salt and pepper, some water, or wine if you haven't drunk it all, find a lid that vaguely fits your pan, bring up to a decent heat, then simmer gently until you are too hungry to not eat NOW. Stir occasionally, and check liquid. Serve on a plate and bulk it out with side dishes, meat, whatever.
I often prep this on the gas cooker and then chuck it in my hay oven whilst I get on with chores, go for a run etc, which saves hugely on the fuel bill and means it will cook nice and gently without being cremated because I've totally forgotten about it!!!
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Sun tea. Get a large glass jug. Fill with water. Drop a teabag in, or sprigs of mint or any herbal infusion you fancy. Sugar or honey if you want. Cover the top to stop flies and ants getting in. Put in full sun. Wait a few hours for it to brew. Drink. Free.
As many cloves of garlic as you can handle. Don't peel. Just cut off a tiny bit of the pointy end- This lets the clove out later when cooked and soft. Chuck olive oil in a pan and warm up whilst chopping an onion. (I know, I know!) Throw in the chopped onion, and the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves, get sizzling and then turn down low. Go dig in the spice cupboard. My go-tos are garam masala, ground coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, mustard seeds, ground ginger, chilies which I grow and/or buy from the Asian shops in 1kg packets, or loose in the supermarket (way cheaper, store in airtight containers forever!). Chuck a measure of each to your taste in with the onions and garlic, pref just before you turn the heat down. Cook slowly. Once you can pop the garlic cloves out of their skins, smush them up into the onions and spices and chuck the skins in your Compost bin.
Then, get a tin or jar of precooked lentils, drain it, lob it in. I tend to do veg as side dishes so not included here. Throw a stock cube in, salt and pepper, some water, or wine if you haven't drunk it all, find a lid that vaguely fits your pan, bring up to a decent heat, then simmer gently until you are too hungry to not eat NOW. Stir occasionally, and check liquid. Serve on a plate and bulk it out with side dishes, meat, whatever.
I often prep this on the gas cooker and then chuck it in my hay oven whilst I get on with chores, go for a run etc, which saves hugely on the fuel bill and means it will cook nice and gently without being cremated because I've totally forgotten about it!!!
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When I say fuel bills, I cook on a gas stove only in summer, wood burner and outside from Oct 15th ish onwards when we are allowed fires again. Most people have an outside kitchen, which will include brick-built barbecues and pizza/bread ovens. I'm not yet at that stage of civilisation!!! Running out of gas means finding somebody going to the nearest village, having 35e spare, and being prepared for this not to all come together for several days, possibly longer. During summer when I can't just light a fire outside to cook, I become the tightest tightwad on the planet about my gas bottle!
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Sun tea. Get a large glass jug. Fill with water. Drop a teabag in, or sprigs of mint or any herbal infusion you fancy. Sugar or honey if you want. Cover the top to stop flies and ants getting in. Put in full sun. Wait a few hours for it to brew. Drink. Free.
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This looks fab - I LOVE dahl.This Dahl is so cheap and so delicious. You can have it cold in a wrap with tomatoes the next day and it's a great packed lunch thing.
A guide to lentils & basic tarka dhal recipe | Features | Jamie Oliver
Lentils can be a very important part of a vegetarian diet, so here is a quick guide to those lovely pulses and a basic recipe for a wicked tarka dhal.
I'm making this tomorrow.
This won't be helpful if gluten/ lactose are problematic so apologies. We had a very frugal upbringing - lots of us, not a lot of money, the evening before child benefit day was always corned beef hash night (and I only found that palatable if we had tomato sauce to put on it. My sister preferred to add pickle). But there were treats to be had, especially toast based, all made under the grill:
1. Pizza toast - get one side of the bread toasted, put a small amount of tomato puree on the other with cheddar on top. Dried Italian herbs can be added. Pop back under the grill until the cheese bubbles.
2. Cinnamon toast - again, get one side done then spread some butter on the untoasted side. Then sprinkle on sugar and a bit of cinnamon. Let the grill do its stuff and enjoy!
3. Apple & cheese on toast. A lunchtime favourite made with sliced eating apples covered in cheddar.
4. Boiled egg & cheese on toast. Melted cheddar again, covering sliced hard boiled egg.
5. Sardines on toast. I like to mash them, my OH (who has NOT LEFT) likes them as the tin intended.
I think you get the idea! I make no claims at all as to the nutritional value of any of these. They did, however, keep hungry teenagers going until the next meal.
1. Pizza toast - get one side of the bread toasted, put a small amount of tomato puree on the other with cheddar on top. Dried Italian herbs can be added. Pop back under the grill until the cheese bubbles.
2. Cinnamon toast - again, get one side done then spread some butter on the untoasted side. Then sprinkle on sugar and a bit of cinnamon. Let the grill do its stuff and enjoy!
3. Apple & cheese on toast. A lunchtime favourite made with sliced eating apples covered in cheddar.
4. Boiled egg & cheese on toast. Melted cheddar again, covering sliced hard boiled egg.
5. Sardines on toast. I like to mash them, my OH (who has NOT LEFT) likes them as the tin intended.
I think you get the idea! I make no claims at all as to the nutritional value of any of these. They did, however, keep hungry teenagers going until the next meal.
How do you make a hay oven?
I have a slow cooker but have a thing about leaving anything at all switched on when I'm not in the house.
If you've never made tortilla wraps, they're cheap, very easy and I'm certain most people will have the ingredients in their cupboard (Flour, oil and salt). I use this recipe, https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tortillas but make four huge 32cm ones most weeks. Bit of time and effort, but nothing complicated. I've messed around with half wholemeal flour, flavoured oils and whacking some chilli powder or paprika in, all with good results.
Honestly the only thing I hate about these is that whenever I try to be lazy and buy a packet, they're always so disappointing now.
Using Jackmaths, 6 tortillas cost 19.5p.
Honestly the only thing I hate about these is that whenever I try to be lazy and buy a packet, they're always so disappointing now.
Using Jackmaths, 6 tortillas cost 19.5p.
I’m going to share my minestrone recipe, but the way I do mushrooms is soo good and easy to put in anything else.
Chop half a packet of mushrooms per 2 people into cubes, place into COMPLETELY dry and hot pan, they will squeak and steam and shrink in size. When they are small and brown, add a knob of butter and two cloves of minced garlic. Fry until butter has coated and mushrooms are crispy(ish)
remove mushrooms from pan, take pan off heat and reduce heat and add 2tbsp olive oil.
Add a finely diced white onion and cook low and slow for around 10 mins, onions will turn brown and translucent. This step is essential.
then add a glug of balsamic vinegar or butter/oil
add two cloves of garlic, minced and 2tbsp of Italian seasoning
stir through for a minute or two.
Add 2 diced carrots a diced courgette and a tin of mixed beans (drained)
the finer you can be bothered to cut up the veggies, the better. Allow to cook for 5 mins, while making up 250ml (about a mug) of stock.
add a splash of stock to the veggies and cook for a couple more minutes. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes or a carton of passata.
add the rest of the stock, any sweetcorn/peas/fresh veggies that take less cooking and also add a serving (50g?) of broken up spaghetti. Add the mushrooms back in
let the spaghetti take in the fluid, serve warm with a spoon and grate over Parmesan to taste.
We have this for lunch frequently, it’s one pan, takes me 20 mins and feeds our family of 5 on for a total price of about £4, which we reduce with our own veggies from the garden, leftovers, foraged mushrooms and stuff from the pantry. I made it on Sunday and we worked out it was less than £1 to make because of the stuff we get reduced/we grow.
You can do it with just tinned stuff, just frozen stuff and add in loads of random things. I put olives in ours on Sunday and they were delicious
Chop half a packet of mushrooms per 2 people into cubes, place into COMPLETELY dry and hot pan, they will squeak and steam and shrink in size. When they are small and brown, add a knob of butter and two cloves of minced garlic. Fry until butter has coated and mushrooms are crispy(ish)
remove mushrooms from pan, take pan off heat and reduce heat and add 2tbsp olive oil.
Add a finely diced white onion and cook low and slow for around 10 mins, onions will turn brown and translucent. This step is essential.
then add a glug of balsamic vinegar or butter/oil
add two cloves of garlic, minced and 2tbsp of Italian seasoning
stir through for a minute or two.
Add 2 diced carrots a diced courgette and a tin of mixed beans (drained)
the finer you can be bothered to cut up the veggies, the better. Allow to cook for 5 mins, while making up 250ml (about a mug) of stock.
add a splash of stock to the veggies and cook for a couple more minutes. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes or a carton of passata.
add the rest of the stock, any sweetcorn/peas/fresh veggies that take less cooking and also add a serving (50g?) of broken up spaghetti. Add the mushrooms back in
let the spaghetti take in the fluid, serve warm with a spoon and grate over Parmesan to taste.
We have this for lunch frequently, it’s one pan, takes me 20 mins and feeds our family of 5 on for a total price of about £4, which we reduce with our own veggies from the garden, leftovers, foraged mushrooms and stuff from the pantry. I made it on Sunday and we worked out it was less than £1 to make because of the stuff we get reduced/we grow.
You can do it with just tinned stuff, just frozen stuff and add in loads of random things. I put olives in ours on Sunday and they were delicious
Brilliant idea for a thread. Loving it. 
Going to start with my chocolate brownie cake, cos sweet treats are important…
Ingredients:
Ingredients
225 grams spreadable butter
375 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 grams dark chocolate (use supermarket basics choc)
200 grams self raising flour
250 milliliters boiling water
Line a 9 inch cake tin or a 2lb loaf tin (do the Jamie Oliver trick of scrunching up the grease proof paper and running it under the warm tap til it’s soaked, line the tin with the wet paper and you don’t need to grease it…)
Preheat fan oven to 150. This cake can be made in a medium sized saucepan, and you only need that and a wooden spoon to mix.
Over lowest heat possible, melt the chocolate, butter and sugar, and vanilla stirring til smoothly combined.
Cool a little, then beat in the flour, til all amalgamated. Beat in the eggs.
Lastly, slowly pour in the boiling water. Carefully, as the batter will be very runny indeed. Once all combined pour the mixture into a tin (it will deffo be very runny but do not panic!!)
Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes - check after this time. A skewer inserted will come out almost clean. It may take up to an hour depending on your oven.
Take out and allow to cool. Once cold, remove from tin and wrap in foil. It’s better to keep for 24 hours before you cut into it. It’ll keep fine for four days, and will also freeze well! This will make 10-12 smallish slices - it’s quite rich. Serve with plain yoghurt or custard and fresh or tinned raspberries…
Going to start with my chocolate brownie cake, cos sweet treats are important…
Ingredients:
Ingredients
225 grams spreadable butter
375 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 grams dark chocolate (use supermarket basics choc)
200 grams self raising flour
250 milliliters boiling water
Line a 9 inch cake tin or a 2lb loaf tin (do the Jamie Oliver trick of scrunching up the grease proof paper and running it under the warm tap til it’s soaked, line the tin with the wet paper and you don’t need to grease it…)
Preheat fan oven to 150. This cake can be made in a medium sized saucepan, and you only need that and a wooden spoon to mix.
Over lowest heat possible, melt the chocolate, butter and sugar, and vanilla stirring til smoothly combined.
Cool a little, then beat in the flour, til all amalgamated. Beat in the eggs.
Lastly, slowly pour in the boiling water. Carefully, as the batter will be very runny indeed. Once all combined pour the mixture into a tin (it will deffo be very runny but do not panic!!)
Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes - check after this time. A skewer inserted will come out almost clean. It may take up to an hour depending on your oven.
Take out and allow to cool. Once cold, remove from tin and wrap in foil. It’s better to keep for 24 hours before you cut into it. It’ll keep fine for four days, and will also freeze well! This will make 10-12 smallish slices - it’s quite rich. Serve with plain yoghurt or custard and fresh or tinned raspberries…
Mine is very simplistic. It is an insulated box that once had iced broccoli in it that I found behind a market stall. Here in EU, every Chinese shop and supermarket sells them as cheap coolers. Expanded polystyrene is it called? One of those with a lid. Cut some grass or beg some hay from anybody with horses. Put a layer of hay on the bottom. Place the pan or casserole dish, shove a tea towel in if your pan lid doesn't fit properly to stop any hay getting in, cover with hay, put the box lid on. Leave.
Obviously, the pan or casserole has to be hot when it goes in. I do all my prep on the stove eg fry onions, sear meat, etc, then put everything into a pre-warmed (pour hot water in and leave to sit whilst prepping) earthenware casserole dish which happens to be the perfect size for my hay oven. I have left all day to slow cook when travelling, and it will need a few mins warming up if so.
I make bread by heating a big tin (no ridges on the side) in a pan of water, then putting the risen dough in, cover the tin mouth with a tea towel/ tin foil, cover the whole lot with hay, leave. You don't get a crust, and you get a round loaf, but it's excellent if you can't afford to put the oven on to bake.
And ditto about not leaving anything on if not hovering over it. I've been in or near too many wildfires over the years; I won't be starting one at home.
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Ooh, that mushroom trick sounds excellent.
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Courgette/marrow fritters. These take a little experimentation to get absolutely right but are as filling as meat when you do. And there is always a glut of the damned things!!!
Cut rind off courgette/marrow. Grate it. Squeeze as much liquid out as you can. And then a bit more! Mix flour in so the mixture starts to hold together. Add a few drops of olive oil, salt and pepper. It ought to look like a batter, but not too runny.
Heat oil in frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of the batter in to make a fritter about the size of um a very big Digestive?!! Flip over once browning and going crispy. I find it is a bit like pancakes, the first couple aren't great but once you get going they all come out spot-on. Add piri-piri sauce to serve, or whatever spices into the batter that take your fancy.
Many gardeners will pay you to take marrows away by the end of summer so good value!!!! And you can also make marrow rum, which is bloody amazing too.
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Apologies for the use of a bullet blender but pea pesto is a chaos favourite. Blend frozen peas, a clove or two of garlic, mint and sunflower seeds/almonds/walnuts depending on taste and budget and some hard cheese. I'm vegan and use lidls parmesan style offering but it works without any tbh. Blitz with olive oil, until a nice texture is obtained. Stir through spaghetti. Quantities are really to personal preference.
Sunflower seeds are much cheaper than pine nuts and work in other pesto recipes.
Sunflower seeds are much cheaper than pine nuts and work in other pesto recipes.
Naans make really good pizza bases. A leftover one is absolutely fine. Spread with some tomato puree (cheap supermarket stuff is ideal), add whatever cheese you have and whatever other ingredients you like on your pizza. Do leave a gap around the edge so all the topping doesn't slide off when the cheese melts. A sprinkle of dried oregano will always make it taste and smell that bit more Italian.
Cook in a hot oven for about ten minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling.
Cook in a hot oven for about ten minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling.
My husband makes a delicious asparagus pesto:
the ends of the asparagus that you’d usually throw away
Handful of Pistachios
A garlic clove
Handful of Parmesan or similar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
bash it about in a pestle and mortar - it’s delicious over new potatoes, as a salad dressing, as a bruschetta topping or as a sauce for fish.
the ends of the asparagus that you’d usually throw away
Handful of Pistachios
A garlic clove
Handful of Parmesan or similar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
bash it about in a pestle and mortar - it’s delicious over new potatoes, as a salad dressing, as a bruschetta topping or as a sauce for fish.
I’m making a Soviet Union flag - icecream cake this week for my sons 13th birthday. He is a huge SU fan and has been teaching himself Russia for the last 2 years in his spare time. They are actually allowing him to sit a Russian GCSE at school next year, he will still be 13 when he sits it, two years before the rest of his exams.Brilliant idea for a thread. Loving it.
Going to start with my chocolate brownie cake, cos sweet treats are important…
Ingredients:
Ingredients
225 grams spreadable butter
375 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 grams dark chocolate (use supermarket basics choc)
200 grams self raising flour
250 milliliters boiling water
Line a 9 inch cake tin or a 2lb loaf tin (do the Jamie Oliver trick of scrunching up the grease proof paper and running it under the warm tap til it’s soaked, line the tin with the wet paper and you don’t need to grease it…)
Preheat fan oven to 150. This cake can be made in a medium sized saucepan, and you only need that and a wooden spoon to mix.
Over lowest heat possible, melt the chocolate, butter and sugar, and vanilla stirring til smoothly combined.
Cool a little, then beat in the flour, til all amalgamated. Beat in the eggs.
Lastly, slowly pour in the boiling water. Carefully, as the batter will be very runny indeed. Once all combined pour the mixture into a tin (it will deffo be very runny but do not panic!!)
Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes - check after this time. A skewer inserted will come out almost clean. It may take up to an hour depending on your oven.
Take out and allow to cool. Once cold, remove from tin and wrap in foil. It’s better to keep for 24 hours before you cut into it. It’ll keep fine for four days, and will also freeze well! This will make 10-12 smallish slices - it’s quite rich. Serve with plain yoghurt or custard and fresh or tinned raspberries…
Needless to say I am immeasurably proud of him and can’t wait to make his cake
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Love this for using up ends of stuff