Puttanesca

Translated literally as 'the whore's way', spaghetti alla puttanesca is a dish full of salty and spicy goodness.  A classic store cupboard dinner, it requires very little effort to make.  Anchovies, capers, garlic, chilli and black olives - all such robust flavours in themselves - combine together perfectly in the tomato sauce.  It's the ideal thing to eat when feeling a little ropey.  Whether self-inflicted or just a little rundown, this has become one of the dishes we crave the most.

After a recent night of drinking, dancing, bruising, phone losing (and finding) we reassured ourselves the next day with a big bowl of puttanesca topped with parsley and mounds of parmesan.

In the past we have been tempted to substitute the black tinned olives with other, more expensive and tastier olives, however we've found the tinned ones to still be the best.  They don't overpower the dish and really absorb all the over flavours, holding the sauce in their stoned middle.  A very satisfying mouthful.

Fed 4 (2 dinners and 2 packed lunches): Approx. 65p per person, per meal.

Ingredients:

1 tin anchovy fillets 79p

1 tin pitted black olives 95p

2 cartons chopped tomatoes 84p

Total: £2.58

Store Cupboard:

2 large cloves of garlic

400g dried spaghetti

1 tbsp dried chilli flakes

1 heaped tbsp capers

Small handful of parsley

Parmesan

Olive oil

-  Finely chop the garlic.

-  Add garlic, chilli, capers and anchovies to a large heavy bottomed pan with some olive oil (we use the olive oil from the tinned anchovies plus a little extra.)

-  Drain and rinse olives – they can be very salty and briny otherwise. 

-  Gently fry whilst stirring – the anchovies should start to break apart as they cook.  After a couple of minutes add the olives.

-  Stir in both cartons of chopped tomatoes and leave to simmer and reduce.

-  Boil spaghetti in separate pan.

-  Once spaghetti is cooked, drain, add to the sauce and stir through.

-  Divide into bowls and top with grated parmesan, chopped parsley and black pepper.

Borscht(ish)

It is probably sacrilegious to call this soup borscht.  No recipe books or Russians were consulted before or during the making of this dinner.  Though one member of Fruges had once been made it by a Russian friend when fighting a particularly bad cold and its chicken-soup-like medicinal qualities have been hard to forget.

As far as we’re aware, traditional borscht is quite a labour of love; purists can spend hours sweating over a batch.  We wanted the earthy sweetness of the beetroot but we didn’t want to spend the time.

We managed to make this version in about 30 minutes.  Our lovely local vegetable shop sells beetroot in several forms, one of which is freshly cooked.  If you don’t have this option, we would always recommend taking the time to cook some from raw when making this soup, don’t be tempted to use the shrink-wrapped or jarred type.

Despite the shortcuts our borscht was delicious.  We added lightly sautéed buttery shredded cabbage at the end to add a gentle peppery crunch to this otherwise sweet soup.

Fed 4 for dinner + 2 lunches: Approx 60p per person, per meal

Shopping List

3 large Beetroot (pre-cooked) £1.38

2 Carrots + 1 Onion 29p

Bunch of Fresh Dill 75p

Creme Fraiche 90p

1/3 head of white heart cabbage 25p

Total: £3.57

Store cupboard

Chicken Stockpot

Bouillon

1 Stick of celery

Leftover Bread

Butter

· Chop the onion and celery as finely as you can, then gently fry in a large, heavy bottomed pan.

· Grate the carrots and beetroot, and add them to the same pan.

· Fill and boil the kettle.

· When the vegetables have softened and some stock - as a quick fix we used a Knorr chicken stock pot and about 3 pints of boiling water, topped up with Bouillon to taste.

· Finely chop around half of the dill, and add it to the pan.

· Put the lid on to stop the soup from reducing, and leave it on a low heat for about 15 minutes.

· While the soup is simmering finely shred the cabbage and lightly sauté with a knob of butter in separate pan.  Add this to the borscht at the very end.

· Serve in big bowls with plenty of bread, a big dollop of crème fraiche, and some more chopped dill.

You could jazz up your soup by mixing some grated parmesan or horseradish into the crème fraiche or adding a squeeze of lemon juice to your soup.  We've given this a 'Vegetarian' label because you could easily switch the chicken stock for vegetable.

Breakfast: Mashed Peas and Broad Beans with Fish Fingers, Poached Egg and Red Onion on Toast

We’d planned to go out for breakfast on a Saturday morning, but woke up feeling a bit worse for wear…with nothing in the fridge.  We couldn’t even face heading to the shops.  So decided to create a breakfast from our stock frozen foods.  


We realise it’s an unorthodox breakfast but it definitely hit the spot! 

Fed 3.  

Ingredients

½ Red Onion

6 Fish Fingers

2 Handfuls of Frozen Peas

2 Handfuls of Frozen Broad Beans

1 Tbsp Crème Fraiche

½ Lemon

Grating of Parmesan

3 Eggs

3 Slices of Toast

 

• Boil the peas and broad beans until cooked.

• Whilst the peas and beans are cooking, grill the fish fingers and put the bread in the toaster.

• Finely slice the red onion and sauté until soft. Boil a kettle and poach three eggs. (see our poaching method.)

• Drain the peas and broad beans, then coarsely mash adding crème fraiche, lemon juice, parmesan and season to taste. 

• Butter toast and pile on the mash, the fish fingers, followed by the poached egg and top with the red onion. 

• Serve with breakfast condiments of choice. We favour the classic Ketchup and think a little tartar sauce might have snuck in too..

Smoked Mackerel and Horseradish Fishcakes with Roasted Beetroot and Avocado Salad

Horseradish - nose tingling and fiery - is the perfect partner to cut through smoked mackerel's rich oily tones.

We decided to try this classic combination in fishcake form. These

were enjoyable to make; hands on and messy... but totally rewarding.

We paired them with roast beetroot, a common counterpart to this duo,

and a creamy avocado salad.

It was a success; one of the best combinations we've had yet. It even converted one Fruges member, who previously wasn’t keen on mackerel.

The leftover fishcakes survived well for packed lunches; they were just as good as the night before.

Fed 3 for dinner (2 fishcakes each), and 3 packed lunches (1 fishcake each): £1 per person, per meal

Shopping List:

1 Packet Smoked Mackerel £2.52

1 Jar Horseradish Sauce 66p

6 Medium Potatoes 70p

Mixed Salad Leaves £1.15

1 Avocado 30p

1 Large Beetroot 20p

2 Eggs 50p

Total: £6.03

Store Cupboard:

Breadcrumbs – from an old loaf in the freezer

Olive Oil

Half a Lemon

• Preheat the Oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

• Peel and chop the potatoes into equal chunks. Put them on to boil until they are cooked through; a mashable consistency.

• Cut the beetroot into chunks and place in a small baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil.

• Prepare the mackerel by removing the skin and breaking it up into small flakes.

• Now the potatoes are cooked through, drain and mash them. You can add butter or olive oil or milk, depending on your taste. Take care not to add too much of anything as this will make it too sticky to make into cakes.

• Add the mackerel to the potato mash with 2 tablespoons of horseradish sauce, then mix together thoroughly. Taste it at this point to see if it needs a spoonful more.

• Beat an egg or two in a bowl. Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate and grease a large baking tray.

• Use your hands to create fishcakes of whatever size you fancy.

• Dip the fishcakes in the egg, followed by the breadcrumbs.

• Lay the fishcakes on the baking tray and put in the oven, on a middle shelf.

• Put the beetroot in the oven, on a lower shelf.

• Cook both for 15-20 minutes, but keep an eye on them.

• Prepare the salad and get plates ready.

• Once the fishcakes are starting to brown, take them out and plate up with the beetroot and salad. Serve with extra horseradish, a squeeze of lemon, and some mayonnaise.

Chorizo and Bean Stew

Once a month, a group of our friends get together for Film Club, where we take it in turns to choose a film and food.  We don’t get together all that often, so it always feels like a bit of an occasion.

It was the first really beautiful Sunday of the year, so we were all keen to get outside to catch the last of the early evening sun and not be confined to the kitchen.  This called for something low maintenance that could feed many mouths with minimal effort.  We put this stew together in about 15 minutes and then left it on a low heat on the hob for an hour or so.

We sat on the roof with blankets and a couple of bottles of Cava.  One of us went inside to check the food every twenty minutes or so.  The climb from the window onto the roof is about as undignified as you can get, and a couple of us were left with some interesting bruises...  But it was absolutely worth it, because early in the evening, Venus and Jupiter appeared in the sky unexpectedly.  The sky was clear and our roof is south facing, so the view was perfect.

Fed 6 for dinner: Approx. 85p per person, per dinner.

Shopping List

Chorizo Ring £2

Black Eye Beans 45p

Butter Beans 45p

Pinto Beans 77p

Chickpeas 53p

1 Carton Passata 29p

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes 59p

1 Large Onion

Total £5.08

Store Cupboard

Sweet Paprika

Chilli Flakes

Sugar

• Finely chop the onion and fry it in a little olive oil.  Use a large, heavy bottomed pan.

• Chop the chorizo, and add to the onion.

• Add one dessert spoon of paprika, and one of chilli.

• Allow these ingredients to cook alone for a few minutes, before adding the drained and rinsed beans.

• Stir all of this together, then add the passata and chopped tomatoes.

• Add a teaspoon of sugar and stir, then taste.  If it needs more chilli, add it now

• Give it a quick stir, then turn the heat as low as possible.  Leave the stew with the lid on, and allow to simmer gently for about an hour

We served it with chunky bread, which Dave and Sara brought with them.  It was definitely adequate, although a green salad wouldn’t have gone amiss.  We thought we had had an accident with the chilli – to begin with it tasted excessively hot.  After an hour of cooking though, the heat had lost intensity.  The sugar definitely helped to bring out the flavours.  Some chopped, fresh parsley would have been a good addition.

Mussel Spaghetti

 We made this on a Wednesday. We were going to Wiltons’s Music Hall for a 19.30 performance, so we had to make a particularly quick dinner. We were quite excited about these shelled Mussels, which we bought in Waitrose.

This only took about 10 minutes to prepare (including one false start – we burnt the garlic and chilli), and it was really good. Definitely suitable if you need to cook for a few people but you’re very short on time. The quantities could easily be doubled or tripled.

We all agreed that using fresh mussels might enhance the flavour, but that it was a worthwhile sacrifice, given the speed of this dish. 

Fed 3 for dinner: approx. 63p per person, per meal.

Shopping List: 

Parsley – 1/10^th Big Bunch – 10p

Small Glass leftover white wine 50p

Mussels (from Waitrose - shelled) £1.29

Total: £1.89

Store Cupboard:

300g Spaghetti

2 Cloves Garlic

Chilli Flakes

Olive Oil

·       Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

·       Chop the garlic, as finely as you like.

·       Chop the parsley and set aside.

·       When the pasta has 5 minutes left, heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chilli flakes and garlic. Cook gently for a minute or two, but be careful not to burn.

·       Add the mussels and wine, cooking for a further 3 or 4 minutes. You just need to make sure they’re cooked through.

·       Drain the pasta and return the pan to the hob.

·       Add the ingredients from the frying pan and mix thoroughly.

·       Sprinkle the parsley on top and divide into bowls.

We used pre-prepared mussels, but crab or clams could easily replace these. It would be possible to add some double cream or crème fraiche at the end for a more hearty meal.

We drank a glass of Muscadet with this, which is known in France as the poor man’s Chablis. It’s a fairly safe bet for seafood, and a quick Google will let you know what to look for on the label.

This article about Muscadet is a bit dated, but brief and informative.

Baked Sweet Potato & Greek Salad

This is ultimate healthy comfort food. The combination of sweet potato and feta cheese is lovely; it feels really wholesome. The recipe is extremely quick and easy. There were six of us, and the ingredients below fed us almost exactly. There was enough salad for second helpings too. We used Morrison’s value salad cheese - not the nicest, but definitely passable and you could always upgrade.

Fed 6 for dinner: approx. 89p per person, per meal.

Shopping List:

1 Bag Sweet Potatoes £1

2 Red Onions 31p

1 Cucumber 80p

Vine Tomatoes 99p

2 Value Salad Cheese £1.68

1 Jar Pitted Black Olives 55p

Total: £5.33

Store Cupboard:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Red Wine Vinegar

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Dried Oregano

·         Preheat the Oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

·         Scrub the sweet potatoes and microwave them for 10 minutes.

·         In the meantime, chop the cheese, tomatoes, onions and cucumber  and put them in a large bowl with the olives.

·         Dribble in the olive oil, red wine vinegar (1 tbsp) and oregano (1 tbsp).

·         Put it to one side whilst you deal with the potatoes...

·         When the potatoes have finished in the microwave, take them out and put them in a baking tray.

·         Drizzle over some olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

·         Put them in the oven for around 20 minutes, but keep an eye on them.

·         When they are completely softened, stab with a knife to check, and take them out of the oven.

·         We piled them on a plate so everybody could help themselves.

   

   Could be bulked out with some pitas or homemade garlic bread.