Despite the wide array of dishes they’re good for, new potatoes have become irretrievably synonymous with potato salad. Frugalfeeding has played its sordid part in this affair, offering only a few new potato recipes, most of which are potato salads (see my Samphire and New Potato Salad and New Potato, Spring Onion and Wild Garlic Salad). However, this is a little unrepresentative – new potatoes are magical and should be experienced in as many different forms as possible. This egg hash, for instance, takes left over roasted new potatoes – wonderful things in themselves – and turns them into a breakfast/lunch to be marvelled at!

Hash isn’t something you often see in Britain – we’re definitely more full fried breakfast people. This needs to change, or we should at the very least incorporate hash into the Full English Breakfast. Of course, hash browns are regularly consumed before midday in our fair isle, but they’re not really the same thing. Hash eggs are the real deal; filling, flavoursome and simple – you can’t go far wrong.

As usual, I’ve tried to go as simple as possible with this dish letting each component sing. The wonderful flavour of the new potatoes works very well with the yolk of the eggs – dip them, you won’t regret it. However, feel free to jazz this particular number up any way you please. Cheese wouldn’t be out of place if you like that sort of thing and a couple of rashers of bacon would transform it into quite the meaty feast.

Do you have any experimental hash recipes lying around? If you do I’d be most interested to hear about them! Just reply in the comments below, or send me an e-mail.

If you’re reading this soon after it’s published I’m probably on the plane to Spain – see you next week for some more frugal food. In the meantime, if you’d like to follow my Iberian progress you can check out the frugalfeeding Facebook and Twitter pages!

Egg Hash

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

• 300g left over roast potatoes, halved

• Oil

• Two eggs

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs

• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Heat up a generous amount of oil – one without too much flavour – in a heavy based pan. Once sizzling hot add the potatoes and crisp on every side.

2. Crack in the eggs and whack under the grill for a couple of minutes until cooked but still runny. Sprinkle over some fresh herbs, season and enjoy!

Cost: Potatoes are always good value for money, even new potatoes. Try going to your local grocers for eggs, they might be far cheaper – we buy half a dozen free-range eggs for £1.10. Taking both of these things into account, this dish should set you back no more than £1!

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Risotto is a dish unbound by season. As with minestrone (see me recipes for autumn and spring), the best seasonal produce can be used to great effect in this famous Italian rice dish. There is no ingredient on earth that can’t be put to bewilderingly good use in risotto, a fact that makes it very special and probably unique. Indeed, to celebrate the beginning of the British tomato season, this recipe for Tomato and Basil Risotto makes full use of the fruit’s flavour, texture and colour. Delicious is an understatement.

It can be tricky to know when to add tomatoes to a dish. For instance, if you add them at the beginning they tend to break down and form a sweet sauce, whereas if you add them near the end they retain most of their juicy plumpness and bite. When preparing a dish based on fresh tomatoes I always have a good ponder about what the end result should be – planning ahead like this is a must. In the case of this Tomato and Basil Risotto I thought it best to go somewhere in between sauce and fresh. Doing so means the tomato colours the risotto and conveys some of its sweetness, which works very well with the basil, while also providing little pockets of juicy deliciousness in every mouthful.

Tomato and basil is a timeless combination – the sweetness and fragrance of each of them simply works so well in tandem. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the arrival of summer weather than this risotto. Having said that, do you have any combinations you feel would top this? Impress me!

Tomato and Basil Risotto

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 350g arborio rice, or similar

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed

• Olive oil

• 1.2 litres chicken stock

• 200ml white wine, preferably dry

• 400g fresh cherry or small plum tomatoes, halved

• A handful of basil, roughly torn

• 50g salted butter

• A handful of parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Begin by sautéing the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Once translucent add the rice and cook for a minute or so, stirring frequently. Add the wine and cook out, begin adding the stock one ladle at a time stirring all the while.

2. Once two thirds of the stock has been used add the tomatoes, keep stirring and adding the stock until the rice is al dente. Throw in the basil, butter and cheese and set aside (off the heat) with the lid on for 3 minutes. Season and serve with a little extra basil.

Cost: The great thing about tomatoes starting to come into season is that they can be bought for an extremely reasonable price. We got around 800g of cherry tomatoes for £1.50, a price not to be sniffed at. As such, this dish should set you back no more than around £4.

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Mystery surrounds the existence of Aussie Crunch; my meagre research suggests that it may be of British origin – it can be found with alternating success is some bakeries – but as far as I can tell, it’s not particularly well known in Australia. Perhaps no one has thought to inform the Aussies of their namesake, so I shall take up that baton (some of you lot must be from Down Under!). Still, they ought to be proud to have such a devilish and delicious snack named after them.

Full of chocolate, butter and sugar, Aussie crunch isn’t exactly favoured by those conscious of health. Even I was a little perplexed by the quantity of not-so-beneficial constituents being poured into the mixing bowl. However, the effect of such decadence proved extremely favourable – as you can imagine. These are enough to rival the best rocky road, brownie or tiffin around!

I’m sure you’ll agree that this is a rather interesting recipe – it contains both coconut and cornflakes after all. However, the overall effect is magical – it is both a pleasure on the tongue, but crumbly and cakey all at the same time. There really isn’t anything else quite like Aussie Crunch. It’s a great alternative to other chocolate-based snacks, particularly as it’s rather unknown and is therefore likely to pique the interest of visitors! As it happens, I’m really rather intrigued as to whether any of you have heard of this shadowy treat?

Aussie Crunch

Makes 1 20cmx20cm cake tin (around 12)

Ingredients:

• 220g butter

• 100g caster sugar

• 2 tbsp golden syrup

• 80g desiccated coconut

• 75g crushed cornflakes

• 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder

• 150g self raising flour

• 250g dark chocolate, melted

Method:

1. Grease your cake tin and preheat the oven to 180C. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the sugar, syrup, cocoa powder, coconut and flour. Mix thoroughly.

2. Tip this into your prepared tin and level. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Leave to cool before covering with the chocolate and cutting into squares/rectangles/triangles.

Cost: Though rather divine and extremely decadent, these Aussie Crunch bars aren’t exactly costly. Indeed, the entire batch should set you back no more than around £3.20.

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Over the past couple of years it seems as though the entire would has gone quinoa crazy – that is, except my kitchen. The way people rave on about the tiny seeds you’d think they’d saved everyone’s dear old mother from a fate worse than death. However, despite being annoyingly miniscule and susceptible to static (rendering their transportation from one vessel to another unreasonably difficult) quinoa is both delicious and wonderfully nutritious. A good source of complete protein, quinoa was a fundamental part of pre-Colombian Andean civilisation – the Incas, for instance, thought it sacred.

In all honesty, I received this bag of quinoa in the post from the lovely Somer, the curator and vegan enthusiast of Vedged Out. Consequently, I’ve still not bought or even picked up a bag of the stuff at a supermarket. Somer knew that quinoa had never graced the virtual folds of frugalfeeding, so she took it upon herself to perform a stroke of comic genius and post me a bag all the way from America in a move that was FAR from frugal. Still, since your quinoa is unlikely to be personally mailed to you across the Atlantic, it has been assumed that using it is perhaps frugal, particularly considering its nutritional value.

Being somewhat similar to other grain-like ingredients (couscous, bulgur wheat and barley) quinoa is impressively versatile. It can be used well in a variety of dishes such as Tabbouleh, as well as more hearty bowls of food such as this. Indeed, most grains or small pastas are virtually interchangeable in every dish, with each grain bringing a small twist to the flavour party. Quinoa, for instance, is a rather nutty seed with a somewhat distinctive flavour and texture. This uniqueness alone makes it a worthy addition to every pantry – do you have a favourite way to prepare quinoa?

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 150g quinoa

• 2 courgettes, finely chopped

• Half a butternut squash, cubed

• 2 red onions, roughly sliced

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 3 tbsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (mint, parsley, coriander, basil)

• 1 tsp whole cumin seed

• 1 tsp whole coriander seed

• 30g butter (or oil if vegan)

• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Chop and pop the squash and red onions in the oven at 170C until soft and browned. Rinse your quinoa thoroughly and simmer for 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, sauté the courgettes and garlic in a pan with the butter and a little olive oil (this stops the butter burning). Toast your seeds, grind and add them along with the cooked quinoa to the courgettes, followed by the roasted vegetables and fresh herbs. Season liberally and enjoy thoroughly.

Cost: Quinoa isn’t the cheapest seed/grain on the market. However, if you shop around you can find it for a reasonable price. The lowest I’ve seen is around £1.30 for 300g. As such, this is a rather frugal affair and can be made for no more than £2.50.

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Avocado is one of the more interesting fruits out there; it has three distinct parts – the “stone”, flesh and skin – none of which seem to be particularly well attached to one another. The flesh is particularly fascinating and is, to the best of my knowledge, somewhat unique in the world of fruit in that it is rich in fats and protein. Indeed, it wouldn’t be unfair to label it the meatiest of all fruits, which as a result of its substantial texture and almost savoury flavour works well in all manner of dishes that other fruits might not. They say bacon goes with anything and everything – this isn’t true… but it does pair well with avocado.

We’re often a little unfair to avocado in the sense that we see it as something of a one trick pony. If someone mentions avocado, it’s likely that your next thought is going to be on the topic of guacamole. Indeed, it’s it features in only one other recipe on frugal feeding – a travesty perhaps, but understandable nonetheless. However, avocado is a delicious fruit and can be used in so many ways. So, if you have any fabulous suggestions about what I can do with future avocados I’d be more than pleased to add them to my repertoire. See what you can come up with!

By the way, I’m sorry that I haven’t been blogging delightful new recipes as often as I should – life is a little manic and tiring at the moment!

Bacon Topped Avocado on Toast

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado

• 2 rashers of good quality bacon

• A handful of basil

• Two slices of bread, toasted

• 10g butter

• Oil

Method:

1. Heat your butter and a little oil in a heavy based frying pan until searing hot. Add the bacon and cook on both sides until crispy.

2. Slice your avocado and layer it on two slices of toast. Top with the bacon and scatter a few leaves of basil over the top.

Cost: Avocados are more or less in season between the months of spring and autumn. As such, they can be had at a reasonable price most of the year – do a little shopping round you may even get 2 for £1. Consequently, this fantastic lunch for two can be had for little more than £1.70.

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Syrups (honey included) are a great way of sweetening and flavouring cake. Their viscous nature and generally rich flavour enhances almost any sponge far more than most sugars. Their use is a fool-proof way to ensure a moist, dense and well-textured crumb, as well as a deep, almost burnished flavour, which is likely to satisfy even the most ardent sponge sniffers in your neighbourhood. Syrup, in my opinion, also does away with the need for overly sweetened layers of icing, which usually have the effect of drowning the natural flavour of your sponge in a little too much decadence. Any syrup you can think of will work well here (except perhaps corn syrup), particularly golden syrup or maple syrup.

You may have noticed that I’m rather keen on golden syrup, though it has been brought to my attention time and time again that many of you don’t really know what it is – I guess it doesn’t really exist on the other side of the pond. Golden syrup is technically pale treacle, produced by refining – inverting – sugar cane juice to produce a sugar. By far the largest producer of golden syrup in Britain, and probably the world, is Tate & Lyle, first founded in 1881 (though it was known simply as Lyle’s until 1921).

By the way, today is World Baking Day, so get baking and sharing – everyone appreciates a slice of cake or two (three). You know, this wouldn’t be a bad place to start – if I can make it, you certainly can!

Syrup Sponge Cake

Makes one 20 x 20cm tray cake

Ingredients:

• 125ml of syrup, golden or maple

• 30g caster sugar

• 110g butter

• 50g ground almonds

• 2 eggs

• 200g self-raising flour

Method:

1. Grease and line your cake tin, heating the oven to 170C. Melt together the syrup, sugar and butter over a low heat. Beat in the eggs and almonds before folding in the flour and pouring into the prepared tin.

2. Bake the cake for around 40 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out. Cut into squares and enjoy with a healthy dollop of ice cream.

Cost: Considering everything it offers, syrup is a very reasonably priced ingredient. However, readers in Britain are unlikely to use maple syrup as it can be a little more costly than golden syrup and is probably better saved for pancakes! Still, this cake should set you back around £1.80.

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Rice pudding is something of a British institution, served up in insipid and stodgy piles in school canteens up and down the land. Yet the inhabitants of these great isles by and large look upon the non-descript white mass that inhabited the pudding bowls of their formative years through some kind of ironic rose-tinted haze, as though nostalgia alone were enough to carry short grain rice into the upper echelons of the pudding hierarchy. Happily, this isn’t always the case and an increasing number of recipes are proving that rice pudding can be incredible – with this rendition I’d happily claim the proof is in the pudding!

One of the problems with an average rice pudding is that it is usually a little watery and flavourless. Semi-skimmed milk is not an option here – if you’re going to make rice pudding you need to go all out. Using a very rich milk will yield an extremely delicious and creamy pudding – it’s a worthy sacrifice. Golden syrup has a similar effect, helping to thicken the sauce and improve the flavour on a fundamental level with a slightly burnished sweetness, in some way making up for the lack of skin – more on that below!

There are two popular ways of preparing rice pudding; you can either boil it or bake it. Boiling your pudding rice will yield a sort of smooth rice porridge which will go down without any trouble whatsoever. The baked version requires a little more thought as it’ll be a bit thicker and have a delicious, brown skin that children have been fighting over for centuries (probably because for most of that time it’s been the only tasty part of a rice pudding). Baked rice pudding also takes a great deal of time (2 hours) – the recipe below is certainly suited to those of you in a hurry. How do you eat yours?

Golden Syrup Rice Pudding

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 70g pudding rice

• 568ml (1 pint) full cream milk

• 40g butter

• 2 tbsp golden syrup

• Whole nutmeg, grated

Method:

1. Place you rice, milk, butter and syrup in a saucepan, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve once thick, creamy and soft through with a little freshly grated nutmeg.

Cost: This entire dessert which would easily provide a reasonable portion for four should set you back a mere £1 – good ol’ frugal British traditions!

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Shaped like a grain of rice but with the textural qualities of pasta, it’s easy to see why orzo is such a versatile ingredient. Indeed, whether in a casserole, salad or “risotto”, orzo performs admirably, adding a touch of lightness and a smooth texture to every dish. One of its finest qualities, however, is just how quickly it can be prepared. From start to finish this fresh herb salad should only take you 10 minutes to prepare, making it a great choice for anyone who’s in something of a rush.

The grain shape of orzo makes it particularly effective in sauce based dishes, or those with a dressing. It tends to be the case that the larger the surface area of pasta, the better it “holds” sauce between each piece. For instance, this salad contains plenty of olive oil mixed with a twist of lemon juice and the orzo does a great job of suspending that vinaigrette and preventing it from falling uselessly to the bottom of the salad bowl. However, if you’re finding it a little tricky to find orzo – it can be – macaroni or fusilli would be a great way of getting around that.

As you can see from the ingredients list below this is a very simple salad – I enjoy simplicity. However, the great thing about food is that everyone has a different opinion on how things ought to be done. Try toasting a few roughly chopped pine nuts and scattering them into the salad bowl with a smidge of parmesan for a slightly richer, more complex flavour. Whichever way you choose to serve this salad, a good quality olive oil and plenty of punchy herbs will ensure it’s a delicious experience for all.

Local connection: Eat Drink Bristol Fashion, a superb little food festival will be running in Queen’s Square, Bristol from 13th – 27th May. Featuring some of the region’s top chefs, the pop up restaurant, cafe and music venue aims to showcase the best culinary experiences Bristol has to offer. Tickets seems to be selling out pretty quickly, so if you want to get in on the action now’s the time to get the ball rolling (the organic Sunday carvery courtesy of the Pony & Trap seems to be a particularly good deal with prices starting from £10). However, if you’re feeling obnoxiously lucky head over to the event’s Facebook page before May 17th to enter for free tickets to the event.

Orzo and Fresh Herb Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 200g orzo pasta

• 4-5 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

• A twist of lemon juice

• 5-6 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs – basil, mint, coriander, parsley or chives

• 10-12 cherry tomatoes quartered

• ½ tsp salt

• A little black pepper

Method:

1. Bring your orzo to the boil in a pan of salted water. Add your finely chopped herbs, oil, salt and pepper to a large salad bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. Once the orzo is tender drain it and rinse it with cold water until cool – this will have the added effect of removing excess starch. Add the pasta and tomatoes to the herbs, mix thoroughly and serve.

Cost: Good quality olive oil is expensive, there’s no getting around that. However, a great idea is to have an olive pomace oil blend on hand for frying and baking – keep the extra virgin for drizzling. Indeed, a bottle of good olive oil can last a long time if used sensibly. Indeed, this salad should set you back no more than around £1!

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As far as root vegetables go, celeriac performs rather admirably as a base ingredient for soup – its creamy texture makes for a very satisfying spoonful, while its strong flavour pairs favourably with all manner of foods. The robust flavourings of Thai cuisine, in particular, combine remarkably well with this enlarged hypocotyl (celeriac isn’t actually a root, though it does have them) – hence this particular recipe.

It has to be said that creamy soups are by far my favourite – give me something smooth and silken to eat and you’re likely to have one happy Welshman on your rather unfortunate hands – providing your offering is also delicious. In my previous recipe for celeriac soup – which I’m pleased to say had proved very popular – I added a little single cream. However, I found that with this rendition a pint or so of whole milk sufficed, lowering the fat content and perhaps even improving the texture – a large amount of whole milk is probably more effective than a small amount of single cream. You may consider milk to be a rather interesting ingredient for soup, but go with me on this one – it works very well indeed.

If you’re looking to enjoy the unadulterated flavour of celeriac, or something a little less spicy please see my previous recipe for celeriac soup.

Thai Celeriac Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 celeriac, cubed

• 2 small potatoes, cubed

• 2 onions, finely sliced

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped

• 1-2 chillies, with seeds

• A handful of fresh coriander/basil

• 1 stick of lemongrass, finely sliced

• The juice of a lime

• 1 pint of whole milk

• A little water

• Salt and pepper

• Olive oil

• Oil of your choice as a drizzle

Method:

1. Begin by frying the onions followed by the potatoes and celeriac in a generous drizzle of olive oil – cook until starting to brown. Meanwhile pop the garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander/basil, lemongrass and lime juice in a food processor and whizz until you have a paste.

2. Stir the paste into the browned vegetables, cook for a few minutes before adding the milk – top up with water if necessary. Simmer until the vegetables have softened through before blending into a smooth soup. Season to taste and drizzle with an oil of your choice before indulging.

Cost: If you do a little shopping around every ingredient on the above recipe can be purchased at a very reasonable price. Indeed, this soup – which should be enough for six – should set you back no more than around £2.30 – wonderful!

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Udon are a type of thick white Japanese noodle, made of wheat flour and most commonly used in soup – kake udon – though they have many other applications besides. Yaki udon simply means ‘fried udon’ and it can be made according to many different recipes – no two recipes for yaki udon that I’ve seen have been the same. This fact makes it a perfect candidate for culinary exploration and experimentation. However, in this case I thought it best to go for a simple seasoning of soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil as it has yet to fail in the flavour department.

When using udon noodles always buy them fresh; all of the dried packets of udon I’ve seen are flat and boring – not at all what an udon noodle ought to be like. Most packets of fresh udon that I’ve come across purport to be ‘straight-to-wok’ – don’t listen to it! It’s always best to soak your udon in boiling water before use as it makes for a lighter, fresher meal. Every noodle in a stir fry needs to be autonomous, particularly when it comes to the thicker varieties – it can be very off-putting to be served a bowl of noodles which are clinging to one another as if holding on to their very lives.

Prawns make a great addition to yaki udon as they both possess a certain delicacy of touch and flavour. You may think that prawns are a little expensive to be featured on a so-called ‘frugal’ blog – not so! Shop around and it is a scientific certainty that you’ll stumble across a cheap source sooner rather than later. Besides, each bowl of noodles only requires 5-6 prawns – any more than that and it’s likely that someone’s being a little greedy!

How ever you wish to enjoy your yaki udon, give my basic seasoning a go – it won’t disappoint, I promise!

Yaki Udon

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 200g fresh udon noodles

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

• 1 fresh chilli, finely sliced

• 4-5 florets of purple sprouting broccoli, stalks and all

• 10-12 prawns (shrimp)

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp fish sauce

Method:

1. Prepare all of your ingredients, separating the broccoli stalks from the flowers – slicing the stalks into small pieces. Pop the noodles in a bowl of boiling hot water to separate.

2. Add the oil to a very hot wok, add the garlic and chilli, followed by the broccoli stalks and prawns, cook for a minute. Add the broccoli flowers and noodles, followed by the fish sauce and soy sauce. Cook and toss for a further 2 minutes, ensuring everything is coated with the sauce.

Cost: Purple sprouting broccoli always seems to be rather expensive, but if you use the stalks it’s easy to get 5-6 meals out of every bunch. As mentioned above, prawns can be found for a very reasonable price if you search around. Indeed, this may seem like a rather luxurious dish – and it is – but can be made for very little money – £1.60 for two portions!

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