Caitriona Redmond: Make the most of ingredients on a budget with shakshuka or taco fries
Taco Fries - a pocket-friendly take on comfort-food. Picture: Ella Olsson
The most difficult thrifty concept to get my head around is that I am not ‘going without’.
Despite being careful with my money, I still feel hard done by when I have to sacrifice something fun or drop an item from the list to stick to my budget. There are constant reminders, particularly at this time of the year, that I covet lovely things in the shops, events, restaurants, or nights out to enjoy.
I often refer to living on a budget as a journey of exploration, and it’s very apt. When I started, I denied myself whatever didn’t match my ideal of being frugal. I made elaborate efforts to concoct ‘fakeaways’ so the family wouldn’t feel like they were going without the odd takeaway.
Looking back on it now, I realise how much pressure I was putting myself under to recreate those meals. I’d spend hours in the kitchen preparing and cooking only to have a heap of cleaning in the kitchen in the aftermath. Worrying about money is wearing enough; who needs to pile on the extra physical load after a mental load? Not me, although I didn’t realise it at the time.
I’ve stopped making time-consuming fakeaways and instead focus on making the most of my ingredients. I want the food to be so vibrant and tasty that I don’t feel like I’ve made a poor facsimile of a meal I wish somebody else had cooked for me (and cleaned up afterwards!).
Having a mindset that I am making a change and have the potential to save money is radically different to feeling hard-done by. I’m embracing this new mindset on this money-saving journey I’m taking. Who knows where this new direction may take me?
I find that an online delivery order is the best way to stick to my budget. For me, it’s far too tempting to pick up special offers when I’m faced with them in person. If I approach the online shop with a set amount, I juggle around the virtual basket to meet my goal.
Okay, I still have to pay the delivery fee, but €3 for an inconvenient hour on a Saturday night fit the bill literally and figuratively last week. Saturday nights in my house are about raucous board games and family time.
As the days get shorter and darker, that delivery fee saves me money and time; keeping me from temptation is a bonus. Consider placing a value on your time; €3 prevents me from spending too much at the supermarket, and I gain at least another 90 minutes back to do something else at the weekend.
Taco Fries
Making the most of stock or widely-available ingredients with a comfort-food fave!
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
2 hours 15 minsTotal Time
2 hours 25 minsCourse
MainCuisine
AmericanIngredients
For the sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 peppers, chopped
1 tsp each of salt, ground cumin, garlic powder, and paprika
2 tbsp tomato puree
100g split yellow peas or red lentils (either is acceptable, or a combination of both works too)
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tin of chickpeas (including the water)
1 carton of tomato passata
1 tsp runny honey
For the Taco Fries:
1kg of baby potatoes or sweet potatoes
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp each of paprika and onion salt (optional)
2 scallions/spring onions chopped
100g grated Cheddar cheese (optional)
2 limes
To serve:
Guacamole
Salsa or coconut yoghurt
Method
Place a large saucepan a medium heat. Into the saucepan, add the olive oil, onion, and peppers. Stir for about 3 minutes so that they start to soften.
Next, add the ground spices and the tomato puree. Stir, so the puree begins to cook in the heat, and coat the peppers and onions. Pour in the split peas and stir well, so they are covered in the sauce mixture. Stir for 2-3 minutes, and then add all the remaining ingredients. Stir one more time and wait until the sauce starts to simmer. Cover the saucepan and turn the heat to low. Cook the sauce on low for 90 mins.
After 90 mins, turn your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Slice the baby potatoes into quarters. Toss the sliced baby potatoes in a large bowl with sunflower oil and spices. Put the coated baby potatoes onto a non-stick oven tray and roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
Serve the cooked homemade potato wedges/fries with spoonfuls of the sauce on top. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese and chopped scallions on top of the sauce; finally, add a wedge of lime on the side of the dish and enjoy while piping hot. Don’t forget you should keep half of your dressing for the second meal the following day! The cheddar cheese is optional; if you are making this a vegan dish, leave it out.
As this dish doesn’t have any meat or dairy, the sauce will be stored in a sealed container in your fridge for up to 4 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the sauce for another time, and it will keep in the deep freeze for up to 3 months once it’s stored correctly.
To make a simple and delicious shakshuka meal (baked eggs), you’ll need half of the sauce for the taco fries. Although to be fair, you could make this first and the taco fries second if you wanted to!
I use small baking dishes for everyone in the family, so each person gets a word with sauce and one egg. However, if you don’t have these, you can bake this meal in a large ovenproof baking dish and dole out the individual portions once cooked.
Shakshuka (Baked Eggs)
Serve up on small plates, or let diners pick from a big pan
Servings
4Preparation Time
15 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
MainCuisine
AfricanIngredients
Half of the Taco Fries sauce recipe (see 'Taco Fries' in ieFood)
5 eggs
A handful of fresh coriander
1 large lime cut into wedges
Crusty bread or pitta bread
Method
Preheat a fan oven to 160°C. Spoon the sauce into a large oven-proof baking dish. Put the baking dish into the oven for about 10-15 minutes (this allows the sauce to warm through). Using a large spoon, make 5 pockets/dimples in the sauce and immediately crack an egg into each space. Cover the baking dish with a large saucepan lid or tinfoil—Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Serve your shakshuka/baked eggs with torn coriander leaves on top, crusty bread for dunking into the sauce, and a wedge of lime on the side to give it an extra sour kick.
You might remember that last week I mentioned that the price of milk had increased in two of the leading supermarkets. Unfortunately, I can confirm that it has increased by 10c to €1.15 per litre everywhere.
The competition for Christmas grocery delivery slots is fierce, so I’m here to give you plenty of advance notice for booking supermarkets this week.
Dunnes Stores delivery spaces are already open along with click-and-collect. At the time of writing, the final delivery available from my closest store was Tuesday, 20th December, with click-and-collect spaces up until Christmas Eve.
With a tiered entry for customers, starting on Wednesday next (16th November), Tesco delivery saver customers plus click-and-collect slots become available. Delivery dates for all other customers open the following week, five weeks in advance. If you’re unfamiliar with Tesco’s delivery saver programme, it’s a paid delivery scheme that keeps costs as low as €7.50 a month for midweek orders. It also guarantees early access to those who want to book a Christmas delivery. The minimum signup period is 3 months.
On checking my local SuperValu, click-and-collect and deliveries are available until the 23rd of December. The cost of picking up my shopping is €3, and the cost of delivery is €8.
Lidl doesn’t offer a delivery service, although you may be able to book a personal shopper via the app BuyMeIE. Likewise, Aldi doesn’t do deliveries; they have a click-and-collect available from some stores, but when I last checked, their Christmas slots were not yet open.
