This is a recipe I have actually made and eaten in a few different guises. Once I added the same ingredients but made it into a macaroni cheese, another time I added similar ingredients and had a cold pasta salad. My creamy bacon, spinach and pea pasta is a real favourite in our house for two reasons: we almost always have all the ingredients, and it’s cheap and quick to make. I don’t know what it is about peas and pasta but I love the combination of silky, smooth pasta and squeaky peas. With so many things going on at the moment, the World Cup, Wimbledon about to start, this excellent weather and doing up the house anything that takes less than half an hour to make is my best friend.
Jerk Carrots with Rice and Beans
Jerk seasoning has to be one of my favourites. No matter what time of year it is there’s always room for something to be cooked up with it; sticky jerk chicken in the autumn, a fiery casserole in the winter or when the new season arrives, jerk carrots. This recipe came out of a need to use up a whole load of carrots and I certainly didn’t want to make soup. I can see it working really well on the BBQ as a spicy veggie side in the coming weeks too. If you can get hold of new season spring carrots they are sweeter and smaller than carrots available later in the year and are ideal for this recipe.
My Top 7 Easy Weeknight Dinners
So I don’t know about you but when it comes to weeknight cooking I am looking for something tasty, easy and quick to cook. I simply don’t have the time or energy to cook something which takes hours, so I don’t. Just because something is quick to cook, doesn’t mean it can’t be balanced or delicious. Below are my top 7 easy weeknight dinners; recipes that I turn to again and again, maybe with a little variation in the ingredients here and there. I class something as ‘quick’ if it takes 30 minutes or less from start to finish; something is ‘easy’ if there’s less than two cooking pans on the go and ‘tasty’, well, you’ll have to be the judge of that.
Cauliflower and Sundried Tomato Pasta
I always think cauliflower is at its very best when served with cheese. As much as I think this is still true I have been really enjoying roasting and frying it lately and this cauliflower and sundried tomato pasta is my current favourite way to eat cauliflower. Cheap to make, vegan, delicious and so fast to cook; we’re talking 15 minutes from fridge to table. If only all weeknight cooking could be like this!
Ingredients
You will need (for four servings):
- 300g pasta £0.30
- 1 small romanesco (or other) cauliflower, chopped into small florets £1.50
- 6 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped £0.30
- 2 small garlic cloves, crushed £0.10
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil £0.15
- Pinch saffron £0.50
- Salt and pepper £0.02
Total £2.87
Method
You’ll need a pan full of boiling water with a steamer to go on top. It’s no problem if you don’t have a steamer; you’ll just need an extra pan of boiling water for the cauliflower.
Autumn Vegetable Minestrone
The weather has certainly changed, although I do consider November to technically be in autumn things have started to get much wintrier. With ice in the mornings, digging scarves and hats out of the drawers and the fire blazing it’s definitely the time of year for soup. The more filling and comforting the soup the better and my autumn vegetable minestrone is exactly that; a restorative bowl of loveliness. Filled with six different vegetables including beans to bulk it all out it’s simple, speedy, cheap and delicious.
Sage and Black Pudding Pasta
I imagine that as you read sage and black pudding pasta you’ll fall into one of two camps of people; either the ‘a full English isn’t the same without it’ camp or the ‘I don’t like it’ camp. If you know what goes into making a black pudding I can understand that it doesn’t really help to sell itself: pork blood, pork fat, oatmeal and spices. The spices vary between producers so try out a local one if you can get your hands on it, it’s definitely worth it. Black pudding is such a polarising ingredient but it’s actually pretty cheap meaning it’s perfect for cooking on a budget.
Tomato and Mascarpone Gnocchi Bake
I think this is a perfect meal in many ways: firstly, it’s just the right size for two people; secondly, it’s really simple to make; thirdly, it’s deliciously vegetarian and full of veg and lastly, it’s really versatile. My tomato and mascarpone gnocchi bake is made from a few ingredients which I often have in the kitchen anyway. Just the thing for a busy Monday night when you want something quick and tasty. You could add anything to it that you had hanging around in your cupboards, maybe some olives, sundried tomatoes, leftover chicken or roasted veg or you could pop some cheese on top.
Smoky Chipotle Tomato Soup
I made some enchiladas a few weeks ago and added one chipotle chilli for four people. You couldn’t taste it at all; there was a little bit of smoky flavour but no chilli heat; it wasn’t the end of the world, they were still very tasty. When I made this Smoky Chipotle Tomato Soup I added one chilli again, this time for two people, and it was probably the hottest thing I have ever eaten. It’s amazing how different two chillies that look just the same can have completely different heat levels. Despite it being so hot, it was actually rather delicious. Served with lots of bread and a glass of milk.
Vegetable Singapore Noodles
The thing I like most about these vegetable Singapore noodles is that you can throw in whatever you have left in the fridge at the end of the week. Add a few simple store cupboard staples and voila, dinner in 15 minutes. I have been perfecting this recipe for a little while now to get a good balance of sweet, salt and spice and by Jove I think I’ve cracked it. No more takeaways needed! You really can play around with this recipe too; try using different noodles or rice, different vegetables and nuts.
Smoked Chicken Fried Rice
I bought some smoked chicken from a local farm shop. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with it but it sounded too tasty not to try it. I planned to serve it with some cheese and chutneys but somehow I never got round to it. I certainly wasn’t going to waste it and I thought, rather than serving it alongside something else, why not make it the star of the dish? Smoked chicken fried rice sounded like just the thing for a simple, no hassle budget meal in a flash. Turns out it’s even better than it sounds.