Meat Free Monday with
Fish on Friday
During the past twenty years, food producers and
supermarkets have set about changing British eating habits, pushing more meat onto
our plates along with high salt, high sugar, and high fat accompaniments.
As I was growing up, my parents kept to the Fish on Friday Christian
tradition although we did not have a Meat Free Monday. I am a believer in colloquial customs, a
believer in Old Wives Tales. All of the modern
dietary advice published today, all of the research into nutrition, and the
only thing that has been proven is that our ancestors had gotten it right. Consuming too much meat has always been
expensive but those old wives also knew that too much of it was not good for
the family.
In the days before washing machines, Monday used to be wash
day. Washing the family linen was a
hard, labour intensive chore. Being
sensible people, the housewives of the day prepared extra food on a Sunday ready
to reheat and serve on a Monday. Sunday’s
left over mashed potato and cabbage, became Mondays reheated Bubble and Squeak and
so do not be afraid to turn the clock back by enjoy meat free meals without
going completely vegetarian.
Cheese has always been the poor man’s meat, making it a
family budget staple. Roasted onions in
cheese sauce, cauliflower cheese as well as macaroni cheese, all make cheep
meat free Monday meals. Add roasted
carrots/parsnips/sweet potato to bulk out the plate for pennies or even a 70p
crusty supermarket loaf. My personal
favourite is a hot macaroni cheese with a cold crunchy side salad.
Creamy Baked Onions;
6 Medium
Onions
100ml Double
Cream
3 Bay Leaves
25g Hard
Cheese (Parmesan if you have it)
- Heat the oven to 200 c /
Fan 180 c / Gas 6. Peel and trim
the roots of the onions but leave them whole. Cook in a large pan of boiling water for
25 minutes until tender, then drain, reserving a little cooking water.
- Season the cream and mix
in 2 tbsp. of the onion water. When
the onions are cook enough to handle, slice each in half through the
root. Lay the onion halves, cut
side down, in a large baking dish with the bay leaves. Poor over the cream, scatter with cheese
and bake for 25 minutes until the cream is bubbling and onions are just
beginning to brown.
Serves 6
TIP – prepare the onions up to a day ahead, assemble the
dish without the cheese, and then chill.
When wanted, add the cheese and bake.
 |
| Vegetable Stew with Dumplings |
Vegetable Casserole
with Dumplings (January 2017 ASDA ingredients equate to 81p per portion)
1 tbsp.
olive oil
350g shallot
onions, peeled
2 leek,
thickly sliced
½ swede,
chopped into chunks
2 parsnip,
quartered
350g Carrot
175g pearl
barley
225ml white
wine
1l vegetable
stock
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs
thyme
Small bunch
parsley, finely chopped
For the
dumplings
100g
self-raising flour
50g unsalted
butter
50g mature cheddar
cheese, grated
2 tsp finely
chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh
thyme leaves
- Heat oil in a large
casserole dish. Add shallots and
cook for 5-6 mins until starting to soften and brown. Add leeks for 2 mins, and then stir in
swede, parsnips, and carrots.
- Pour in barley and wine,
cook until wine has reduced by half.
Add stock, bay, thyme, parsley, and seasoning. Cover pan, bring to the boil, and then
simmer for 45 mins until barley and veg are tender. Stir occasionally to stop it catching.
- Meanwhile, make the
dumplings. Heat oven to 200C/180C
fan/gas 6. Rub flour and butter
together to form breadcrumbs. Add
remaining ingredients and mix well.
Sprinkle over 2 tbsp. water, mix to form soft dough. Divide into six and roll into balls. Dot on top of stew and transfer to oven. Cook, uncovered, for 20-25 mins until
dumplings are golden.
Serves 6
 |
| Vegetable and Bean Chilli |
Vegetable and Bean
Chilli (January 2017 Asda ingredients £1.06 per portion)
1 tbsp.
olive oil
1 clove
garlic, finely chopped
Thumb-sized
piece ginger, finely chopped
1 large
onion, chopped
2 courgette,
diced
1 red
pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 yellow
pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp.
chilli powder
100g red
lentils, washed and drained
1 tbsp.
tomato purée
2 x 400g
cans chopped tomatoes
195g can
sweetcorn, drained
420g can
butter beans, drained
400g can
kidney beans in water, drained
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Cook the garlic, ginger, onion, courgettes,
and peppers for about 5 mins until starting to soften. Add the chilli powder and cook for 1 min
more.
- Stir in the lentils, tomato purée, tomatoes, and 250ml
water. Bring to the boil and cook
for 15-20 mins.
- Add the sweetcorn and beans, and cook for a further 10
mins.
Serves 4
 |
| Easy Seafood Risotto |
Easy Seafood Risotto (January
2017, Asda ingredients equate to £1.56 per portion)
1 onion,
finely chopped
1 head
fennel, finely sliced
1 tbsp.
olive oil
300g risotto
rice
500ml fish
stock or vegetable stock
300g bag
frozen seafood mix, defrosted
100g frozen
pea
3 tbsp.
grated Parmesan
1 lemon,
grated zest and juice
Handful
parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- Tip the onion and fennel
into a bowl, toss in the oil and microwave on High for 5 mins. Stir in the rice, pour over the stock,
cover the bowl with a plate and continue to microwave on High for 10-15
mins more or until the rice is just on the verge of being cooked.
- Throw in the seafood and
peas, cover and continue to microwave on High for 2-3 mins until the rice
is cooked. Stir in the parmesan and
lemon juice and leave to stand for a moment while you mix the parsley with
the lemon zest. Spoon the risotto
into bowls and scatter over parsley and lemon zest
Serves 4
Tip – value frozen fish pieces work out cheaper.
Creamy Haddock and
Tatties
400g smoked
haddock, skinned and cut into chunks
1 Leek
trimmed, finely sliced
Handful of
parsley, finely chopped
142ml Double
cream
2 Medium
baking potatoes, about 200g each unpeeled and sliced as thinly as possible.
- Scatter the haddock, leek,
and parsley over the base of a shallow microwave dish and mix. Drizzle over half the cream with 5
tablespoons of water. Lay the
potato slices over the fish and leek base.
Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Drizzle over the balance of the cream.
- Cover the dish with cling
film and piece a few times.
Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes until everything is bubbling and
the potatoes are tender when pieced with a knife.
- Remove cling film and put
under the grill until the potatoes are golden. Leave to stand for a few minutes before
serving.
Serves 2
 |
| Haddock Gratin |
Smoked Haddock Gratin (January 2017 Asda ingredients equate to
£1.20 per serving)
500g leaf spinach
Butter, for greasing
About 500g (2 fillets) smoked
haddock, skinned and cut into 4 portions
12 cherry tomato
For the topping
200ml double cream or crème fraîche
Juice ½ lemon
100g cheddar cheese, grated
2 spring onion, sliced
Small grating nutmeg
Handful dried breadcrumb
1.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Place the spinach in a large colander in a
sink and carefully and slowly pour over a kettle full of hot water to wilt it. Cool again under the cold tap then squeeze
out as liquid from the spinach as possible.
Butter a medium gratin dish. Roughly
chop the spinach and scatter evenly over the base of the dish. Season the spinach lightly with salt and
pepper and lay the haddock fillets, skinned side down on top. Nestle the tomatoes among the haddock
fillets.
2.
Mix all the ingredients for the topping, except
the breadcrumbs, in a small bowl and season with lots of pepper and a little
salt. Dollop and spread the mixture over
the fish and spinach. Scatter everything
with the breadcrumbs and bake for 30 mins until bubbling and golden. If you like things really grilled finish for
a few mins under a hot grill. Serve
straight from the dish.
Serves 4
