This is a recipe adapted from my second cookbook, A Year In 120 Recipes, using turkey instead of the lamb in the original. I no longer eat meat, and haven’t done for around two years, but my job is to teach people to cook and make the most of what they have on a small budget, and it is impossible to ignore that today of all days, the nation is a nation scrabbling to use up their leftovers. Turkey is an ingredient that has been missing from my kitchen table for quite some time, but the lean nature of it means it works best in long, slow dishes, heavily spiced and flavoured, such as this one. Herbivores, do feel free to replace the turkey with whatever vegetables you have kicking around, instead.

Serves 4 at 34p each

2 large onions, 14p approx (90p/1.5kg, Sainsburys Basics)
4 fat cloves of garlic, 6p (2 bulbs, 35p, Sainsburys Basics)
a pinch of dried chilli, <1p (79p/100g, Natco or KTC)
1 large aubergine or 2 courgettes or a red pepper, 70p (70p/loose aubergine, Sainsburys)
a little ginger, fresh or ground, <1p (79p/100g, Natco or KTC)
2 tbsp oil, 3p (£3/3l, Sainsburys vegetable or sunflower oil)
1/2 tsp cinnamon, <1p (79p/100g, Natco or KTC)
1/2 tsp turmeric, <1p (79p/100g, Natco or KTC)
1 tsp cumin, seeds or ground, 2p (79p/100g, Natco or KTC)
a pinch of salt, <1p (75p/500g, Sainsburys Table Salt)
400g chopped tomatoes, 35p (35p/400g, Sainsburys Basics)
300ml water
300g cooked turkey, or thereabouts

Peel and finely slice the onions. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Dice the aubergine, discarding the green leafy top. Roughly chop the ginger. Toss it all into a large pan, with the oil, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin and salt, and cook on a high heat for around 5 minutes, until the spices start to sizzle, but not burn. Reduce the heat to a low-medium (lower if using a larger hob, higher if using a smaller one) and add the tomatoes and a splash of water. Dice the leftover meat and add to the pan with a splash more water, and cook for around 30 minutes, adding more water as required. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped green herbs, or some extra fried onions, or a good grind of pepper.

This recipe first appeared in A Year In 120 Recipes by Jack Monroe.

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