IS your food budget basic, while your tastes are exotic?
Cooking up exciting but affordable dishes is easier than you think.
You start by simply basing meals on lots of low-cost veggie essentials, then add spicy extras to tickle your taste buds. This week at Morrisons, shopper favourites including potatoes, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes have all had their prices slashed – so stock up and save.
Here are three terrifically tasty dishes that take under 40 minutes to make and cost less than £2.90 per portion. So tuck in, for both flavour and savings.
Mexican Pulled Chicken
Serves 4 – £1.42 per serving
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 35 mins
YOU NEED:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 red pepper
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to season
METHOD: Rub the chicken with the cumin, chilli powder and the smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Fry the chicken on both sides in a frying pan, browning both sides to get a crusty spiced outer layer to the chicken.
Add the chopped onion, sliced pepper, ketchup and chopped tomatoes to the pan, along with the vinegar. Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven, or place all the contents into an oven-proof casserole dish. Cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
After this time, remove the dish from the oven and carefully remove the foil. Using two forks, shred the chicken into strands. Taste, then add extra salt and pepper if needed.
If the sauce is too thin, add it back to the oven without the chicken to cook uncovered for five more minutes before mixing it all together.
Southern Fried Fish Fillets with Chunky Chips
Serves 2 – £2.87 per serving
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 30 mins
YOU NEED:
- 2 Maris Piper potatoes
- 7g southern-fried seasoning
- 55g breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp flour
- 6 tbsp water
- 220g white fish
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 carrots
- 2 red onions
- 1 lemon
METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C. Peel the potatoes, cut them into chips and parboil for five minutes until softened. Mix half the southern-fried seasoning with the breadcrumbs.
Mix the flour with 6 tbsp of water to make the batter. Dip the fish in the batter and then coat in the breadcrumb mix. Bake in the oven on a tray with greaseproof paper for 20 to 25 minutes turning once, halfway through. Dust the chips with the remaining Southern Fried Seasoning and one teaspoon of olive oil.
Bake on a tray with greaseproof paper with the fish for 20 to 25 minutes. Grate the carrots and slice the red onions to make a salad and cut the lemon in half.
Cut one half of the lemon into wedges. Mix the carrot, red onion and juice from the remaining half of the lemon in a bowl. Plate up the salad, chips and fish, then garnish with lemon wedges to serve. Season to taste.
Lime and Chilli Mackerel Sizzle Pittas
Serves 2 – £2.10 per serving
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 3 mins
YOU NEED:
- 2 Princes Mackerel Sizzle Lime and Chilli
- 6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cucumber, small pieces finely chopped
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 2 wholemeal or white pitta
- 6 lettuce leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
METHOD: Place the Mackerel Sizzle Lime and Chilli contents into a hot pan, reduce to a medium heat. Sizzle the mackerel and marinade over a medium heat for 1½ minutes each side, spooning the marinade over the fish.
While the fish is cooking, mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and chilli. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Warm the pitta in a toaster or under the grill. Split and fill with the lettuce leaves, salad and mackerel, spooning a little marinade on top.
