Seasonal recipes: easy, healthy and cheap

[Robert Poste's Child]

I'm bored and fed up with the grim search for work, so I thought it would be interesting to swap seasonal recipes that are easy to make, comforting and healthy but don't cost much.

Autumn to me means the return of the soup and veg stew season. Here's one I really like:

Ingredients:

1 litre stock

1 medium onion

200g red lentils

3-4 carrots

1 parsnip

1 tsp dried coriander

1 pinch chilli powder or few drops Tabasco

1 pinch ground ginger

Chop the veg, put everything in a saucepan, bring to boil, simmer for about 25 mins, then blend.

Hoping other people might like to share their own favourites.

[Jules-and-Boo]

Excellet idea!

Mine quick win is noodle soup;

Green curry paste (1 tblsp)

1 block of coconut (probably use half) - instructions tell you how much water

add - chicken cut into strips so cooks quickly

mushrooms (I like cut in quarters)

chilies - if you like it hot

once chiecken is cooked (five mins or so) add noodles - I'd use two nests

Of course, it's REALLY simple, and really versatile....

you can use prawns, chicken, aubegine, courgettes, cauliflower, brocoli (which I dont' think I can spell) or anything you like.

You can substitute the green paste for red curry paste or any other at all! Red curry is good for beef...

Doesn't really work with Indian curries so would have to be Thai / Indonesian... Sainsbury's sell some too

And you can add more milk, more water.... the noodles make the soup thicker.

Coconut milk is good for you - the healthy fats :-)

[Robert Poste's Child]

Ooh, nice, and sounds like a good one to turn to when the first cold of the season hits you as that kind of thing helps clear the passages.

[Jules-and-Boo]

:-)

Food is good! Quick good food is even better!

[lavender27]

Courgette fritters

4 courgettes (cut into matchsticks)

3 eggs (separated)

Hand full of flour (more if needed)

1 fresh red chilli (chopped thinly, seeds in or out depending on how hot you like it)

Hand full of parmesan cheese (or any cheese you have in fridge)

1 onion (chopped thinly (optional)

2 tsps cumin

Salt and pepper

Olive oil for frying

Chop courgettes into very thin matchsticks

Separate eggs, white whisked into peaks into one bowl and yolks into another bowl

Put all the ingredients (courgettes etc., etc.) into YOLKS bowl and mix with hand and don't be scarred to crunch together. (Use more or less flour to get a firmish consistency)

Then fold the whites into yolk/courgettes mixture.

Heat oil in pan glug glug glug and get an ice cream scoop and scoop and drop a dollop into a large frying pan.

Fry for 5 mins on each side or until dark golden brown and crispy.

Makes about 8

Enjoy !!!! 😊

[numbers]

It seems a little early for Autumnal recipes with this hot weather but here goes.

Not a soup nor a stew but here's a cheap, easy, nutritious, seasonal recipe - pumpkin gnocchi

pumpkin or squash

floury potatoes

plain flour

semolina

parmesan

nutmeg

butter

garlic

breadcrumbs

sage leaves

short version - mix roasted pumpkin/squash with flour and roll into balls, drop into simmering water till they rise. coat with butter/oil/chopped herb leaves/anything you fancy.

long version - preheat oven, line baking tray and bake pumpkin/squash and potatoes for an hour till soft.

scrape into a bowl and puree (do not use a food processor).

add dry ingredients, mix with a fork.

add parmesan and seasoning.

roll mixture into sausage shape and cut into 2cm pieces, roll fork across top. and dust with semolina.

boil salted water, simmer and add gnocchi till they come to surface.

separately fry garlic, sage leaves and breadcrumbs (i always have these handy in freezer) in butter. remove garlic and cover gnocchi in butter mixture and more parmesan. lovely with wilted spinach. you can freeze them if you have made too much.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Numbers, that sounds lovely but reads a bit like a Mary Berry technical challenge - what are the quantities or proportions roughly?

[numbers]

once you've made it a few times you can do it with your eyes shut its so simple

1 squash + 500g potatoes

180gflour + 50g semolina (or use more flour if none)

however much cheese & butter is up to you but roughly 200g

breadcrumbs 30g

risotto is great at this time of year too. or warm salads with loads of nuts, crunchy veg and decent oil.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Thanks. Am now thinking about butternut squash and sausage casserole.

[lavender27]

wickedly hot chilli, tomato soup

1 ltr tomato juice or tinned tomatoes

6-8 fresh tomatoes

3 fresh green chillies (seeds kept in) chopped

1 onion

1 cube veg stock

a little virgin

cream or creme fraiche to serve

fry chopped onion and chillies in large saucepan for 5 mins, add tomato juice or tinned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and veg stock cube, bring to boil and simmer for 20-25 mins. Blend.

swirl a spoon of cream or creme fraiche on top to serve.

You won't need your central heating on for a few days after having that. Enjoy!

[Robert Poste's Child]

Sounds lovely. Last night I did broccoli and potato soup, which was delicious. Making carrot and parsnip later.

[Rosetta]

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> Sounds lovely. Last night I did broccoli and

> potato soup, which was delicious. Making carrot

> and parsnip later.

Do you blend your soup? I make a broccoli, potato and cheese soup not blended.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I do blend, partly because I'm too lazy to chop things evenly or time it properly, but mainly because I like really thick soup that I can then add other things to, like bacon or beans.

[lavender27]

Apple Fritters

Sliced apples, floured and dipped in pancake batter, fried for a few minutes each side. Delicious. easy and cheap, yes.

[Jeremy]

lavender27 Wrote:

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> Apple Fritters

Sounds good. I have a load of pears from the garden which are turning over-ripe and I don't have a hope of eating. Maybe a huge pile of pear fritters is the way forward.

[lavender27]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> lavender27 Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Apple Fritters

>

> Sounds good. I have a load of pears from the

> garden which are turning over-ripe and I don't

> have a hope of eating. Maybe a huge pile of pear

> fritters is the way forward.

Jeremy, yes, good idea, you could freeze them too. It's a shame for them to go to waste. Maybe chop them finely or grate or blitz them in a food processor and put more flour in pancake mix to make a firmer fritter (like a fishcake). Good luck x

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Jeremy, it's really easy to poach pears: just water and spices. If you want to get fancy, you could make a syrup. Serve with choc sauce and cream/yoghurt/ice cream.

Google recipe and tons will come up.

[Jeremy]

Yep I am certainly familiar with poached pears, but I don't find them particularly exciting. Besides, they're probably too ripe now, and are likely to fall apart when cooked.

I have about 25 of them sitting on my worktop. Crumble was my original plan...

[Robert Poste's Child]

Crumble sounds nice, maybe with blackberries, and as you have a lot you could part-cook and freeze some. Or how about making some pear chutney?

[Jeremy]

I have some blackcurrants in the freezer I picked from the garden earlier in the year... will pop some of those into the crumble. This is not, of course, even vaguely healthy. But at least it should be seasonal and cheap.

Pear and blue cheese salad tonight, I think.

If anyone wants a few pears, PM me...

[red devil]

Try this recipe Jeremy, delish...

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/recipe/ruth-clemen-s-baked-pear-and-caramel-pancake-pudding/17807

[lavender27]

I don't like throwing food away, When there is leftover turkey after Christmas here is a great recipe for the following days after the 25th.

150g Bacon cubed

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1.5kg leeks, trimmed and sliced

1 table spoon of olive oil

a knob of butter plus extra for greasing

800g cold cooked turkey breast meat or a mixture of brown and white meat ( whatever you prefer or have left over)

50g plain flour

1.2 litres chicken stock

50ml double cream

1 x 375g pack chilled ready-rolled puff pastry

1 egg beaten

salt and freshly ground black pepper

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 190 oC

Heat a large, dry frying pan, add the bacon cubes and thyme and cook over a medium to high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add the leeks to the pan with the olive oil and a knob o butter. Reduce the heat to low and soften for ahout 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that the leeks don't stick.

Add the turkey to the pan and stir through. Mix in the flour and then pour over the stock. Stir until mixed and then add the cream and season to taste. Bring to the boil and then take the pan off the heat.

Using a slotted spoon, put the turkey and leek mixture into a large pie dish. If the 'gravy' is too runny for your liking continue to boil and reduce it for a few minutes longer until it thickens. Once the right consistency has been achieved, pour it over the pie filling in the dish.

Grease the rim of the pie dish and roll the puff pastry out to the right size to cover your pie dish. Lay the pastry over the top, pinch around the edges to seal and then brush with beaten egg. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes until puffed and golden brown on top.

I hope you try this recipe, and love it. You can serve with leftover roast potatoes if the family havnt eaten them all from the previous day, and seasonal vegetables.

with love

Lavender27

[uncleglen]

Then you can boil up the turkey bones with some sliced onions and herbs (or pressure cook them), strain thoroughly...mmmmhhh

[lavender27]

uncleglen Wrote:

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> Then you can boil up the turkey bones with some

> sliced onions and herbs (or pressure cook them),

> strain thoroughly...mmmmhhh

Delicious. And the turkey bones can be used for an art project, see no waste at all. Happy Holidays. x

[lavender27]

A seasonal detox

Blend together

2 handfuls baby spinach

2 tomatoes

1 banana

1 pear

Fresh lemon juice

Fresh lime juice (to taste)

2 tbsp natural yoghurt

Half pint of semi milk

4 tsp turmeric

half tsp sugar (optional)