A straightforward cookbook for

cheap and delicious food

Produced for Seahaven Food Bank

2

Contents

MAINS Pasta e fagioli 6

Pastry pizza 8

Warm spiced barley and sweet potato stew 10

“Anything & everything” tomato curry 12

Rainbow quiche 14

Thai ginger noodle soup 16

Pea and potato curry 18

Scotch broth 20

Arabic chickpeas 22

Sweet potato and coconut dahl 24

Peanut butter and bean stew 26

SIDES Beetroot, cabbage and carrot salad 29

Chickpea, feta and pepper salad 29

Cauliflower steaks 30

Roasted cherry tomatoes 31

Fried halloumi 32

Toasted pita 32

Easy yoghurt flatbreads 33

Cucumber salad 33

Naan bread 34

Spring rolls 35

Cheese straws 36

Rainbow quesadillas 37

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Introduction Sussex Community Development Association (SCDA) was delighted to be funded by National Lottery Awards for All to provide cookery courses designed to show people how to cook delicious, healthy and budget-friendly food. We have made sure that all our recipes use non-perishable goods as key ingredients. We have also incorporated fresh vegetables and focused on recipes from around the world.

Most of the recipes in this book make 4 servings. If you are cooking for yourself, you can cook a meal one evening, refrigerate it and then have it for dinner for the next few nights. Or you can freeze it for future meals. Vegetarian food usually keeps in the fridge for a few days and sometimes even gets better with each day, as the flavours fuse into one another.

We made multiple recipes and paired them together for a nice meal - such as cauliflower steaks with curry. If you get tired of a main dish, you can try adding a different side or a different garnish, like a fresh herb.

Cooking can be a hugely rewarding activity. It’s a way to create something from scratch, a great way to relieve stress by focusing your mind on the task at hand and nurture yourself, family or friends with nutritious food. So put on some music and either rev up or chill out…just have fun in the kitchen and then enjoy the achievement of the meal you have made.

Tips

Only add salt at the end of your cooking - and remember you can add more but can’t take any out so add it slowly. It’s recommended to not exceed the maximum of 1 teaspoon of salt per day.

Taste your food as you go - don’t be afraid to add more spice!

A basic curry powder is a useful first spice if the budget is tight.

Most recipe books, including this one, use abbreviations for measurements: tsp - teaspoon; tbsp - tablespoon; g - gram; ml - millilitre

Wait until the end to add lemon juice or zest and fresh herbs to keep their flavour.

Add dry lentils to a soup or stew and they will cook in about 10 minutes (red split lentils) or 15-20 minutes (brown or green lentils).

Add chickpeas, beans or lentils straight from the tin to make a quick salad or to make a dish more substantial - remember to drain first!

All of the recipes in this book are vegetarian and some of them are vegan - this was not our original intention but we hope that it helps to see that vegetarian and vegan food is accessible, healthy and varied!

4

Basic ingredients for cooking

One of the biggest turn-offs to healthy cooking can be long lists of

ingredients and the cost associated with them. In almost every recipe

there are “store cupboard” ingredients like oils, herbs and spices and

key ingredients like pulses (beans, chickpeas and lentils), pasta or

rice. One of the aims of the Budget Bites course was to give people a

head-start with these ingredients by supplying a different herb or

spice at every lesson.

Once you have built up a store cupboard of some core ingredients,

you will find that you then only need to buy one or two ingredients for

your chosen recipe. So, these items are handy and they have a long

shelf life. If you are using a foodbank, they will stock a lot of these

ingredients and it never hurts to ask about oils, spices, stock cubes

etc. Cheap, fresh ingredients to always have are carrots and onions.

These basic ingredients can be swapped to either suit your taste or to

what is available. For example, basil or oregano can be replaced with

mixed herbs and soy sauce with an extra pinch of salt.

Recipes are a guide, not strict instructions, have fun cooking!

On the next page is a guide to the “five categories of

flavours” plus aromatics, herbs and spices. These can help

when it comes to swapping ingredients out for others and give you an

idea of the different flavours that make up a dish. We have also

included some budgeting tips based on activities we did in the course!

Basics Extras Spices & Herbs

- Vegetable or olive oil

- Pasta, rice, noodles

- Tinned beans

- Tinned chickpeas

- Tinned tomatoes

- Stock cubes

- Tin of coconut milk

- Seeds or nuts

- Soy sauce

- Couscous or bulgur

- Flour

- Dried lentils

- Salt

- Pepper

- Dried mixed herbs

- Curry powder

- Chilli powder

- Ground cumin

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It can be tricky shopping on a budget - here are some handy tips to keep your shop cheap and healthy!

Supermarkets often keep the cheapest brands on the bottom shelf - store brand products can be just as good as more expensive brands.

Aromatics like onion, garlic and ginger are usually cheap and can change the taste of a dish.

Visiting supermarkets at the end of the day can be a good way to get reduced price ingredients.

Often buying fruit and vegetables in season is cheaper. Out of season produce tends to be from overseas more therefore more expensive. (And think of the air miles!)

SWEET Not just sugar!

Fruit, some vegetables like carrots

or sweet potatoes, honey, syrups

and dried fruit like raisins.

SALTY Olives, capers, pickles, miso,

soy sauce, tamari sauce, cheeses

such as feta and halloumi,

cured meat.

SOUR Lemons, limes, grapefruits, some

apples, Greek yoghurt. Add

freshness to the dish with a squeeze

of lime or lemon. This can balance

out saltiness.

BITTER Citrus peel, coffee, marmalade,

rocket, peppercorns - if a dish is too

bitter, sugar or salt can counteract it.

SAVOURY (UMAMI) Mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes.

These basic flavours help round out

a dish. Umami is Japanese for

“pleasant savoury taste".

AROMATICS Onion, garlic and ginger. A lot of

these recipes start off by cooking

onion - aromatics start building the

flavour of the dish.

HERBS Basil, parsley, coriander (leaves),

mint, thyme, rosemary, oregano.

Herbs can be fresh or dried but both

work well and flavour a dish.

SPICES Cumin, coriander, cinnamon,

turmeric, black pepper, chilli powder,

paprika, cardamom...try buying one

a month to build up your store.

Budgeting Tips

6

This is Italian for “pasta and beans”.

It is commonly made using cannellini

beans or borlotti beans and some

type of small pasta. The base is

generally olive oil, chopped onion,

spices and plum tomatoes (you can

add celery too).

This is a one-pot meal. The pasta is

cooked in the same pot with the

beans and tomato. This also makes

great leftovers and is a hearty,

comforting and cheap meal.

Pasta e Fagioli

Glug of olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

A few chilli flakes (if you like)

1 tin peeled plum tomatoes (or at

least 3 or 4 big fresh tomatoes)

½ tsp salt and some pepper

1 tin cannellini or borlotti beans,

water from can to be reserved

250g small pasta shapes (or if you

only have bigger ones, break up in

your hands to make smaller)

Fresh parsley leaves to garnish (if

you like)

7

1. Start by chopping the onion and the garlic.

2. In a pan, heat the oil on a medium heat, adding the onion when

the oil is hot enough. You can always test the heat of the oil by

dropping in just one piece of onion and seeing if it sizzles. If it

does, you’re good to go!

3. Cook the onion for 5-7 minutes or until soft and translucent. You

will know the onion is cooked when it smells fragrant and is

becoming golden. Once cooked, add the garlic and chilli flakes (if

using them).

4. Let the garlic and chilli flakes cook for around a minute, then add

the tomatoes and salt.

5. With a wooden spoon break up the larger pieces of tomato.

6. Increase the heat slightly and sizzle for about 5 minutes.

7. Stir in the beans and enough bean water to cover. Bring to a boil,

stirring frequently. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 10-15

minutes.

8. After that stir in the pasta, adding enough water to barely cover the

pasta, as it needs water to cook in. If the pot looks too dry and the

pasta is undercooked, add more water as you go. Simmer gently

over a medium heat until the pasta is cooked and is ready to

serve.

8

Pastry Pizza A quick meal on a budget using

“store cupboard” ingredients for the

pastry and the sauce. If you have

some fresh vegetables to hand for

topping, then even better. This dish

is inspired by Rose Elliot’s “New

Complete Vegetarian”. You can

serve this with a fresh salad that you

can prepare while the pizza is

cooking - check out the Sides section

for some inspiration!

Pastry

225g flour (ideally half white, half brown)

4 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp olive oil

125g grated cheese

½ cup water

Sauce

2 onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed or finely diced

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried herb like basil or oregano

Salt, freshly ground black pepper plus fresh herbs

Any vegetable of your choice for toppings

9

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.

2. Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl, adding 4 tbsp of the

oil, a quarter of the grated cheese and all the water.

3. Mix to a thick, soft, slightly lumpy dough with a fork.

4. Knead the dough lightly on a floured work surface or board then

leave to rest for 5-10 minutes while you make the pizza topping.

5. Now time to start up your sauce. Chop your onions and fry them in

the remaining 2 tbsp of oil for 10 minutes or until soft and lightly

browned.

6. Remove your pan from the heat and stir in garlic, tomato puree

and dried herbs.

7. Back to your pizza dough! Roll the dough out into a shape that will

fit your pan/baking tray, about ½ cm thick.

8. Spread the tomato mixture over the pastry, right to the edges. Add

any vegetable toppings - careful not to weigh down the pastry too

much and stop it from cooking through - and sprinkle over the

remaining cheese.

9. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the base is cooked right through,

the cheese is golden brown and the pizza smells wonderful.

Dig in!

10

Warm Spiced Barley and

Sweet Potato Stew

Very flavourful and hearty, with lots

of nutrients from the vegetables, this

is a perfect autumn or winter

warmer. Barley is also nutritious,

very cheap and can be put into any

stew. This recipe is also great for

making larger batches - just multiply

the recipe. The amounts given

should feed 4-6 people well.

800g sweet potato (or mixture of

sweet potato, carrot or squash)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 cm piece of fresh ginger,

chopped

½ tsp cumin (or to taste)

½ tsp cinnamon (or to taste)

100g barley (pot or pearl)

1 litre vegetable stock

400g tin chopped tomatoes

Juice ½ lemon

Lemon zest (optional)

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1. To start off, chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Before chopping the

leek, making a cut down the middle of the leek almost to the root -

this will help you wash the leek as it lets you fan out the layers

under the running water. Once washed, chop the leek.

2. Next up, chop the sweet potato (or carrots and squash). This can

be done while the onions cook but make sure they don’t burn.

3. Heat the oil in a big pan and gently fry the onions and leeks for

about 10 minutes until soft. At this point, stir in the garlic and

ginger and cook for a couple more minutes until fragrant.

4. Add the cumin and cinnamon into the mix, stirring together until all

coated and let it cook for a couple more minutes.

5. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat them in the mixture.

6. Weigh out your barley and add it to the mixture, making sure to

coat it.

7. Once everything is well mixed together, add your hot vegetable

stock and a tin of tomatoes. Stir well and then bring it to the boil,

before turning the heat back down and letting it simmer for about

30 minutes.

8. Taste it and if the barley is soft you’re almost ready!

9. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest (bit by bit) if using and stir

well. Serve with fresh coriander on top and if you wish a dollop of

natural yoghurt.

Enjoy!

12

The “Anything & Everything”

Tomato Based Curry

In this recipe you could add any

vegetable, including potatoes or

pulses, like chickpeas, beans or

lentils. You could also add meat to

this dish or paneer (mild and soft

Indian cheese). This is a great

dish for when you have a few

vegetables to use up and some

“store cupboard” ingredients.

You can also make the sauce in

advance, freeze it and then reheat

and add vegetables later.

500ml passata

1 tbsp oil

1 onion

1 or 2 garlic cloves

1 cm piece of ginger

1 or 2 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala (or curry

powder)

½ tsp salt

200g frozen peas

200g or more of any vegetable

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1. First, chop your onion, garlic and ginger.

2. Heat up the oil in a pan and once it is hot enough, add in your

onions and let them cook until soft and translucent (about 5

minutes).

3. Once your onions are soft and fragrant, add in the chopped garlic

and ginger, stirring them in and cooking them for a couple of

minutes.

4. Add in the cumin, coriander and garam masala (or curry powder),

cooking for a minute.

5. Once fragrant, add the passata along with the 200g of vegetables,

roughly chopped. Cook for 20-30 minutes until they are soft. Feel

free to add some water to cover your veg if the passata doesn’t

cover them - we need the veg to cook!

6. After your vegetables have been cooking for about 15 minutes add

the frozen peas.

7. Once everything is cooked, chop up some coriander and stir some

through the curry, leaving some aside to garnish your dish.

8. Add salt and pepper as you like and this dish can be served with

flat bread, rice or quinoa with spinach on the side and a dollop of

yoghurt if desired.

14

Rainbow Quiche

This recipe is another good

chance to use up any vegetables

you have in your fridge. The

picture on the right shows us

using lentils as baking beans -

this is to weigh down the pastry

while you blind bake it before

adding the filling. Blind baking is

done to make sure the pastry is

cooked through. Using dried

beans may be better than lentils,

as they are bigger and leave

more space for the pastry to

properly cook. A big part of

learning to cook is making

mistakes along the way!

175g shortcrust pastry

200g vegetables, washed and

sliced

1 small red onion

3 eggs, beaten

150ml milk

200g mature cheddar cheese

¼ tsp dried mustard

Salt and pepper

This recipe is great fun for

kids as it uses lots of

different colours and gets

them eating their veg!

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1. Turn the oven on to 170°C to pre-heat.

2. This pastry can be cooked in any tray or dish, so long as it’s deep

enough to hold the filling.

3. Roll out the pastry to fit into your dish, leaving an extra amount to

make the sides of your quiche.

4. Place greaseproof paper or foil onto your pastry and add dried

beans/lentils or rice.

5. Put your pastry case in the pre-heated oven and cook for 10

minutes - this is called “blind baking” and prevents the pastry from

getting undercooked or soggy once the quiche is cooked.

6. Once cooked, remove the paper/foil and beans/lentils/rice and

leave the pastry to cook for a few minutes.

7. Peel and slice your onion, chop up your chosen vegetables and fry

in a pan for 5-10 minutes or until the onion is soft.

8. Grate the cheese and put half of it into your blind-baked pastry

case. Place the cooked veg and onions on top of the cheese.

9. Heat the milk for 40 seconds in the microwave and add in your

eggs along with the dried mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well with a

whisk or fork.

10.Pour this mixture into your pastry case, over the veg and cheese.

Sprinkle the other half of your grated cheese over the pastry case.

11.Turn the oven down to 150°C and put the quiche in the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the quiche is set and light brown in

colour.

12.Leave your quiche to cool for 5-10minutes, cut into slices. Yum!

16

Thai Ginger Noodle Soup

This recipe is adapted from the plant-

based recipe book, “Thug Kitchen 101”.

One of our course participants said this

recipe is now in her top 5 list of dishes

that she makes regularly for her family!

The dish gives a Thai flavour and feel

without having to buy specific

ingredients. All you need is curry powder,

coconut milk, noodles and your beautiful

vegetables as usual!

This delicious soup was a favourite

on the course!

2 tbsp oil

225g any vegetable

1 onion

2 tbsp minced ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp mild curry powder

2 tsp mild chilli powder

2 cloves crushed garlic

400g coconut milk

1.4 litres vegetable broth/stock

3 tsp lime juice

1 sweet potato, cut into thin pieces

1 spring onion or two, thinly sliced

A handful or two of chopped spinach

225g noodles

17

1. Get started by chopping your vegetables, onion, garlic and ginger.

2. Warm the oil in a big pan over medium heat.

3. Add your onion and ginger - cook until it starts to look golden,

about 3-5 minutes.

4. Add the soy sauce, curry powder and chilli powder - stirring it up to

make sure they coat the onion and ginger and letting them cook

for a minute or so. Until it all becomes fragrant. By cooking the

spices, they will give their full flavour to the dish.

5. Next up, add your chopped vegetables, garlic, coconut milk and

vegetable stock.

6. Then add the lime juice and let the pan come to a slow simmer.

7. While your soup is simmering, chop up your sweet potato and add

it into the mix. Let the soup continue to simmer until the sweet

potato is tender. This could take up to 10 minutes, maybe more,

depending on how big your pieces of sweet potato are.

8. When the sweet potato is tender, you can now add your noodles to

the dish. Check the noodle package instructions but they should

just take a few minutes to cook. Make sure they’re covered by the

liquid in the pan and let them cook.

9. The last ingredient that goes into your pan are the greens (spinach and spring onion) because we want them to maintain their flavour and vivid green colour (as well as their nutrients). Chop them up and throw two thirds of them in when your dish is almost done.

10.Serve up your Thai Noodle soup and top with remaining greens and some squeezes of lime juice to taste.

Enjoy this Budget Bites favourite!

18

Pea and Potato Curry

This is adapted from a pea and

paneer curry recipe. Paneer is a mild

cheese, but we are using potatoes

instead. This follows the same format

as many curry recipes - heat the oil,

add onion, garlic, ginger and spices

and then build in the other

ingredients. You don’t have to use

the exact amount of spices written in

the recipe. Experiment!

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cm piece ginger, diced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely

chopped or chilli flakes

250g to 300g potatoes (new

potatoes are more tender)

400g tin chopped tomatoes

200g to 400g frozen peas

(according to your taste)

Fresh coriander to garnish

Natural yoghurt to garnish

Also pictured:

naan bread and

cucumber salad!

19

1. To start this recipe off, parboil your potatoes. This means partially

cooking your potatoes so that they can cook through when you

add them to the curry.

2. In order to do this, boil enough water to cover your chopped

potatoes in a pan. While the water is boiling, chop up your

potatoes to whatever size you want them. Once the water has

come a boil, add your potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes until

softened but not completely cooked.

3. While you are parboiling your potatoes, start chopping your onion

and cooking until soft in a separate pan.

4. Once your onions are cooked, add the garlic, ginger and chilli then

cook for a few more minutes until fragrant.

5. Add your parboiled potatoes into the mix and stir to coat in the

spices. Add your chopped tomatoes along with a splash of water.

6. Bring this to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 10 to 20

minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are cooked, soft

and tender.

7. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes until they are

tender.

8. Chop up coriander, stirring some in and leaving some aside to

sprinkle on top. You can serve with pita, naan, or rice.

Enjoy!

20

Scotch Broth This hearty meal uses one of the

cheapest and healthiest

ingredients around - barley. It is

also a great way to use whatever

vegetables you might have to

hand. Scotch Broth traditionally

contains meat, this is a vegetarian

version of that classic dish. This

recipe is full of delicious flavours

and textures and makes for a

satisfying winter treat.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

100g barley

1 stock cube

2 tsp dried mixed herbs

400g to 600g vegetables -

choose whatever you like

Suggestions:

1 large carrot, chopped

1 or 2 parsnips, chopped

1 or 2 (depending on size)

sweet potatoes, chopped

1 or 2 leeks, chopped

100g peas

Barley is a rich source of

fibre and contains many

other nutrients. At leading

supermarkets it is as little as

56p for a 500g bag!

21

1. The first thing to do in this recipe is to wash and chop all of your

vegetables, as well as chopping your onions and measuring out

your barley.

2. Heat up the oil in a pan and once hot enough, add your onions to

cook for 5-10 minutes or until soft and turning golden.

3. Once your onions are cooked, add your barley, 1 litre of water and

the stock cube - breaking the cube up with a wooden spoon and

stirring the pot. Cover your pan and bring to a boil, boiling rapidly

for 10 minutes.

4. While your broth is boiling, you can use this time to finish off

chopping your other vegetables.

5. Add all of your vegetables, except for your peas, reduce the heat

and cover the pan, letting the broth simmer for 30 minutes. Check

occasionally to make sure there is enough water.

6. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, taste the barley to see if it is

cooked (it should be soft and chewy). If it isn’t, turn up the heat a

little and cook a few minutes longer.

7. Add the peas and dried herbs and cook for a further few minutes

(if using fresh herbs, save some for a garnish).

Serve up and dig in!

22

Arabic Chickpeas Chickpeas (or any bean) and pasta are filling and comforting and the

cumin and lemon make this dish stand out. The method makes it very

similar to the Italian pasta and bean dish at the beginning of this

book. It’s just flavoured differently and uses a different pulse. You can

add some carrots or sweet potato for extra nutrients and flavour. The

original recipe doesn’t use pasta but the addition of it makes it a more

substantial meal.

Glug (1 or 2 tbsp) olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 or 2 tsp (or more) ground cumin

1 tin plum or chopped tomatoes

1 tin chickpeas (including the tin water)

Optional carrot or sweet potato, chopped

250g small pasta shapes (if you have bigger ones break them up in

your hands)

100ml to 300ml vegetable stock (or enough until pasta covered)

Fresh coriander

Zest of lemon (start with half then add more to your taste)

23

1. Start off by chopping up your onion and finely chopping your garlic.

2. In a medium pan, heat the oil on a medium heat and when it’s hot

enough for one piece of onion to sizzle, add the rest of the onion.

3. Stir the onion frequently and when it has cooked for a few minutes

and is soft and translucent, add the garlic.

4. Then add the cumin and stir it through so it is coating the onions.

5. By now the onions and garlic should smell fragrant and the onions

should be soft. Now add the tomatoes. If using plum tomatoes,

break them up with a wooden spoon.

6. Increase the heat slightly and sizzle for about 5 minutes (if adding

extra veg you could chop these now).

7. Stir in the chickpeas including the water from the tin (OR drain the

tin and just add water) and bring to the boil - if adding extra

vegetables add now.

8. Then add the pasta and turn down to a medium heat and simmer

for about 20 to 30 minutes until the pasta and veg are cooked -

add a little water if necessary if it’s getting dry - the pasta needs

moisture to cook in.

9. While it’s cooking, zest half a lemon and stir it into the beans and

pasta, chop the coriander and stir this in, reserving some to scatter

on top.

10.Serve and garnish with coriander. Enjoy!

24

Sweet Potato and Coconut Dahl

This is a hearty meal. You can leave out

the coconut milk for a less rich version,

but the coconut milk does give it a

luxurious taste and texture. Red split

lentils have protein and fibre, are cheap

and cook in about 15 minutes. In the

image to the right, the dahl is being

served with the cauliflower steak which

you can find in our Sides section - a

delicious pairing! The recipe for this dish

was a very popular one, with many

members of staff at SCDA taking it

home and cooking it themselves!

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cm piece ginger, diced

1 sweet potato, chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely

chopped

1 tbsp curry powder

250g red split lentils

400ml tin coconut milk

300ml vegetable stock

100g frozen peas

Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

25

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions until soft.

2. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli.

3. Then add the curry powder and stir through.

4. Now any chopped vegetables that you are using can be added.

5. Add the lentils and stir through.

6. Quickly after this, so that the lentils don’t burn, add the stock and

coconut milk.

7. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes,

stirring occasionally until the lentils are soft (if they go mushy that

is fine).

8. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes until they are

tender.

9. Stir in the coriander and save some to sprinkle on top.

10.Serve over rice or with pita, naan bread (see recipe on page 34) or

wraps.

It’s dahl-icious!

26

Peanut Butter and Bean Stew

This a great recipe adapted from

“15 Minute Vegan” by Katy

Beskow and she describes the

dish as ‘soulfood in a bowl’ and

says not to skip the fresh

coriander at the end as it really

lifts the dish. The original recipe

calls for ‘rainbow chard’. If you

can’t find this or even regular

Swiss chard, then spinach is a

good substitute.

1 tbsp veg or olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

100g chard or spinach,

roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground ginger

400g tin chopped tomatoes

1-2 rounded tbsp peanut

butter (crunchy or smooth)

400g tin red kidney beans,

rinsed and drained

1 tsp light soy sauce

Handful fresh coriander,

roughly chopped

Pinch of salt

Peanut butter may be a surprising

ingredient but it is quite commonly

added to thicken stews and make

them richer! Own brand peanut

butter can be low in sugar and is

a great source of protein.

27

1. To start off heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat.

2. Chop your onion and greens (chard or spinach).

3. Add your onion and greens to the pan and cook for a few minutes

until the onion begins to soften.

4. Add the garlic to the pan, along with the chilli flakes, cumin and

ginger and cook for a further minute.

5. Add the tomatoes and spoon in the peanut butter.

6. Reduce the heat on your pan to just lower than medium, so it

simmers.

7. Add the red kidney beans and soy sauce to the pan.

8. Stir regularly to prevent burning and cook for about 8 to 10

minutes.

9. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, you could add some water

or stock bit by bit, until it’s how you like it.

10.Serve in bowls and sprinkle with coriander.

11.Season with salt to taste.

Enjoy!

28

S I D E S

29

Beetroot, carrot and cabbage salad

Chickpea, feta and pepper salad

For this very colourful and nutritious salad,

grate 2 carrots, chop ¼ of a red cabbage into

thin strips and then peel and grate 1 raw

beetroot. Mix together! You can play around

with these amounts based on how much salad

you’d like.

Then you can mix in a dressing:

Lemon juice, from ½ lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

Splash of vinegar

Herbs/salt/pepper

Top this salad off with seeds or chopped nuts

for some added crunch!

2 to 4 peppers

1 tin chickpeas

200g feta or goats cheese

Juice 1 lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt and black pepper

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Chop the peppers into chunks and roast in a preheated grill or oven at 200°C for 10 mins, checking regularly, as it could take longer. Drain the chickpeas and mix in the oil, lemon juice, seasoning and garlic. Cut the cheese into chunks and mix into the salad with peppers.

Adapted from “Arabesque” by Claudia Roden.

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Cauliflower Steaks

1 cauliflower

2 tsp oil

4 tsp (at least) curry

powder or a mixture of

other spices such as:

turmeric, coriander, cumin

seeds

Salt and pepper

1. Take the leaves off the cauliflower, either by tearing or chopping.

2. Cut two thick slices from the middle of the cauliflower and continue

to cut slices throughout the cauliflower to the edges. Some florets

might fall off but that’s fine, you can roast those as well!

3. Place your cauliflower steaks on a roasting tin or baking tray and

drizzle or brush them with oil. Brushing (rather than drizzling) the

oil on will give you more control over the amount of oil used.

4. Then shake over the spices so that they coat the cauliflower

evenly - be bold with them!

5. Turn over the ‘steaks’ and make sure you spread spices on the

reverse side and on the edges of the steaks.

6. Sparingly sprinkle some salt over them.

7. Roast them for 20 to 25 minutes at 200°C - they may take longer,

you will know they are ready when a fork goes through them

easily and they are somewhat browned around the edges.

Serve on its own or pair it with a curry.

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Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

450g cherry tomatoes (or normal

tomatoes)

2 tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves, halved and

smashed (with skins taken off)

1-2 tsp dried oregano (you can

try different herbs!)

Salt

Zest of ¼ or ½ a lemon (option,

but lifts the flavour even more)

If you only have tomatoes and oil, that’s all you need for this gorgeous

and simple dish, adapted from “Vegetarian Tagines” by Ghillie Basan.

If you can add the other ingredients, you’ll be amazed by what they

add. Simply place the cherry tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with

oil and garlic and herbs before placing in a preheated oven at 200°C

for 20-25 minutes. Check to make sure they’re not burning. Add

lemon zest if using and enjoy! (Hint: it’s great on toast!)

Roast veg in general is a quick

and easy meal - and a great way

of using leftover veg that you

don’t know what to do with!

Just chop into similar size

pieces, season with mixed

herbs and salt then roast until

soft and brown for about 20-30

mins at 180°C for a filling meal!

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Fried Halloumi

Toasted Pita Pita bread can be a very cheap

option, especially supermarket

own brands!

Take pita breads to the next level

by brushing them with oil,

sprinkling on salt and dried herbs

(preferably thyme) and put under

a grill until toasted and crispy.

These pitas have a great flavour

and crunch, and go really well

with the roasted tomatoes and

fried halloumi.

Halloumi is a salty cheese popular

in the Mediterranean.

Simply drain from the brine in the

packet and slice. You don’t need

to use oil to fry halloumi - you can

place the slices straight in the hot

pan. Cook until brown on one side

and then flip.

They are ready when both sides

have browned. Halloumi goes well

with sweet vegetables such as

tomatoes and peppers.

33

Cucumber Salad

For an easy and impressive salad,

start off by chopping up one

cucumber, setting aside on a tea

towel or kitchen towel then sprinkle

the cucumber with salt to draw out

the extra water.

Now you can add different

ingredients to jazz it up. We added

lime zest and chilli flakes. You can

add yoghurt and dry herbs to turn the

dish into a very simple version of the

classic Indian side, raita.

For these flatbreads, you will need 350g

flour, 350g natural yoghurt and 1 tsp

baking powder.

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl,

mix with a fork or spoon and use clean

hands to bring the dough together and

move to a floured work surface.

Knead dough for a minute and separate

into golf ball sized pieces, then roll out

until 2-3mm thick and roughly 12cm wide.

Cut some lines in the centre to allow the

bread to cook quicker and fry in a pan for

1-2 mins on each side or until browned.

Easy Yoghurt Flatbreads

34

Naan Bread

350ml warm water

1 tbsp sugar

7g active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

400g flour, plus a little extra for

rolling out dough

1 tbsp oil

1. Start off by combining the

warm water, sugar and yeast

in a bowl. Let this mixture

stand for 5 minutes until it

starts to foam.

2. Once foamy, add the salt

and flour to the mixture and

mix together thoroughly.

3. Put the mixture in a warm

place to rise for 30 to 45

mins.

4. Place the dough on a floured

work surfaced and break into

smaller pieces, rolling out

until 1cm thick. (Or stars as

we did in the photo!)

5. Cook the naan pieces in an

oiled pan, cooking until each

side is well browned and

inside is cooked through.

35

Spring Rolls

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

2. Finely chop all your vegetables - chop

into thin strips (see the picture above).

3. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and cook

the diced garlic and ginger for 30 secs.

4. Add your chopped veg (except the

cucumber and courgette!) to the pan

with the soy sauce, stirring to make sure

all the veg gets a chance to cook.

5. Lay out your sheet of pastry in front of

you and cut the rectangle into two or

three narrower rectangles.

6. Lay the cucumber and courgette strips

inside along with the cooked filling and

begin to roll up, tucking in the edges as

you go.

7. Seal the edges with water or egg, place

in the oven for 10-12 mins or until they

look slightly browned and crispy.

Serve and dig in!

1 packet filo pastry

3 garlic cloves, diced

Some ginger, diced

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

Raw egg or water to seal

500g veg: pick from veg such as

cabbage or lettuce, carrots, courgette or

cucumber, spring onions, red pepper

36

Cheese Straws

195g plain flour

Pinch salt

115g butter, diced

75g mature cheddar cheese

25g grated parmesan cheese

or a similar vegetarian hard

cheese (or 25g extra of

cheddar cheese)

Pinch English mustard powder

(optional)

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 egg, yolk only

1. Start off by sifting the flour, add a pinch of salt into a bowl. Using your fingertips rub in the butter until all the lumps are gone and the texture is like breadcrumbs. It is important to use your fingertips as your palms are warmer and will melt the butter!

2. Stir in the cheese, mustard powder, cayenne pepper and egg yolk. Add 2-3 tbsp of cold water and mix to a firm dough.

3. Wrap in cling film or place in a covered bowl and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C, line a baking sheet with baking paper. Roll out the dough to a square roughly the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut the square in half, then cut each half into 1cm strips.

5. Transfer carefully onto the lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 mins until crisp, then leave to cool on the tray.

37

1. Drain your beans into a sieve - spoon

some onto one half of the tortilla and

mash down with a fork.

2. Cut up the vegetables and sprinkle

some over the beans.

3. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the

veg and beans. Fold over your tortilla.

4. Heat a tiny bit of oil in a pan and fry

your tortilla until one side is browned -

flip over and fry until the other side is

browned.

Continue this with however many tortillas

you’d like. Enjoy!

Rainbow Quesadillas A pack of tortillas

Tin of beans, drained

2-3 veg of different colours (tomatoes,

spinach, spring onions, corn etc.)

Some grated cheddar cheese

38

Notes ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

39

Bibliography Basan, G (2013) Vegetarian Tagines and Couscous. London: Ryland,

Peters and Small.

Beskow, K (2017) 15 Minute Vegan: Fast, Modern Vegan Cooking.

London: Quadrille Publishing.

Elliot, R (2010) Rose Elliott’s New Complete Vegetarian. London:

Harper Collins Publishers.

Roden, C (2005) Arabesque – A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and

Lebanon. London: Penguin Books.

Thug Kitchen (2016) Thug Kitchen 101. London: Little Brown Book Group.

Testimonials… Here is what Budget Bites course participants said:

“In my opinion, wellbeing came from not only healthy meals, but sharing meals we had cooked ourselves and had great fun doing so.”

“I used to find taking on and finding new recipes quite difficult and it made me panic! ...[The] lessons gave me more confidence and broke my habit of having to have all the ingredients on the recipe sheet in order to try something new and think about alternatives or not worry too much if I didn't have everything.”

“The course made me think about what I was cooking. Having the free herbs and spices inspired me to try them in other dishes.”

“The course gave me some great recipes for healthy, low cost meals that can be made quickly at home. One of the recipes for veggie curry noodles is now in my top 5. Also a chance to try some ingredients that I hated as a child [pearl barley] which I now use regularly.”

“The things I took from course, were how tasty meals were made from very few ingredients, which was brilliant when on a budget. Healthy because only herbs or spices used in recipes instead of salt.”

40

Tell us what you think If you make one of the recipes in this book feel free to contact us on

healthylifestyles@sussexcommunity.org.uk to tell us how it went or

post comments or photos on our ‘SCDA Community Cooking - The

Havens & Hailsham’ Facebook page.

We have ongoing cooking, exercise and wellbeing activities. Contact

us to find out more.

Thank you Thank you to: SCDA for proving the opportunity to run healthy

lifestyle activities for the community; Awards for All who funded this

project; Ally from SCDA who took all the photographs, worked very

hard to put this cook book together and who also had her own

amazing journey into cooking via the courses; Karen from SCDA who

supported participants on the courses with such kindness and

everyone who attended the courses and made it such a fun

experience and finally, thank you to anyone in the future who makes

meals from the book. We hope you enjoy the cooking and the eating.

- Much love, Louise, Tutor.

Sussex Community Development Association

Denton Island Community Centre

Denton Island

Newhaven BN9 9BA

Tel: 01273 517250 www.sussexcommunity.org.uk