If you’re the sort of person who likes their shopping list short and their washing-up even shorter, then welcome back to Budget Bites – the series that’s all about belt-tightening without joy-stripping. Created with the clever cooks at Sorted Food, this is our answer to the cost of living crisis: three recipes, one shop and zero faff.
This latest instalment is a spring fling with fish – three fresh, pescatarian plates that lean into the season and out of your overdraft. We’re talking smoked mackerel with enough umami to make your eyes roll back, beetroot that does double duty as a salad star and bruschetta topper, and a baked ricotta so creamy you’ll forget it’s basically a health food.
These dishes are proof that eating well doesn’t mean spending big – and yes, we’ve kept the dreaded pile of pans to a minimum.
Shopping list
Fresh produce
- 500g cooked Beetroot
- 2 lemons
- 5 cloves garlic
- 30g fresh parsley
- 20g fresh dill
- 80g watercress
Fish
Dairy
Pantry staples
- 7 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 200g dried pasta
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
Tinned and jarred goods
- 390g tinned green lentils
- 50g tinned anchovies
- 40g dried panko breadcrumbs
Bakery
Zingy smoked mackerel pasta
Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
40g dried panko breadcrumbs
200g dried pasta
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp chilli flakes
120g smoked mackerel fillet
20g tinned anchovies
Half a lemon
10g fresh dill
15g fresh parsley
Method:
- Fill a kettle and put it on to boil – this will be for your pasta later. Tip 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium frying pan and place it over a medium heat. Line a plate with a kitchen towel.
- Once the oil starts to shimmer and loosen, tip in 40g of breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes, tossing regularly until golden brown. Once ready, transfer to your lined plate.
- Tip 200g of pasta into a medium saucepan along with a generous pinch of salt and place over a high heat. Pour in enough water to cover from the kettle and cook for 8-10 minutes until the pasta is cooked but still has a slight bite – al dente.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the frying pan from earlier and place it back over a medium heat. While the oil heats up, peel and thinly slice 5 cloves of garlic.
- Once the oil starts to shimmer and loosen, chuck in the garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan regularly until the slices start to become golden at the edges.
- Tip in 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes and flake 1.5 fillets of mackerel and 20g of anchovies straight into the pan with the garlic. Fry everything together for 1-2 minutes to heat the fish through.
- Take the pan off the heat, then finely grate in the zest of half a lemon and squeeze in half the juice. Finely chop 10g of dill and 15g of parsley. Chuck them in too.
- Once the pasta has cooked, drain through a colander and return to the pan. Tip in the sauce – it doesn’t matter if some of the pasta cooking water gets left over. Toss everything together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide the pasta between plates and spoon over your toasted crumbs from earlier. Dive in!
Quick beetroot and mackerel bruschetta
Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
250g cooked beetroot
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 ciabatta (1x 250g)
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
50g watercress
Half a lemon
120g smoked mackerel fillet
10g fresh dill
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220C and line a medium baking tray with tin foil.
- Cut 250g of beetroot into even-sized wedges and tumble them onto the lined tray. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of honey, then give everything a mix on the tray to coat the beets.
- Spread everything out to an even layer on the tray and roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until piping hot throughout and slightly darker in colour.
- Slice 1 ciabatta in half lengthwise and whack onto a small baking tray cut-side up. 5 minutes before the beetroot has cooked, chuck the bread into the oven to warm through and crisp up in places.
- Mix 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of mustard in a small mixing bowl. Season to taste with pepper and set aside for serving later.
- While the bread warms through, chuck 50g of watercress into a large mixing bowl. Finely grate over the zest from half a lemon and squeeze in half the juice. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the leaves, toss everything together and season to taste with salt.
- Spread the mayo mix onto the warmed ciabatta and spoon on the roasted beetroot. Flake over 1.5 fillets of mackerel. Serve.
Lentil beetroot and baked ricotta salad
Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
250g ricotta
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
390g tinned green lentils
250g cooked beetroot
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
30g tinned anchovies
1 lemon
30g watercress
15g fresh parsley
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220C and line a small baking tray with baking paper.
- Plonk 250g of ricotta onto the tray straight from the packet, keeping it intact. Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Season with a generous pinch of salt, then whack the ricotta into the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden in places.
- Drain one 390g tin of lentils through a sieve and rinse under running water. Shake off any excess moisture and chuck into a large mixing bowl. Coarsely grate in 250g of cooked beetroot, then dollop in 1 tablespoon of mustard and 30g of anchovy fillets. Finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon and squeeze in the juice.
- Chuck in 30g of watercress and pour in 2 tablespoons of oil. Finely chop 10g of parsley.
- Chuck the parsley into the bowl and toss everything together with a very generous pinch of salt. If you’re still waiting for your ricotta, now would be a good time to wash up your board, knife and grater.
- Divide the lentil salad between plates and plonk half a baked ricotta onto each mound. Scatter over the remaining parsley, then serve.
In response to the rising cost of living, we have teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month. Find out more about Sorted and their nifty meal-planning app Sidekick at sortedfood.com/sidekick.
