Aaaaaah, it’s been bloody AGES since my last recipe. Apologies. First I was finishing a PhD, then I was doing a residency where I was travelling to Yorkshire most weeks and cooking on the go, then I was POOR, and I couldn’t afford to experiment with food. And now I live in London. And am even poorer really, except the difference is I have less time because 2 hours of my day is commuting. But determined to get back on the food blog wagon. (WAGON). So expect a series of CHEAP EATS, for making in bulk and reheating for lunch or dinner. This week I have lentil chilli and this fine recipe; butternut squash and chickpea curry based pretty faithfully on a Good Food recipe. Served with rice in the evenings, or with a pitta for lunch.

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 35 mins | Serves: 4

Nutritional Info: 393 kcalories, protein 14g, carbohydrate 71g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 9g, sugar 16g, salt 0.94 g

NB I got this info off the recipe and I’m too tired to work out if it includes the rice or not, so when I record it, I just add on 50g of basmati rice, which brings the meal to: 571g kcalories, 110g carbs, 9g fat, 18g protein, 376mg sodium, 16g sugar.

Chop up the butternut squash. This is the worst bit of the recipe. From here on in it’s plain sailing. I chop squash the lazy way: slice off sections horizontally, so you have a load of cross section disks, then chop the skin off the sides with it laying flat, you end up with octagon-ish bits of just flesh, which then I section into chunks. Top Squash Tip.

Add the oil to the pan, heat, then add the squash and sautee until browning, about 10 mins

Then add the onion and the garlic, stir, and soften for 5-10 mins more

Add the curry paste, pop it on a high heat, and get it all lovely and covered and fragrant

Then add the stock, stir well, and simmer until squash is almost perfectly soft. Pop your rice on just as it’s getting soft-ish. About 5 minutes for basmati, and 10-15 for brown, before you think the squash is at almost.

Add the chickpeas and tomatoes (I used tinned), stir well, and simmer for a last 5 mins.

Just before serving, stir through chopped coriander. Serve with rice and soya yoghurt. Or pitta. Or naan. Or chapati. You get it.

Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 30-35 mins
Nutritional info: 445 kcal, 61g carbs, 16g fat, 14g protein

Ingredients sans parsley and beans (sneaking in at the corner)

Soften those onions!

Add the spices and stir for 10 seconds or so

Then add the tomatoes, raisins, chickpeas, aubergine and stock. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the veg is soft and juice has reduced. If adding beans, halve them and pop in about 8-10 mins before serving and put a lid on the pan.

Season well, stir through parsley. JUST LIKE THAT.

Based on this recipe, but variously un-complicated for my laziness.

Prep Time: 35 | Cook Time: 20 | Servings: 4 (4 falafel per serving, 16 total)
Nutritional info: falafel and yoghurt: 248 kcal, 27g carbs, 10g fat, 10g protein. For adding pitta and salad (rocket, 1 tomato, cucumber) add 175kcal.

Ingredients:

First off, set the oven to 200’c, cube the butternut squash, and shake them up in a roasting pan with the oil, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp cumin, the cinnamon, salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 mins until lovely and smooshy.

meanwhile, pop the chickpeas, remaining ground coriander and cumin, bicarb of soda, fresh parsley, fresh coriander and chilli powder to taste (1 tsp as a basic level) in a bowl.

blend this until smooshy. Add a touch of water or oil if it’s too stiff.

Then, while still waiting for the squash, make the yoghurt dip by combining the grated cucumber, squeeze of lemon, yoghurt and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well, and popping back in the fridge to remain nice and cool.

when the butternut squash are finally done, add this to the chickpeas herbs and spice blend, and blend some more, until you have a lovely falafelly dough.

Form into 16 small balls (4 per serving) and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until well browned. Put any you want to use later into the fridge to keep.

Serve in toasted pitta with a salad and the dressing. Voila, etc:

Prep Time: 5 | Cook Time: 20 | Servings: 2 | Nutritional Info: 212 Kcal, 26g carb, 8g fat, 12g protein

Ingredients picture:

Add the curry paste and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until ‘aromatic’, as they say.

Stir in the tomatoes, water, and chickpeas. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to a medium simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and cook until just wilted.

Stir in the coriander, and serve with rice, chutney wot your mum made and soya yogurt. Mm.

Prep Time: 10 | Cook Time: 40 | Servings: 2
Nutritional Info: 232 kcal, 9g fat (1g sat), 29 carbs, 0.6g salt (without bread included)
What’s in it:

Makings:heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 5 mins until soft

Add the aubergine, mushrooms and courgette, stir to coat evenly and cook for 2 mins.

Add the chickpeas and stock, season well and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins. Just before serving stir through the parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 6 mins | Servings: 1

Nutritional Info: for the falafel only: 161 kcal, protein 6g, carbohydrate 18g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 3g, sugar 1g, salt 0.36 g. With wholemeal pitta, salsa, guacamole, tomato, cucumber, and lettuce: 404 kcal.

Ingredients:

Doings:

Drain the chickpeas. Put them in a thing with the onion, garlic, parsley, spices, flour and a little salt. I find this too stiff when blending, so also add a splash of oil.

Blend with a hand blender until fairly smooth, then shape into mini falafel burgers by hand.

Heat the rest of the oil, add the burgers, then quickly fry for 3 mins on each side until golden. Serve in toasted pittas, pre stuffed with tomato salsa and guacamole, stuff in more yummy salad with the rest on the side.

Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 30-40 mins | Servings: 4

Nutritional Info: 199 kcal, protein 8g, carbohydrate 18g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 5g, sugar 6g, salt 0.42 g. With 50g of rice (before cooking), 20g of chutney, and 15g of soya natural yoghurt, you’re looking at 463 kcal per serving.

Ingredients:

This is the best you’re going to get in terms of ingredient pictures, because I only decided to blog it at the last minute. Almost too tired to blog for you. IMAGINE THAT.

Whattatodo:

Put the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes (I used tinned tomatoes, 1 tomato = roughly 100g of chopped, I reckon. But this is probably better, and juicier if you add real tomatoes. If adding chopped, chuck in a splash of water, too) in a receptacle, and hand blend. If you don’t have a blender, they’re alright chucked in as chopped, but it’s way better if you smoothie them first.

Heat oil in a large pan. Add the spices, fry for a few secs

Add purée and yeast extract. Bubble together for 2 mins,

Then add lentils and coconut cream (milk is pictured instead of cream. Was still tasty).

Cook until lentils are tender (I never leave this long enough, be more patient than me) then add the broccoli and cook for 5 minutes more.

Stir in chickpeas and spinach, heat through until spinach is wilted and chickpeas are warm

Serve, squeeze over lemon, add rice, chutney, and yoghurt.

Prep time: 15 mins  |  Cook time: 15 mins  |  Serves: 4 (although the pictures are of it cooked for 1)

Nutrition: 380 kcal with couscous, 403 with 80g french beans. Otherwise 245 kcal, protein 11g, carbohydrate 44g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 0g, fibre 6g, sugar 11g, salt 0.51 g

Ingredients: 

What to do:

Fry the onion in the oil for 5 mins or so, until soft.

Add the cinnamon and cumin and cook for 1 min, stirring.

Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 mins

Then stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas and honey.

Season and simmer for 7-8 mins.

Meanwhile, (I love it when recipes use meanwhile, or as it’s also known; ‘THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING BUT WE ONLY TOLD YOU ABOUT NOW’) mix the couscous with the dried apricots and some seasoning in a bowl. Pour over 250ml boiling water/stock, stir to mix, then cover. Leave to stand until the couscous is couscousy.

To serve, fluff couscous with a fork, stir in the parsley and top with the mushroom mixture. Serve with them beans if you want

Yummy!

It’s so simple – a real more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts recipe.

I took the obligatory ingredients photo…

then thought, there’s something missing…aha!

Rinse the chickpeas, put in a pan with water and set to warm over a low heat.

Break the cauliflower into medium and small florets, and steam for 8 – 10 minutes:

If you’re using fresh coriander, chop a bunch of it finely.
Chop the lemons and juice them.

When the cauliflower is done, drain the pan and turn off the heat. Put the cauliflower back into the pan, drizzle with olive oil.
Drain the chickpeas, add to the cauliflower.

Add the lemon juice and chopped coriander/coriander paste.
Add more olive oil. Stir it all round so the cauliflower breaks up a bit more.
That’s it. Remember how much coriander, lemon juice and olive oil you’ve used, and adjust next time as necessary.

This garlic bread is inspired the way they used to make it in the cafe at Arnolfini in Bristol, back “in the day”. I use 1 and a half rolls per person, 1 clove of garlic per roll, and a big spread of butter per half roll.

Preheat the grill.
Crush the garlic and mix with the butter. No, probably best to use a bit more butter than that.
Tear the rolls in half (don’t cut them) so they’re uneven.
Spread with the garlic butter. I say spread, I mean smother.

Put under the grill – watch them carefully. (I usually put them under the grill quite late – once I’m already mixing the cauliflower and chickpeas together).

That’s it.

Serve with a nice Portuguese red, preferably an Alentejo.