Family Food: Five dishes that do not break the bank

DAY ONE: Roast lamb dinner – total cooking time 1 hr 40 min

Ingredients

• 2 roasting potatoes
• 2 large parsnips
• 2 large beetroot
• Leg of lamb (2.4 kg)
• 1.5 litres of lamb stock
• Large white onion
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 4 tbs honey
• Mixed herbs (preferably thyme and
• rosemary)
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• Black pepper

Slice onion and place in deep oven tray and pre-heat oven to 180°C. Place herbs in a bowl with olive oil, honey, pepper and garlic and mix well before rubbing over lamb and placing joint on the onions. Pour stock into tray and cover tray tightly with tinfoil and place on top shelf in oven. Set timer for 30 min. Peel and chop parsnips and potatoes for roasting, place into pan of cold water, bring to boil and cook until outside softens. Drain and shake a little to fluff up the edges, coat with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on baking try covered with baking paper. Peel and chop beetroot into 2-cm cubes, coat with olive oil and salt and pepper and put on same baking tray as potatoes and parsnips. Place on the middle shelf after lamb has being cooking for 30 min. Cook for a further 40 min before removing the roasted veg and and removing the foil off the lamb and turning up oven to 220°C to cook for further 10 min. Remove the lamb and put on a plate and cover with foil to let it rest. Place roasted veg back in turned-off oven to keep warm. Strain the juices from the bottom of the oven tray into a pan and place on the heat and quickly whisk in some flour to thicken. Simmer for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper. Serve with boiled vegetables of your choice and even Yorkshire puddings for the perfect roast.

DAY TWO: Lamb pittas, salad and Cajun wedges

Ingredients

• 1 small iceberg lettuce
• 1 red pepper
• ½ red onion
• ½ cucumber
• ½ left-over lamb
• Wholemeal pittas
• 4 roasted jacket potatoes (cook these the day before while lamb is roasting)
• Cajun spice
• Cumin
• 250 ml yoghurt
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Cut each cooked jacket potato into 8 wedges and mix in a bowl with Cajun spice mix, drizzle with oil and lay on oven tray covered with baking paper. Cook in oven for 20 min. Slice up lamb into small pieces that will heat up fast and season with ground cumin and salt and pepper to taste.

Dice the cucumber and mix with the yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Slice or dice the lettuce, pepper and red onion. When wedges are ready, give them a little squeeze of lemon juice and turn off the oven. Throw in the pittas and close the door.

Put a frying pan on a high heat, drizzle with oil and stir-fry the lamb for a couple of minutes.

Put the whole lot in the middle of the table and get creative.

DAY THREE: Sweet potato and lamb tikka

Ingredients

• 2 naan breads
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ red onion
• 1 sweet potato
• The rest of the lamb
• 1x 500-ml passata (or tin tomatoes)
• 200 ml water + lamb stock cube
• Tikka curry powder
• 2 tbs yoghurt
• Rice

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Peel and dice sweet potato small and boil till just soft and drain. Then slice onion and garlic and fry in a little oil, trying not to brown, on a medium heat. Dice lamb and coat with tikka spice, add to fried onions and garlic and fry till fragrant. Add the passata or chopped tomatoes and the stock, bring to boil and simmer for 5 min. Cook the rice, heat the naans and when is all ready, stir in the cooked sweet potato and some yoghurt and serve.

LOCAL charity Caring Cooks of Jersey provides free meals, or the skills and tools to make meals that are healthy, balanced and on a budget, to help improve nutrition for families.

They offer free advice and information about cooking for a family on a budget and are supported by charitable donations.

Here, full-time working mother of two – and founder of Caring Cooks of Jersey – Melissa Nobrega provides a value recipe for feeding a family for £5.

Recipe: Beefy Potato Bake

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 400g beef mince
• Beef stock cube
• Tin baked beans
• Tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 or 4 large potatoes, roughly the size of your fist
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) or gas 6. Place the whole potatoes – no need to peel or slice – in a saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil, before reducing the heat to a simmer and cook for 5–7 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently fry the onion until it becomes soft and translucent. Add the mince, break down any lumps and cook until no longer pink. Crumble in the stock cube, the baked beans, tomatoes, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce. Heat through and season. Transfer to the ovenproof dish.

Slice the cooled potatoes into ½-cm slices and arrange evenly over the top of the meat mixture and season. Place the dish in the oven for 35 minutes until the potatoes have a soft texture and are golden brown and the mince mixture is bubbling around the sides of the dish.

Serve with vegetables of your choice.

Recipe: Lorraine Pannetier’s butternut squash and red pepper risotto – serves 4 – total cost: £4.17

Ingredients

• 200g paella or risotto rice
• ½ butternut squash
• 1 large red pepper
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• An onion, sliced
• Seasoning
• Pinch chilli flakes
• Oil
• 700 ml hot water (stock cube optional)
• Fresh herbs (optional)

Peel and cube the butternut squash and place in an oven dish with a teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 25 minutes at 180°C (fan) or until lightly browned and soft on the inside.

De-seed pepper and cut into large chunks and add, with tomatoes, to the squash after 10 minutes. Allow all three ingredients to roast for around 15 minutes.

In a large heavy pan, soften onion for 2–3 minutes and add the rice and stir constantly to coat the rice in the oil and prevent sticking. Then add water (or stock) a ladleful at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more.

When you have added around two-thirds of the water add the roasted veg from the oven and add more water/stock until the rice is cooked through.

Before serving, add a large handful of finely chopped parsley and stir well to distribute evenly. Fresh herbs give a much deeper fragrance to the dish than dried herbs, so always choose fresh where possible.

Leftover risotto will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for three days. Always ensure you reheat rice properly, or enjoy it chilled mixed in with salads. If risotto has become too sticky, simply add a little more water and stir well while reheating (ideally in a pan, not a microwave).