Student Food

Eating on a tight budget needn't mean an endless diet of baked potatoes topped with baked beans and cheese (although such a meal has a great deal going for it - nutritious, tastes good and is indeed cheap). In fact baked potatoes with all sorts of toppings can be the saviour of the student meal and the student finances, especially when you want something to stick to your ribs so you can go out and spend more money on beer and girls.

A good way of eating well and on-the-cheap is to go to the supermarket and look for those items which are marked down because they're close to the sell-by date and then use them that night (or freeze them if you have a freezer) and put together a good meal on the fly that evening..

Here's a quick and lovely dish, Anchovy Pasta, which will also satisfy veggie friends provided they don't mind some fish. Serves 4.

One large chopped onion.
One clove of garlic (crushed or finely chopped)
One tin of anchovies in oil.
Two tins of whole plum tomatoes.
Tablespoon (tsp) of olive oil or vegetable oil (or Flora or similar).
Tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley or shredded basil. NB. Buying fresh herbs in pots isn't a luxury - they will grow happily on a windowsill for weeks provided you make sure some growth continues). You can substitute these in this meal with a dried bay leaf.
Tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
A second tablespoon of oil.
Pepper to taste.
Enough pasta for your needs - one fist-full of spaghetti per diner should do it but it's a personal thing.

What to do:

Get a medium sized saucepan and warm a tablespoon of oil in it.
When it's hot add the onions and lower the heat and cook till soft but not browned, moving the onion around a bit from time-to-time with a wooden spoon.
When soft add the garlic and let that cook for a couple of minutes but DON'T let it brown (tastes disgusting).
Add the anchovies whole, but discard the oil (our dog loves anchovy oil on his dog cereal) and stir them around for a bit with a wooden spoon until they start to break up.
Add the two tins of whole of tomatoes and give it a gentle stir, try not to break the toms up.
Put on a low heat and allow to simmer gently for up to one hour, although it will be OK after a half hour.
After an hour add the RW vinegar, the second spoon of olive oil and the chopped herb or the bay. Let it all simmer for a while longer whilst you boil up a generous pot of water then add the pasta to the water and bring back to the boil, lower the heat so that the pasta is boiling gently and separate it with a fork. Try a bit after 5-10 minutes and if it's soft but still has bit of bite (a little hardness) remove from the pot, pour it into a sieve or colander and run it under hot tap water. Put the colander-full of pasta back over the pot and add a knob of butter or Flora or whatever and mix it in - cover to keep warm.
Break up the tomatoes in the sauce with a fork, add a pinch of pepper and a few more chopped herbs if you wish.
Put the pasta on warmed bowls, pour over a generous glug of the sauce and serve with Parmesan (or cheddar cheese - grated), pepper and garnish with a sprig of parsley or anything green and edible.
Scoff.

Thought for Food

I'm going to start blogging here again after a long break. Why? Because my son is going to university in the fall/autumn and I think it would be a nice gift to send him there with thoughts on food and some easy, practical and delicious recipes; plus a few good utensils.

Here we go:

Steak and Chips and Salad.

I agree with Nigel Slater that in terms of taste rump steak makes it every time. Filet is lovely for texture but even then a well cooked rump can hold its own against all but the very best filet in the texture dept. And steak and chips is such a simple but impressive dish and can be knocked out so quickly if you're on the way out for the evening but want to line your stomach too.

Serves 4.

4 rump steaks - each one about the size of your hand. Buying these from a good butcher is best but supermarket steaks are improving in quality.
One red onion or 10 shallots, chopped fine.
Salad of choice - you can make your own, tomato, mozarella and fresh basil is nice or just buy a pack of ready-washed green and herb salad for 99p at the supermarket. Drizzle the salad with oil and balsamic vinegar.
Chopped fresh parsley to garnish. This really makes a difference to the look of the dish.

Chips. If you are brave and don't mind the smell of cooking oil you can make your own chips by peeling and slicing as many potatoes as you might need (one good size one pp) then deep frying them. It's easier to use good quality oven chips (Tesco's finest are fine).

What to do:

Warm some plates up in the grill or whatever.

Barbequeing is, to my mind the best way to cook steak, but grilling or frying is fine too. Light the barbie and the oven. When the oven is hot place the chips on a baking tray and pop them in the oven. They usually take 20 - 25 minutes. If they're done before the steaks you can turn the oven down to 1 and keep them warm.

When the barbie is down to glowing coals (no flame) put a pan on, add the onions drenched in oil and let them cook. When they start to get brown you can then put the steaks on the barbie. For medium let the steaks cook for two or three minutes per side and press them down on to the grill as this will create that attractive char-grilled bar look. DON'T turn them over too soon as they'll tear and leave bits on the grill. For rare or 'blue' (very rare) one to two minutes per side is good. If the onions are done pop them in the oven or somewhere else to keep warm

If you are grilling/frying the same procedure as above but try to get the grill or the frying pan very hot before you do the steaks. Frying needs a little oil in the pan.

When they're done put the steaks on to the warmed plates and spoon over the the onion. Add the chips and then sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with mustard, horseradish or other sauce on the side. Eat.

Note: If you're up for it you can marinade the steaks a few hours before. Marinading tenderises them. Put 4 or 5 tablespoons of good olive oil in a big dish. Add the juice of one lemon. Add finely chopped garlic and a teaspoon of whatever chopped fresh herb you might have around - parsley, coriander or basil are good.