But hell, I'm used to a decadent life of drinking and eating. Thankfully the home-brew takes care of the drinking however food is another joy in life and I'm not about to downsize to ramen every night.
Here's a couple of my go to dishes when I'm on a budget. They are very easy and super delicious.
Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
Don't freak out. Lentils are actually awesome.
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| Actual photo of the dish made by me, not some pretty picture from a magazine |
Recipe:
1 onion, 2 carrots, garlic, (2 strips of bacon optional)
1 Tablespoon Paprika, Cumin, Turmeric (1/2 teaspoon chili flakes optional)
1.5 L Stock (chicken or vegetable, can replace up to 2 cups with water)
1 Tablespoons of Tomato paste
250g Red lentils
Salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the diced onions and carrots in some oil, whatever you have/like to use. Add bacon if you're that way inclined and garlic (to taste, about 2 teaspoons crushed is nice). Once the veges are soft add all the spices, then when they are nicely cooked add the tomato paste and stir for a bit. Finally add the lentils and stock, bring to the boil, turn down and simmer till lentils are nice and mushy.
So easy and makes 4-5 massive serves. Dish it up with bread or some greek yoghurt or sour cream. Whatever you have is good and even on its own its a stand out meal.
This dish is easily customised to your tastes, add whatever left over veges you have, put in more tomato paste, go nuts with the chilli, add herbs! Just don't leave out the red lentils they give this soup an amazing thick and satisfying texture .
Menemen/Shakshouka
This is basically eggs poached in tomatoes with whatever else you have lying around the kitchen. |
| Yep the actual dish as cooked on my stove. Real life baby. |
Recipe:
2 eggs
Onions, garlic, greens
A bit of butter or oil to cook the veges in
1/2 can of tomatoes
Your favourite herbs/spices that go well with tomato
So just sautee up some onions and garlic and whatever other thinly sliced veges you like, maybe some peppers or some greens. I like baby kale/spinach. You can put in some spices, cumin maybe, chilli or herbs. (I like to spinkle some sumac over the dish at the end).
Add 1/2 a can of diced tomatoes and cook them for a bit, after a while make a hole in the tomato/vege mix and cracked an egg into the gap. Repeat, turn pan to low cover and wait till eggs are cooked.
So easy and looks pretty flash.
