Perfect pulses - lentils 2 ways, and some thrifty tips

As we heralded in the New Year I had one of those dawning realisations that this year was going to be an expensive one - between doing up our house (which grows as a project each time we remove another layer of lining paper) and arranging a wedding, our available funds are, shall we say... depleted?

I know that January is a common time for people to be tightening their belts and when this is the case for us pulses become a staple not just in my storecupboard, but in more of our meals, bulking out dishes so that they easily do leftovers as well as using them as a meat replacement in meals such us bolognaise.

It was with this all in mind that I gleefully happened across Michelle's recipe for Root vegetable dhaal. It fulfills criteria necessary at this time of year - thrifty, healthy and warming. Ideal for my packed lunches - although the search for a functioning flask continues - and with some homemade soda bread (recipe on the link below with the soup) the perfect Saturday lunch for a break in the decorating.

Alongside that I'm also going to knock up a batch of a Nigella recipe I appropriated and adapted a couple of years ago, her Split pea and frankfurter soup (I've always called split peas yellow lentils). I have the frankfurters in the freezer as I pick them up when they're on BOGOF. 

These are just a couple of pulses centric recipes that I'm making now. of course, lentils can be added to soups - especially good for thickening as well as bulking out, stews, chillis, bolognaises and plenty of other things to make them go further. If in doubt I add a cupful of red lentils and add the same of extra liquid - be that stock, water or wine.

Other recipes I've blogged include:

Lentil ragu
Harissa lentil salad
Spicy lentils with sausages (both these posts link to Helen at Fuss Free Flavours, as they're her recipes)

I use pulses in lots of other recipes, including last night's supper - chorizo and cannelini bean chilli (I double the cannelini beans as a cheap way of making dinner go further. I do the same with kidney beans in normal chilli and my slow cooker chilli.

So much better: Spicy tomato lentils with sausages

It's rare that I completely screw things up in the kitchen, but it does happen. December 2000 I rushed making my first ever creme brulee and my sister got food poisoning as the eggs weren't cooked through. No one else did though I hasten to add. It took until last year sometime, for me to try anything similar with eggs. Fortunately my lime curd was a raging success, and the courgette cake it went into poisoned nobody.

Cue Friday night. I got home early and decided to start making Fuss Free Flavours Spicy tomato lentils for our dinner. I was accompanying it with sausages so that our resident carnivore didn't feel too hard done by. That, it turned out was the least of my problems. Since getting meningitis and starting to get migraines I have become really sensitive to smell just before they set in, and whilst Mark assured me that the lentils smelled lovely, something about the scent of them cooking sent me off into a chaotic tailspin, convinced I had spoiled the dish. In the face of blind panic Mark did what any sane man would do when his partner is nearing hysterics about a pan of lentils - he suggested takeaway. I left the lentils in the pan to cool, convinced I would throw them away in the morning, took a sumatriptan and went to bed.

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, and the headache from the night before had passed. I studiously ignored said lentils whilst having my breakfast and at lunchtime braved opening the pan. They smelled lovely, earthy, spicy with a hint of something deeper behind them (I love how cumin can add such depth to a dish) That night, I baked the sausages (as always Sainsbury's Taste the Difference - because I really can) and had two with the spicy lentils. I thouroughly enjoyed them, I like lentils at the best of time. Their low GI and general healthiness appeals to me and they go so well lentil ragu is one of my favourite batch cooks.

I would definitely cook these again (without the migraine induced freakout) I have frozen the leftovers and will be insisting Mark tastes them for Thursday night tea as per the mealplan.

You can find the recipe here at Fuss Free Flavours, the only thing I did differently was to add broccoli as that was what I had in the fridge and needed to be used up. Obviously the original recipe doesn't suggest pairing it with sausages (neither does it suggest flipping out and getting a migraine), but I'm guessing Helen doesn't have a hardened carnivore to contend with.

It's not easy being green: Salmon and greens

First of all, apologies for the shoddy pictures - I can't find the camera charger anywhere so am resorting to iPhone apps to try and make my pictures slightly less dreadful.

I've been promising to make this for, oh I don't know - weeks now? Faithfully putting it in each Meal Planning Monday post, then something cropping up - be it a migraine, hospital, Guides - well, you get the picture. Anyway, since discoverint that I'm allergic to one of the meds I was being given for the migraines, life has been considerably quieter *touch wood* and I've been afforded the opportunity to finally make salmon and greens.

It's not the most exciting of recipe titles, it does what is says on the tine I suppose, without there being any tins involved. It's one of those meals I have as a refular midweek feature as it's quick and easy. Contrary to the jams and the breads of this world it asks and requires little of me - yet pays back much in flavour. When I'm feeling like I've overdone the chocolate or the ice cream, I have it by itself. When more sustenance is required I add brown basmati rice. I've successfully substituted the salmon for white fish (when I'm being particularly frugal, whatever is being sold off at the end of the day) and also chicken. Similarly when the kales, and spring greens aren't in season, I've successfully supplemented or replaced greens with brocolli, shredded savoy cabbage, or a bag of spinach briefly wilted. This is one of those dishes you can cook when the day has asked that bit too much of you. When your head is throbbing, when work is stressful, when it's still only Wednesday these are the times that you need something that can be eaten from a bowl, something that feels healthy but still has flavour. I think there's nothing so sad as trying to be healthy and finding what you're eating tastes of cardboard.

So Salmon and greens - again it's one of those recipes that's evolved and I'm not sure where it came from - it's definitely not a recipe book, so it's entirely possible it was in a magazine, or even my own head.

2 gloves garlic chopped finely
Thumb sized piece of root ginger grated (I don't peel ginger, just grate it with a microplane *lazy*)
1 red chilli (or to taste) finely chopped
2 salmon fillets, skinned (Pantry tip: the easiest way to do this is to put the salmon, skin side down on a chopping board, at one end of the fillet the skin will seem slightly thicker and with a sharp knife you'll be able to prize it away. Wiggle your knife in a gentle sawing motion - keeping the blade flat - and the skin will come away from the fish easily. If I ever find out how to upload a video I'll show this, as people always seem to struggle with fish and I've been eating and cooking it since weaning so tend to forget that other people weren't peeling prawns before they could walk)
1 head of spring greens, or a similar quantity (about 6 handfuls or so?) of green vegetables, rinsed and shredded.
60ml/ 4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
The same of water
125ml sherry

Mix up the sherry, water and soy sauce with the garlic, chilli & ginger

Pour half of this over the fish - I chop the fish into finger sized bits - and cover with clingfilm. I tend to leave this for a while if I'm working from home, or if I've just come back from a hellish commute and need to eat I don't bother with leaving it to stand.

Either heat up a non stick pan so that when you hold your hand about 6 inches away from the base you can feel warmth, or oil a wok or similar and heat up.

Put the fish in it's marinade and cook quickly stirring until it's just about done - I cook it through until the finger sized pieces start to flake. The marinade/ sauce will bubble away - this is fine.

Add your veg and pour over the rest of the sauce whilst stirring until it's all wilted down (when I've used broccoli I steamed it lightly first). I recently got a fantastic tip for cooking greens from Helen at Fuss Free Flavours, to cook greens, put them in a colander and put the colander in a bowl, pour over a kettle of hot water - this starts the wilting process so they cook faster, and I find - stay greener.

Serve with rice, or not, as you like. In a bowl. Eat. Not like this...

Meal Planning Monday: Vegetably (it's a word) goodness

Well that was a week and a half. Who knew that the meds you were prescribed could make you iller? Oh, everyone else did? Great. You'll doubtlessly be pleased to hear that I'm back in the pantry, slightly bruised, slightly tender of head but feeling much better for the first time since pretty much Easter.

That said, for the most part we had a successful week in the pantry. Leftovers have been frozen for another day, overripe pears are begging to be eaten, but all of that aside not too bad.

The pasta bake was lovely, I layered it up with mozzarella in the middle as well as on top which made a difference, and it was fantastically gooey. My only error was in adding the dreaded aubergine. Nope, not happening. Riverford, can you hear me? NO MORE AUBERGINES. Ahem.

Once again the salmon and greens went by the wayside as I ended up in hospital with a shocker of a migraine. This week. I promise. Guides honour.

Steak and wedges didn't happen as because of the migraine I was whisked away to Mark's family to basically convalesce - do people do that any more? So we were treated to someone else's home cooking which was lovely.

This week, I'm hoping to combine lots of the vegetables from my box, with some recipe testing for Helen at Fuss Free Flavours, so with any luck it'll be a nicely frugal week as well as a healthy one.

Monday: Tonight was supposed to be freezer surprise, but alas I didn't manage to remove anything from the freezer to surprise myself with. If it were just me, I would court contraversy and have toast, but I suspect someone wouldn't agree with that so it'll be Pantry pasta. If I have time, I think I'll make Fuss Free Flavours' Harissa Lentil Salad for my packed lunches as the low GI of lentils plus the increased veg intake makes it a winner in my eyes for a healthy lunch that isn't sarnies.

Tuesday: Guides tonight, so I think some soup for me, with some of last week's wholemeal bread (defrosted - the heel that was left is suitable for flinging at enemies now).

Wednesday: Salmon and Greens. I shall say nothing else. Apart from today is the Milk Bread day.

Thursday: Leftover salmon and greens. Yes, honestly.

Friday: Fuss Free Flavours' Spicy Tomato Lentils with Cabbage, with additional sausages for the carnivore.

Saturday: Now this weekend is going to be glorious, M is working and at his parents, so I am planning on getting my nails done, heading into town, going to Dress Circle to pick up the new Musical Theatre magazine, and then having a potter. I've heard a lot about the Nordic Bakery so am cultivating a plan for coffee and a cake there I think. It's such a treat a day where you have no one to please but yourself isn't it?

Sunday: I'm not sure really, possibly a chicken. Stop yawning at the back there please, I know. Or lamb, maybe. Or maybe I'll go wild and experiement with something from a cookbook. Who knows, it's living life on the edge.

Be sure to pop over to At Home with Mrs M to see what everyone else is up to this week.