You can make good meals on a tight budget, says food blogger Miss South. For dinner, pearl barley risotto with beetroot, stuffed cabbage leaves, corn chowder, no churn ice cream and popcorn
This is a close approximation of a week's worth of meals for me, though here all the dishes serve two, so the ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner came to roughly £40 from one of the big four supermarkets. Even more careful shopping could bring down the costs still further.
Pearl barley risotto with beetroot
onion 1, finely chopped
butter 25g
chicken stock 600ml
boiling water 400ml
pearl barley 300g
thyme 1 tsp
cooked beetroot (not pickled) ½ a packet
salt and pepper
curd cheese to serve (try the Polish section)
Sweat the onion in the butter until soft and translucent. Bring the chicken stock to the boil and add the boiling water to keep it hot and bubbling. A dash of leftover white wine or vermouth here if you happen to have it.
Put the pearl barley in, coat in the oil and thyme and start adding the liquid a ladleful at a time. Stir in as with a traditional risotto, only adding more liquid when each ladleful has fully absorbed. It should take about 20-25 minutes for it all to be cooked in and the barley still to be al dente rather than sloppy. It will have swelled up and look creamy and rich.
Take about half the risotto out of the pan and set aside in its plain naked glory. This will form the basis of tomorrow's dinner. Finely chop the beetroot or blitz in a blender and stir into the remaining risotto, seasoning as you go. The whole thing should turn the most vivid pink possible and be well coated, but add another beetroot if needed. Serve garnished with the curd cheese – which has the flavour cottage cheese wants when it grows up and provides a fab colour contrast.
So what about this leftover risotto? It's going to get a new lease of life…
Stuffed cabbage leaves
onion½
carrot 1
celery 1 stick
chopped tomatoes 1 tin
sugar a pinch
Savoy cabbage 1
mushrooms½ punnet
garlic cloves 3-4, roasted
lemon zest of 1
lemon juice a splash
frozen peas 100g
leftover risotto see above
chicken stock 100ml
Make a simple tomato sauce by sweating down the diced onion, carrot and celery in a little bit of butter until soft and translucent. Add the best quality chopped tomatoes you can afford. I find value ones a misnomer what with all that thin juice and skin to bulk it out. Add a pinch of sugar and simmer until thickened slightly, at least 30 minutes.
Take the leaves off the cabbage and remove the central rib with a sharp knife. Do at least three per person. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for a minute until slightly floppy. Drain well and leave to cool.
Slice the mushrooms and sweat in butter alongside the chopped roast garlic. Add in the lemon zest and juice and the frozen peas so there is a little bit of liquid and then stir in the leftover risotto and combine well. Put a heaped tablespoon of the risotto into each cabbage leaf and roll up, tucking the ends under to seal them. Place tightly together in a frying pan with a lid and add a small amount of stock so that they will steam. Top with the tomato sauce and cook on the stove on a medium heat for about 20-25 minutes.
Corn chowder
With the last of the stock, I tend to make a chowder as you can bulk it out with milk. This is a delicious soup that uses items you've already bought or have in the freezer and takes 30 minutes to make.
white fish (coley or pollock) 2 fillets frozen
milk 570ml
smokedmackerel 1 fillet
onion 1
leek 1
potatoes 2 large, peeled, cut into chunks
swede½
smoked paprika 1 tbsp
chicken stock 285ml
frozen sweetcorn 200g
Defrost the white fish and then poach it gently in half the milk along with a bay leaf on the lowest heat possible. Add the smoked mackerel when it is cooked and leave it to infuse.
Dice the onion and slice the leek and soften in some butter. Peel and dice the potatoes and the half swede left over from the barley soup and add in along with the smoked paprika and some black pepper. Cover with the chicken stock and add the milk you poached the fish in as well, keeping back the fish.
Simmer the vegetables until the potatoes are soft then add the sweetcorn and cook for 3-4 minutes. Mash the soup with a potato masher to loosen it slightly, adding the reserved milk until it is the desired consistency of thickness. Flake in the fish, season with black pepper and serve.
No churn ice cream
You can dip into this over the week. I usually make lemon or coffee flavour, but you are limited only by your imagination. Frozen fruit puréed up works well, a bashed-up chocolate bar or even homemade honeycomb are delicious!
double cream 600ml
condensed milk 250ml
flavouring of choice
Beat the cream until it is thick, but flops slightly rather than being recognisably whipped cream. Add in the condensed milk and keep whisking until the whole thing holds its shape.
Gently fold in your flavouring. I use 2 tablespoons instant coffee or the zest of a lemon and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, but play about as the flavour isn't as strong when frozen.
Gently transfer the ice cream into a container. You could line a loaf tin with clingfilm and serve this in slices or pop in a tupperware and scoop as needed. Freeze overnight or for 8 hours. Use a warmed knife or scoop to serve.
Popcorn
The other easy and super-cheap treat I make, especially if people come over and I want to provide nibbles, is popcorn. Tabasco, lime and salt works well as flavouring or smoked paprika and butter. Icing sugar is the best way to sweeten it if you prefer that.
popping corn 3 tbsp per person
oil½ tsp
I do this in the microwave because it saves on washing up. Put the kernels in a paper bag like one flour or veg came in. Add the oil.
Pop on maximum power for 2 minutes. Give an extra 20 seconds if it was popping a lot when the power stopped. Tip into a bowl and flavour as desired.