slow braised cabbage and pasta
1 head cabbage, chopped
1onion, chopped
garlic
1tblspn paprika (I use smoked, but ordinary will do)
1 bag cheap pasta
1 small carton sour cream (can your kids eat this?)
Fry onion and garlic until soft. Add paprika and cook for a couple of minutes. Add cabbage and cook until wilted. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for a couple of hours until cabbage is very soft, stirring every now and again so that it doesn't stick.
Cook pasta. Just before pasta is cooked stir sour cream through cabbage. Add a splash of the pasta water to make it a bit looser. Heat through. Drain pasta mix with cabbage. Serves 5 or 6 for about £2.50
Cabbage and potatoes
head of cabbage, chopped
1 onion, chopped,
2 or 3lbs of potatoes, diced
curry powder
salt and pepper
Par boil potatoes. Fry onion in a good splash of oil until soft. Add cabbage and stir until well coated in oil. Add curry powder. Cover and cook till wilted. Remove lid from pan and add potatoes. Cook, stirring constantly until everything is completely cooked and soft. Serves 4-6 for about £1.50
jacket potatoes with mushy peas
Soak 1lb of marrowfat peas overnight. Drain and put in a pan with enough water to cover well. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until mushy. When almost tender add salt, pepper and a couple of teaspoons sugar. Serve over jacket potatoes, sprinkled with vinegar. The left overs can be heated up and mixed through hot cooked rice for something a bit different or used as a spread for toast. You can also flavour the left overs with cooked onion and curry powder, then thin them a little with water to make a very quick, cheap dahl.
Nut fritters:
make a thick pancake batter, mix in about a cupful of nuts (measure out before roughly chopping), a chopped onion, salt pepper and some parsley, if you have it. Fry by tablespoonfuls until well browned on each side. Nice with a carrot and apple salad (just grate a carrot, chop an apple, add a celery stick if you have it, season and mix in some mayo.)
Corn fritters:
As above but use a big tin of corn or a cup of frozen corn instead of nuts.
pasta with caramelised onions:
3 good sized onions, chopped
olive oil or butter
couple of teaspoons brown sugar (white will do if you don't have brown)
bag pasta
Fry the onions, gently in the oil or butter until soft and fragrant. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Mix well and continue to cook. Cook pasta. Drain and mix through cooked onions. Again, serve with a tiny bit of finely grated cheese if you have it. Serves 5 for about £1
potato pancakes and beans
grate 1 large potato each. Add a finely chopped onion, salt, pepper and about 4tblspns flour. Mix well. Fry by tablespoonfuls in a little oil until browned well on each side. Serve with baked beans.
Or
Mix left over mash with some flour, shape into burgers, dip in more flour and fry until golden and hot through. serve with baked beans.
Mediterranean beans
Cook a 1lb bag of white beans (haricot or cannelini are best). When the beans are cooked, fry a chopped onion and some garlic until soft. Add beans, a tin of chopped toms, salt, pepper, cook for about 20 or 30 minutes. Just before serving add a couple of tablespoons lemon juice and some ripped basil. serve with rice.