Pistou Soup

A French-Italian classic. Make it with whatever vegetables happen to be in the shop/ your fridge. 

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 3.13 zl (57 UK pence, 0.73 Euros)

There are 3 elements to this recipe:

1. A simple pesto
2. A vegetable broth
3. Croutons

You'll need (for this version):

- a bowl of basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons of grates parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- black pepper
- salt
- 1 onion cut into 1 cm pieces
- 1 small carrot cut into 0.5 cm pieces
- 1 bulb of fennel trimmed and cut into 1 cm pieces
- 1 leek cut into 1 cm pieces
- 1/2 red pepper cut into 1 cm pieces
- 1 large (mild) red chilli pepper sliced
- boiled water
- 1 baguette


First off, the pesto sauce:

1. Pluck a bowl of basil leaves. Peel and slice 2 cloves of garlic. Grate around a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.

2. Whizz up in a coffee grinder or whatever with a good glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt. 

Ok. Pesto done - you can use this with other recipes too. Now for the vegetable broth.

1. Prep the veg

2. Olive oil in a pan on medium. Veg in.

3. Sweat down for around 5 minutes. Season. Grind in some black pepper.

4. Add some boiling water to cover the veg. Turn up the heat and cook aggressively for 4 minutes.

5. Add the pesto.

6. Simmer down on low for another minute. Turn off the heat.

Ok, the soup's done. Now for the croutons.

1. Slice a baguette fairly thin. Dip one side in olive oil. Lay on a baking tray. 

2. Put under the grill until crisp and golden.

3. Grate some parmesan

Now make the soup: put some croutons on top and sprinkle generous amounts of parmesan over the top. Enjoy!

Cost:

- basil - 4 zl

- veg - 5 zl

- parmesan - 2 zl

- baguette - 1 zl

- olive oil - 0.50 zl

Total: 12.50 zl

Serves: 4

Per person: 3.13 zl

Ravioli ricotta e spinaci al sugo di pomodoro

I like this recipe because you can take away the different elements and make other dishes. The pasta recipe is universal. The tomato sauce works with various Italian dishes and beyond. The spinach and ricotta filling would not be out of place inside a Polish-style pancake.

So, here are 3 recipes in one, really.

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 2.63 zl (48 UK pence, 61 Euro cents, 24 Thai Baht)

First, the sauce:

You'll need:

- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- splash of olive oil
- 1 crushed dried red chilli
- salt to taste
- 1 glass of white wine
- a handful of basil chopped

1. Pan on medium heat. Olive oil. Onion in. Sauté for around 10 minutes till translucent. Garlic in. Sauté for a further 5 minutes.

2. White wine. Reduce to burn off the alcohol. That's not because of Ramadan; it's just to avoid too much acidity and to intensify the flavour.

3. Tomatoes in.

4. Basil in

5. Chilli in

6. Cover and cook on low for another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning - salt to taste.

7. Blend and pass through a sieve. We want this sauce to be extra fine.

8. Ok. So now the sauce is ready.

Now let's make the ravioli filling. 

We'll need:

- 250g of spinach
- around 125g of ricotta
- a pinch of nutmeg
- black pepper
- a pinch of salt

1. We'll steam the spinach. Why? We want the spinach to be just cooked and as dry as possible. I don't have a steamer so I put the spinach in a colander resting in a pan with a little water boiling in the bottom and the lid on. 10 minutes should do the trick, or until the spinach is wilted.

2. Chop up the spinach

3. Mix the ricotta with a pinch of salt, a dash of grated nutmeg (be careful!) and a grind or 3 of black pepper corns.

4. Stir in the spinach - filling done!

Ok. Now for the hard bit - the pasta. I've got a pasta bike but you could just use a rolling pin.

You'll need:

- around 8 tablespoons of plain flour
- 2 large eggs
- a dash of olive oil
- a pinch of salt

1. Beat the eggs. Flour in. Splash in a little olive oil and add a pinch of salt.

2. Mix well with your hands to form a stiff dough - this should be as firm as it possibly can be without crumbling. Regulate by adding more flour if necessary. 

3. Put in the fridge to rest for an hour or so. Roll out as thin as you can. If you're using a pasta bike, work it through the numbers as thin as you can control it without ripping the pasta. Takes practice. Don't worry if you don't get it very thin first time. Make at least 2 separate sheets.

4. Lay one sheet on a floured surface. Spoon small amounts of the filling onto the sheet with at least 4 cm between them.

5. Put the second sheet on top and press around the filling so that there's no air trapped and without ripping the pasta. Again, this takes some practice so don't worry if you balls it up first time.

6. Make sure the pasta around the filling is pressed tightly. Cut out with a glass.

7. Scrunch up the edges of the ravioli.

8. Boil some water in a pan - add a chef's pinch (3 fingers) of salt. Add the Ravioli and cook for around 4 minutes. 

9. Scoop out the ravioli and serve with the tomato sauce and some grated parmesan.

10. E tutto!

Cost:

- tomatoes: 2 zl
- spinach: 2 zl
- ricotta: 2.50 zl
- eggs: 1.60 zl
- the rest: 2.40 zl

Total: 10 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 2.63 zl

Students' Curry 2

Here's the second in the series of curries which anyone can make anywhere with basic ingredients from any supermarket without a long list of 10 zillion ingredients.

Let me introduce you to: Chole Masala

Chole = chick peas
Masala = mix

It's a variation on a North Indian classic, sort of imagining a Punjabi chef arriving in a Lidl in Poland and having to do his worst!

Serves: 4
Per person: 3.75 zl (68 UK pence, 8.25 Swedish Kronar)

Ingredients:

Everything was from Lidl, bar one item - the chick peas! Sometimes you can get cans of them there, sometimes not. However, they're usually available somewhere. If not, though, just use a can of different beans (not baked beans - that would be revolting). If you want to save a bit of money, buy them dry. Soak a couple of handfuls overnight in plain water then drain. Cook in a fresh batch of water for around 2 hours or until soft.

- 2 onions very finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 inch of ginger minced
- 1 can of chick peas
- 2-3 chillies chopped
- 1 can of tomatoes blended
- 1 good tsp of cumin seeds (yes, you can get them in Lidl - I checked!)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder (ditto)
- veg oil
- salt
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- handful of finely chopped coriander (optional, but yes - it was from Lidl)

Let's crack on!

1. Prep the ingredients - chop what needs to be chopped and blend what needs to be blended. Mince what needs to be minced (I used a fine grater)

2. Get some oil into that pan (don't be shy with the oil). Cumin seeds in. 30 secs.

3. Onions in. Add a pinch of salt. Cook down on low-medium heat for around 10 minutes.

4. Chillies in. Saute for a further 5 minutes. Maybe you're thinking "Whoah! That's a lot of chilli!" Indeed. Taste them first. If they're mild, don't be shy - chuck them in! They're packed with vitamin C and give good flavour as well as heat.

5. Ginger/ garlic paste in! Saute for a further 2-3 minutes.

6. Turmeric in. 30 secs.

7. Tomatoes in

8. Chick peas in. Cover. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.

9. If you're using coriander, now's your chance to pluck and chop it.

10. Coriander in. Add a squeeze or two of lemon. 

11. Give it one more minute. Turn off the heat. Done!

Serve with basmati rice.

Cost:

- chick peas: 4 zl
- tomatoes: 2 zl
- Onions, garlic, ginger, chillies: 3 zl
- coriander: 2 zl
- basmati rice for 4 people: 3.20 zl
- spices: 0.80 zl

Total: 15 zl
Per person: 3.75 zl

Students' Curry 1

So, the challenge was: show us a curry that's dead easy to make with ingredients readily available at most basic supermarkets. NO LONG INGREDIENT LISTS allowed!

So, here goes. This is the most basic that I can do while still tasting (and I was a bit surprised) pretty damn good!

The supermarket de choix was Lidl so I trundled along there and bought the following ingredients (oops, forgot to include the vegetable oil and rice in the photo...) but ended up not using the lemon so imagine it's not there, although it does look nice on the photo, doesn't it?

Serves: 4
Per person: 3.20 zl (60 UK pence, 75 Euro cents, 90 US cents)

Ingredients:

- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 fresh chillies
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 20g pack of curry powder
- 1 pack of frozen veg
- some veg oil
- basmati rice to serve (80g per person - 1 Lidl pack serves 5)
- salt

A couple of things. Firstly, the frozen veg - go for mixes that contain carrots, green beans, peas, cauliflower, potatoes. These work well in a curry. Secondly - curry powder. You shouldn't really use it in the sense that authentic curries use individual spice mixes, But, here we're going for simplicity and this is as simple as I can make it.

So, on with the show:

1. Prep the onions by chopping very fine. Mince the garlic and ginger finely to make a paste. Chop the chillies. Blend the tomatoes.

2. Cover the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil. Medium heat.

3. Onions in plus a pinch of salt. Cook down for around 15 minutes.

4. Ginger/ garlic paste in. Chillies in. Saute for a further 5 minutes.

5. Curry powder in

6. Stir in for a minute to cook out the rawness of the spices - this improves the flavour

7. Frozen veg in. Stir to cover with the spice mix. 

8. Add the blended tomatoes. Cover and cook down on low heat for around 15-20 minutes. Check if it's ready by tasting the most problematic (in this case, green beans - they don't taste good unless cooked just enough but not too much) vegetable - if that one's done, then the whole thing's ready. Check the seasoning - add a pinch more salt if necessary.

9. Serve with rice

Costing:

- onions, ginger, garlic: 2.00 zl
- tomatoes: 2.00 zl
- chillies: 1.50 zl
- veg: 2.50 zl
- rice: 3.20 zl
- curry powder: 1.50

total: 12.70 zl
Per person: 3.20 zl