Читать книгу Kitchen Hero: Great Food for Less - Donal Skehan - Страница 3
ОглавлениеThis book is quite simply about the tricks of thrifty cooking and cheap eating. For my generation in particular, who have grown up in a time where pre-washed salad bags, ready-grated cheese and plastic-wrapped convenience foods have become everyday purchases, thrifty cooking practices can seem like they are from a forgotten world. However, any good cook will know that these are skills that have been used for years, to save money and eat better food. Now is the time to rediscover these great cooking traditions and stop relying on convenience foods, which cost us more and are of inferior quality to dishes that can be made at home. Banish any thoughts of penny-pinching: this is about embracing home cooking at its very best. The real aim here is to make inexpensive ingredients work harder for the money you spend on them, so that ultimately you end up with delicious food that will become part of your everyday diet.
My grandmother is one of the most frugal self-taught cooks you will ever meet: she raised my mom and her six siblings with very little income, but that never stopped her producing wonderfully elegant meals at minimum expense. Her long-engrained home-cooking skills, using inexpensive materials and simple methods, are some of the greatest kitchen tips that have been passed on to me. There is a whole army of grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles up and down the country who possess and use these skills without giving them a second thought. Many of them may have been brought up in households with tight budgets, where watching the pennies was part and parcel of daily life. Some of my favourite recipes and cooking practices in this book are ones I’ve learnt as a result of just chatting on the topic of frugal cooking with those in the know – from my own family to butchers, greengrocers and fishmongers.
This book begins with my frugal cooking guide, in which I’ve included some of the top economical tips and tricks that have been passed on to me: from ways to make your cooking easier and more efficient to general practices that will save you money. There are one or two recipes in the book that will be more expensive to make than others, but the important thing to remember is that these will usually feed a crowd or leave you with leftovers that will keep you going for a few days. My dessert and baking recipes are a good reminder that frugal cooking doesn’t have to mean missing out.
The chapters in this book are filled with recipes that I hope will become part of your cooking routine. They are all simple to follow and don’t require any complicated kitchen equipment, so even those with very few cooking skills can be encouraged to try their hand at them. For those who love to cook on a regular basis, I’d encourage you to try using old-fashioned ingredients, such as offal, or underused cuts of meat. I hope all the recipes will inspire you to try a new approach to cooking – one that is hugely satisfying for your appetite as well as your wallet.
a frugal cooking guide
Cooking frugally is all about what I call ‘clever cooking’, and by that I mean using what you have, saving leftovers to use again, make-ahead preparation, utilising your freezer and choosing inexpensive ingredients that will go far. An understanding of the skills employed by butchers and fishmongers will help you to choose the best ingredients for cheaper prices, so in this section I’ve outlined the main things you should consider when cooking with meat and fish, as well as advice on other ingredients.
Understanding the seasonality of food is an important part of clever cooking: for example, buying out-of-season strawberries or asparagus in December will not only cost you more but you will most likely have a lesser-quality, tasteless ingredient that has been flown halfway across the world – not good for the environment or for your cooking. In recent years, growing your own vegetables has also become a popular way to help save money and encourage awareness of seasonality – you need very little space, a few containers, a bag or two of soil and some seeds to produce ingredients that can otherwise cause a dent in your weekly shopping bill.
A quick word about organic produce: when and if you can afford it, do try to choose organic. Organic fruit and vegetables are not sprayed with pesticides, and organic meat is free of antibiotics and the animals will have been ethically reared and slaughtered. Always try to choose free-range poultry and eggs. It is more expensive, but there is, of course, a price to be paid for the quality of the food we choose to eat.
It’s important to support your local butcher as much as possible. The skills of a good butcher are essential ones to harness as a home cook. Your butcher will be happy to help with any queries about different cuts of meat, the amount you need to feed a crowd and even a few cooking tips or recipe suggestions. He will help you select the correct cut for the recipe you plan to make, as there is no sense in buying a cut that requires slow cooking for a flash-in-the-pan recipe. When it comes to choosing cheaper cuts of meat, or offal, your butcher will give you lots of advice, especially if you are unfamiliar with these ingredients.
Meat can be one of the more expensive ingredients on the weekly shopping bill, so utilising cheaper cuts is the perfect way to reduce costs. However, many cheaper cuts of meat have become unfashionable in modern times, and while they might have made everyday dinners in our grandparents’ time, nowadays most people don’t know what they are or how to cook them, even though they are still readily available. We are definitely missing a trick, though, because some of the most delicious recipes, such as crispy Asian pork belly, tender oxtail and slowly cooked spiced lamb shoulder, are revelations and prove that these less-expensive cuts really deliver in the flavour department.
People today have a meat-heavy diet, largely due to the fact that meat has become more and more accessible and is conveniently packaged in plastic, meaning that consumers have lost any connection with where the meat actually comes from. Understanding and learning where different cuts of meat originate from on an animal not only helps you to be more economical but it also gives us, as home cooks, a better understanding of the ingredients we are cooking with. In this section I outline some of the cheaper cuts of meats and meat products, many of which are included in recipes throughout this book. Give them a try, and you will be happily surprised by the results!
Finally, while I love my meat, I do think it’s important to keep a balance, so try to eat a varied diet and cook some meals that are not completely centred around meat.
It’s important to ask questions about the meat you buy, and this goes for pork in particular. With it being such a regular part of modern everyday diets, corners are often cut in the production of pork products. Ask for meat from pigs that have been reared slowly with natural feed. Good-quality pork meat should have a soft pale-pink colour. The main retail cuts of fresh pork are shoulder, loin, belly and leg. Some cheap cuts to ask for are:
Pork shoulder
The discovery of this cut while writing this book was a real revelation for me. It’s incredibly cheap, really delicious and feeds a crowd. Try using it in my Porchetta. Meat from this cut is quite fatty, so it suits slow roasting at a low temperature for incredibly tender meat, and produces beautifully crispy crackling.
Pork belly
Pork belly is a widely popular cut of meat in Asia, and is loved for its fantastic crispy crackling and tender meat. It’s very affordable and easy to cook.
Pork kidneys
Ask your butcher to prepare these for you into nice strips. You should soak the kidneys either in water with lemon juice or in buttermilk for an hour or so, to make the flavour milder and remove any bitterness.
Ham hock
A ham hock is an extremely cheap cured cut of ham from the thigh of the pig. Hocks need to be boiled for an hour or two to make the meat tender, after which the meat can be shredded and used in a huge variety of dishes; it also freezes nicely.
Trotters
Also known as crubeens in Ireland, these may not be the most attractive of pork cuts but they are certainly tasty. They are wonderful added to stocks or stews to produce a rich, thick gravy, as they contain quite a lot of gelatin.
Sausage meat
For a cheaper alternative to minced pork, you can buy sausage meat from most butchers. Use it wherever you would minced pork, or add seasonings, wrap in puff pastry and bake in the oven for homemade sausage rolls.
When buying more expensive cuts of beef, such as fillet or sirloin, make sure to look for meat with a deep, rich, red colour and good marbling (little streaks of fat running through it). These streaks of fat melt away during the cooking process, essentially keeping the meat moist. Try to avoid meat that looks grey, or meat that is a really bright red colour, which can indicate that it hasn’t been hung for long enough. With the cheaper cuts of meat, you will find a lot more fat and muscle tissue; these add a richness to the meat when it’s cooked slowly over a low heat. Inexpensive cuts to look out for are:
Beef shin
When cooked slowly in the oven, shin of beef becomes meltingly tender and delicious. Use it on the bone; it will enrich any stew or casserole you add it to.
Skirt steak
Skirt steak has a good marbling of fat and is often best used sliced up in stir-fries. However, make sure not to overcook it, as it can become tough.
Chuck steak
Chuck steak is an inexpensive cut from the neck and shoulder of the cow. It can be quite tough, so does not suit fast cooking methods, but it is ideal slowly braised or chopped into pieces and stewed.
Beef brisket
Beef brisket comes from the lower chest of the animal and, like many of the cheaper cuts, is quite tough, so requires slow braising to make it beautifully tender. It is a boneless cut of meat, which makes for easy carving and is perfect for pot-roasts.
Oxtail
Oxtail is perfectly suited for slow braising and stewing and is wonderful for making rich beef stock. When the tough muscle tissue is slowly cooked over a low heat you are left with beautifully tender meat. Try this in my dad’s oxtail!
Mass consumption of chicken has meant it is no longer a special-occasion ingredient but an everyday one. If your budget allows, choose free-range and/or organic chicken, for the health of the birds, ourselves and the environment. When you buy a whole chicken, use all the meat and save the carcass to make stock. If you buy portioned poultry, legs and thighs are cheapest and the most flavourful. Also, don’t forget turkey; this underused meat is cheap, but tasty, and turkey mince makes a healthier and cheaper alternative to pork and beef mince.
Basic rich chicken stock
1 Put at least 2–3 roasted chicken carcasses into a large 9-litre (16-pint) pot and fill with cold water to just below the rim.
2 Add about eight black peppercorns, an onion sliced in half (with its skin on), two bay leaves, two peeled carrots and two celery stalks.
3 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours, skimming any fat or froth from the top every now and then.
4 Strain the stock through a sieve or colander and discard everything but the liquid.
5 The stock can be used in soups, stews, sauces and more. If you want to freeze it, allow to cool before dividing amongst freezer bags and placing in the freezer.
Portioning chicken in 5 easy steps
Buying a whole bird is by far the most economical way to buy chicken, and learning how to portion it into eight pieces is a good practice which allows you to use each part separately as needed.
1 Place the chicken on a chopping board breast-side up and use a sharp knife to slice off the wings, one at a time, by inserting the knife where the wings meet the carcass. You should be able to get the knife into the socket and slice through easily.
2 Pull one of the legs upwards and slice in between the leg and body until you meet resistance at the socket. Slice down through this and remove the leg. Repeat with the second leg.
3 Pull the leg and thigh away from each other and then insert the knife at the join and slice through. Repeat with the other leg.
4 Slice the remaining carcass in half horizontally to remove the backbone, and save this for stock.
5 Flatten the breasts on the board and use the knife to slice down the centre to separate the two halves. You now have eight separate pieces of chicken: two each of wings, thighs, legs and breasts.
Lamb is one of my favourite meats, and although it can be expensive, it is normally good quality, so you are getting what you pay for. Some of the tougher parts of the lamb are the most delicious when braised or cooked slowly. Choose meat with a bright red colour – it should never be grey – with fat that is creamy white and firm, and skin that is dry. Lamb has always been cooked on special occasions in my house and these particular cuts are really delicious and my absolute favourites:
Lamb neck
This cut comes from the top of the neck and is most commonly used in soups and stews. Like many cuts from the fore end of the animal, this cut requires slow cooking. It is inexpensive and ideal cut into rough chunks for Irish stew.
Lamb shanks
Lamb shanks have come back into fashion in recent years and as a result their price has increased. So while this is possibly not the cheapest cut, it is still one of my favourites; shanks make a comforting dinner when slowly braised in a rich sauce.
Lamb shoulder
This can be cooked on the bone, or boned, stuffed and rolled. It requires low and slow cooking in the oven. Cooking it on the bone gives it a lovely, rich flavour.
Lamb breast
Lamb breast is a cut that requires a little love and care. It is quite fatty, so needs long, slow roasting to make the meat wonderfully tender.
Lamb kidneys
Unlike pork kidneys, lamb kidneys have a milder flavour and don’t require as much work. They can be fried for a tasty little dinner.
Lamb liver
Cooking with offal is a good frugal practice and lamb livers are cheap to buy. Use them gently pan-fried or sliced in rich, creamy sauces.
CHEAPER FISH
Haddock/ Mackerel/ Ling/ Whiting/ Gurnard/ Whelks/ Mussels
The skills offered by fishmongers are invaluable to the home cook; unless you have been trained in filleting fish, doing it yourself at home can be daunting. Your fishmonger will happily gut whole fish and remove any skin or bones if you ask.
Buying the whole fish can often be more economical than just buying fillets. Different varieties of fish are in season at different times and quite often the fish you were planning to buy may not be available, in which case tell your fishmonger which dish you wanted to cook and he may be able to suggest an alternative. Fish is incredibly versatile and can often be swapped for other species. Choose the right fish for your dish, though: oily species can take stronger flavours like garlic and chilli and are suited to barbecuing or grilling, while white fish is more suited to lighter, simpler flavours. In most cases, fish is often best cooked very simply and seasoned with nothing more than sea salt, ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
When selecting fish, look for bright, shiny eyes, red gills, firm flesh and, most of all, a fresh sea smell. If you do buy fillets, make sure to choose ones with no signs of discoloration on the flesh. Fish is always best enjoyed fresh, and unless you are going to freeze it, which can be done quite successfully, you should always aim to cook fish on the day you buy it. However, it can keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
In recent years, the sustainability of fish has become an incredibly important issue, and with world fish stocks depleting, it’s imperative to know which species are sustainable and to try to eat more of them and less of the endangered ones. The good news is that many of the sustainable species are actually some of the most inexpensive ones.
While it is fantastic that we’re able to buy all sorts of different ingredients from around the world, it has become necessary to re-emphasise seasonality. Learning to buy fruit and vegetables that are in season is not only an economical practice but an environmental one, too. In a society where supermarkets have the same produce in stock all year round, it’s important to bear in mind what is actually growing at any particular time. Use the seasonality chart overleaf to choose ingredients at their very best.
I’ve been growing my own vegetables for the past few years and at last feel confident enough to write a little advice for those considering embarking on the process. You don’t need much room or equipment to grow your own: just some space and a few bags of soil, but this small investment will save you buying expensive bags of salads and pots of herbs in the supermarket. Since I started, I’ve moved my veggie patch from a small apartment balcony to a temporary plot in my aunt’s back garden, and finally to a back garden of my own.
Even though I have a bit more space these days, if I had known back then what I do now, I could have grown enough on my balcony over the summer to have saved a packet on buying salad leaves and other quick-cropping vegetables. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is to only plant things you definitely plan to eat and don’t go crazy (one year I had 25 cabbages: we ate a lot of coleslaw…!). If, like me, you have no patience, you will also want to choose vegetables that grow quickly. This will keep you interested and you can continue sowing throughout the summer to ensure you have plenty to eat. Although I love the idea that you can be completely self-sufficient, I do have a realistic take on this and my aim is just to grow things that will complement the type of cooking and eating I do in my kitchen. I always try to grow a few new veggies each year but the big winners, in terms of reliability and everyday usage in my kitchen, are those I’ve listed overleaf …
Salad leaves
If you choose to grow nothing else, it must be salad leaves. They grow in just a few weeks and if you plant enough you won’t be able to keep up with them throughout the summer. Rocket and spinach are ideal as you can cut as many leaves as you need and they will continue to grow back until you want them again. Bigger heads of lettuce can take a little longer to grow (and always get obliterated by slugs in my garden!), so rocket and spinach are the safest bet for the first-time grower.
Peas
Garden peas are possibly the most rewarding thing you can grow in the garden; they grow quickly and the taste of peas sampled fresh from the pod is one of the greatest benefits of growing your own. Sow a few peas directly in the ground each week, from late spring and early summer onwards, and you will have a great supply throughout the season – just make sure you give them something to grow up. You can also use the baby shoots as an elegant garnish for salads and other dishes.
Herbs
Herbs were the first things that I started growing and are most definitely the easiest. A must for any home cook, they take very little work and save you buying those supermarket pots or, even worse, those pre-packed bags of soggy herbs. Some of the more hardy herbs are completely failsafe, such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, bay and mint, which can all be popped outside to grow throughout the summer. After dying down in the winter, these herbs will come back with a vengeance in the spring. More delicate herbs, such as basil, coriander and flat-leaf parsley, need a little more love and care, and in my experience grow quite happily on an indoor windowsill. You can buy packets of seeds for herbs or buy established plants from good garden centres.
Cabbages
I love this bulky vegetable and it is one of the few garden monsters that I grow. It does need a little more space and you have to keep an eye on demon slugs, who like to hide amongst the leaves, munching away. There are lots of different varieties, and most are quite reliable to grow. I’ve had great success with red cabbage, Dutch cabbage and Chinese cabbage. They are great finely sliced in salads, steamed as a side dish for meat or tossed through a stir-fry for a nice bite.
Potatoes
Where would we be without the potato? In recent years, we Irish have been eating less and less of the vegetable that is long ingrained in our history, probably because of its association with rich comfort food. But I see nothing wrong with that, so potatoes are one of my favourite things to grow and incredibly satisfying to dig up.
Edible flowers
I think sometimes there is too much fuss when it comes to food presentation, and so for years I turned my nose up at the idea of edible flowers. However, I finally gave in and grew some in my garden last year; not only did they completely take over the plot, but they also made a really nice addition to summer salads with their great peppery taste. My favourites are nasturtiums.
Asian greens
My best discovery while growing my own has been Asian greens, which grow quite quickly and very easily. They don’t need too much care and make wonderful additions to salads and stir-fries. Try sowing pak choi and Chinese cabbage.
Strawberries
A total summer treat, strawberries are easy to grow, and if you plant enough you should get a nice crop of berries in June. The only thing to worry about is birds getting to those berries before you do!
frugal
Your daily bread
One of the most satisfying kitchen practices is making bread – although shop-bought bread can be a cheap ingredient, making it yourself is delicious, easy and extremely inexpensive. The quick soda bread recipe I’ve included in the baking chapter doesn’t need to rise and is a wonderful alternative to a commercial sliced loaf.
Freezing
The freezer can save you time and money and gives you a ready supply of ingredients to hand. Many foods take well to being frozen and you can also freeze whole dishes, ready to defrost and reheat on demand. If you use your freezer regularly, get a permanent marker so that you can label containers with the date of freezing. Do a clearout every 6 months and use up anything that has been sitting there too long. The best way to defrost food is to put it on a plate in the fridge overnight, but if you are using it straight away once defrosted, simply take it out of the freezer and leave it at room temperature. Foods that don’t freeze well are vegetables with a high water content, like lettuce and cabbage, or foods with a creamy base, which can split as they defrost.
> Fruit
Lots of fruit can be frozen: berries in particular freeze well and I keep a steady supply for desserts, baking and smoothies. Some of the best free fruit can be picked from hedgerows, such as blackberries – brush away bugs or dirt or give them a quick rinse before drying them and packing into resealable bags. To keep their shape, freeze berries on trays, cover with cling film and bag them up when frozen. If I find myself with a glut of lemons or oranges I zest them and pop it into bags. Grated zest is excellent in baking recipes, such as muffins and cakes, as well as savoury dishes.
> Vegetables
Not all vegetables freeze well, but some do. Frozen peas are the ultimate freezer standby because, unless you grow them yourself, the process commercial peas go through once picked actually keeps them fresher than the fresh peas you can buy. Frozen spinach is another handy one; it’s inexpensive and can be added to recipes, or served as a quick side dish. Mashed potatoes freeze well in bags – just don’t add cream to them. I also freeze soft herbs like basil, finely chopped, mixed with a little oil and placed in ice-cube trays. These are great for drizzling over bread dough, or added to soups and sauces for a special hit of flavour.
> Meat
One of the biggest time-savers in my freezer is marinated meat, which happily sits until you are ready to use it. Freezing meat in a marinade can actually heighten the flavours. Another great economical tip is that if you find a good price on a certain cut, make sure to buy extra, which can be frozen. Cooked meat also freezes well; chicken and ham can be chopped up and frozen, then defrosted when needed and mixed through pasta, risotto, or even used in pies and curries.
> Eggs
Recipes often call for egg yolks only. Don’t throw out those egg whites: they freeze perfectly and can be stockpiled in resealable freezer bags until you have enough to make meringues! Make sure to keep a note of how many egg whites you have frozen so that you can easily pull out the amount you need. If you do have leftover yolks, these are better suited to storing in the fridge for up to 4 days in a resealable container.
> Fish
Fish freezes well, but bear in mind that oily fish such as mackerel will keep for less time (about 3 months) in the freezer than white fish fillets.
> Wine
Both white and red wine can be frozen, so rather than throwing dregs of bottles down the drain, pour into freezer bags or ice-cube trays. The cubes can then be added to sauces to give a rich flavour.
> Butter wrappers
Call me crazy, but I save these in the freezer, then take them out and warm them between my hands to use for greasing baking tins. Genius or OCD, you decide!
> Soups
Soups freeze extremely well. Make sure your soup is chilled before you place it in the freezer, though, as this will help preserve the texture and flavour. Soups that have been blitzed smooth may split after being defrosted. Don’t panic; just mix them back together using a whisk.
> Parmesan rinds
Leftover Parmesan rinds can be saved in the freezer to be added to soups, stews and sauces for an extra-rich taste.
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT: SAVING LEFTOVERS
Leftovers are an essential ingredient in the armoury of any good home cook. Knowing how to use them will not only save you money but it also means less waste. If you cook on a daily basis, leftover food is an inevitability. From time to time, you may also find yourself left with a bulk amount of one particular ingredient. Knowing what to do with it is important. Here are some of my best tips for using up leftover food and ingredients.
Bread
We’ve all seen what happens to a piece of bread after a week. When I was in school, I had a science project all about mouldy sandwiches; needless to say I didn’t sample the results! However, that mould can be avoided, as bread freezes extremely well, so if you have a loaf that you know you won’t get through, cut it into slices, wrap them in cling film and foil and pop in the freezer. You can then pull out slices and put them straight in the toaster. Bread dough also freezes well – simply follow all the usual stages and after punching down the dough once it’s risen, you can put it in a resealable bag and place in the freezer. To use, simply allow to defrost, then shape the dough and bake in a hot oven. Many recipes call for breadcrumbs and it seems crazy to go out and buy them when you can simply whizz up stale bread in a food processor (or if it’s hard enough you can grate it – a tip from my granny!), pop in a resealable bag and into the freezer for when you need breadcrumbs. Dry bread can also be used for desserts and my mom’s Bread and Butter Orchard Pud is an ideal use for it.
Fruit
Leftover fruit can be used for a variety of dishes. Blackening bananas are ideal for baking; bumped and bruised apples and pears make wonderful pies and tarts; and even the most sorry-looking fruits can be whizzed into healthy juices. Fruit is best used in season and I often find myself with a glut of fruits like strawberries from the garden or blackberries from the hedgerows close to my house. They make great additions to seasonal desserts and are fantastic in jams. I also freeze them for smoothies: brush off any dirt or give them a quick rinse and let them dry before storing in resealable freezer bags. There’s no better kick-start to the day than a handful of frozen berries blitzed with a banana and apple juice in a refreshing smoothie.
Vegetables
Don’t disregard those seemingly lifeless vegetables at the bottom of the fridge: they can be transformed into something beautiful and my first instinct is always to make soup. With a good base of onions and a couple of carrots, you have the beginnings of a warming and worthwhile soup.
The more you cook on a regular basis, the less you need to follow recipes as strictly as before. At this point, you can start putting that kitchen intuition to work and realise that if you are making a bolognaise sauce, for example, you could of course add in a finely chopped carrot, to make use of it. Or use a shallot instead of an onion, or vice versa. The point is to not let those veggies go to waste, thereby saving yourself money.
Meat
Leftover meat can be used in so many different dishes and really is one of the most versatile and handy ingredients. Leftover chicken, beef, lamb and more can help make a meal out of a frittata, salad, pie or stir-fry.
