The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers (27 page)

salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the coriander and garlic and sauté for a minute until the garlic is softened but not browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the yogurt in a heavy-based pan, add the whisked egg and mix well. Bring gently to the boil, stirring regularly to prevent curdling, then turn down the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, still stirring.

Now add the meat to the yogurt sauce, along with the spring onions and the garlic and coriander mixture. Add the stock, if using. Simmer gently for 3 minutes. Serve immediately, with vermicelli or rice.

Neither casserole nor curry, this ragù transforms the idea of a ‘Bolognese’ into a meltingly tasty sauce for pasta or to eat on its own with rice. Kids love it, it freezes well and you can turn the last bowlful into a great lunchtime soup by thinning it with a little stock or water and blitzing in a blender.

Always prepare the meat well first by trimming off all fat and gristle and chopping or mincing it very finely. If you are doing this in a food processor, use the pulse button: you really don’t want to turn the meat into a paste.

I prefer not to drain the tomatoes for this sauce as, when cooked at a slow bubble, all the liquid reduces, leaving behind its flavour. If you are in a hurry, though, do strain the tomatoes.

Serves 2

a little butter or olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 good-sized garlic clove, crushed

1 bay leaf

a sprig of thyme, if you have it

400g can of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato purée

2 teacups (about 200g) leftover roast lamb or beef, finely chopped or minced

salt and pepper

Heat a little butter or olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook gently until softened. Add all the other ingredients except the meat, stir well and bring to simmering point. Turn down the heat and leave the ragù to bubble, just barely, for 25-35 minutes, until it has thickened and deepened in colour. Add the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes, until heated through.

Enrich or spice up the sauce
Add a glass of red wine or a pinch of dried chilli flakes once the onion is cooked and leave the wine to bubble for 2-3 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Use up a last rasher of bacon – dicing it and adding it with the onion at the start. Or toss in some finely chopped parsley or basil right at the end.

Carrots, parsnips or courgettes
Add these in small dice to the tomatoes and cook until softened before adding the meat. If your children rebel against chunks of vegetables, grate them.

An echo of the East
Grate a 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger and add to the onion at the start with a deseeded and chopped small green chilli and a teaspoon each of ground coriander and cumin. Scatter chopped coriander over the finished ragù and serve with rice or couscous.

Ratatouille uses up all the tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines that mock you from the vegetable rack or the fridge. It freezes well, and is one of those dishes that taste even better the next day – and it can ultimately make its way into either a bake with a breadcrumb topping (see
page 49
) or a soup.

Serves 4

1 large aubergine, sliced into rounds about 1cm thick

olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2-4 courgettes, sliced about 5mm thick

1 large pepper, deseeded and sliced (or use Bottled Roasted Peppers, see
page 44
)

450g tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped (or a 400g can of tomatoes, drained and chopped
)

1 heaped teaspoon tomato purée

1 tablespoon chopped basil (or thyme
)

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon chopped oregano (if you have it) salt and pepper

Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil and then grill (or bake at 180°C/Gas Mark 4) for about 10 minutes, until golden and tender, flipping them over half way through. Allow to cool and then chop into chunks.

Fry the onion gently in a little oil in a large saucepan until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 30 seconds or so. Add more oil if you need to and then throw in the courgettes. Cook, turning regularly, until they become translucent and are just beginning to brown. Add the aubergine, pepper, tomatoes and tomato purée and season well. Simmer very gently for 30-45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not disintegrating and the sauce is thickening, without becoming a pulp.

Adjust the seasoning and stir in the chopped herbs. Serve on its own, or with rice, pasta, couscous or baked potatoes, or as a side dish with chicken, lamb, pork or fish. Ratatouille also goes perfectly with a poached egg.

A cold-weather alternative
Carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and any member of the squash family can be used for a wintry version of ratatouille. In this case, I prefer to leave the vegetables quite chunky. Start in the same way with onion and garlic, adding the harder vegetables next and turning them in the oil until partially softened. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, season well and simmer until the vegetables are almost cooked. About 10 minutes before you want to serve, add softer vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and some mangetout or beans.