All posts tagged: Food

Cherry & White Chocolate Bake, 21p

Published by Jack

I made this adaptation of my original – and very popular – Peach Traybake from A Girl Called Jack, last weekend for Mrs J’s local cycling club. She reported back that it had all vanished within minutes; the most popular of the three cakes at the tea stop by far. I was very chuffed – although I had also made the other two as well! Recipes for those to follow later – for now, please enjoy this utter delight. I used defrosted frozen cherries as they come ready pitted and are cheaper than fresh ones (I long for the careless frivolity of being able to spend both time and money hurling fresh cherries into cakes!) but tinned cherries and glace cherries work just as well. I’ll also be posting a vegan edition later down the line using applesauce in place of the eggs; I just want to test it first as this is a particularly moist cake so I’ve a feeling it won’t be a straight simple swap and that the other ingredients may need …

Beet Wellington, £1.34 [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

This is one of my more difficult recipes, but I approach it in stages, treating the duxelles as a separate recipe on its own and making it in advance to lessen the workload a little. I can promise you that the end result is completely worth it – a vegan ‘special occasion’ dinner for Sunday roasts, festive feasts, date nights, or any other occasion where you really want to push the boat out. I have made many a vegetarian wellington, ranging from whole flat portobello mushrooms wrapped in spinach, to a black bean and chestnut version, but my favourite by far is this beet wellington, and not just for its nomenclature. It requires a little care in the assembly process, but then so does a standard fillet beef wellington, and this keeps as close to the original as possible with the inclusion of a mushroom duxelles and a crepe layer. The duxelles provides a distinctive depth of flavour, and the crepe layer, although it may seem overly fancy, acts as a barrier between the vegetables …

Gluten-Free Berry Buckwheat Pancakes, 33p

Published by Jack

I made the batter for these last night after finding a bag of buckwheat flour in Holland and Barrett for half price. I asked Twitter for a decent soft honey-oat style buckwheat bread recipe for it, and was overwhelmed with responses telling me to make buckwheat pancakes instead. Curious, and on the cusp of Shrove Tuesday, I decided to give it a go. In for a penny, in for a pound, I went for a full gluten free pancake recipe, as the only one missing from my extensive pancake repetoire – and these were such a success, I am now making up an entire 2 litre Kilner jar of the dry ingredients, with dried berries in, for instant pancakes whenever we fancy them. Oh dear me, these were DELICIOUS. Buckwheat isn’t actually a grain – it’s from the same plant family as rhubarb, so ideal for gluten-free baking. (I’m not gluten-free, but my Mum is, and many of my readers are, so I do develop gf and coeliac-friendly recipes from time to time.) If you …

All The Best Pancake Recipes, from 8p each [GF/DF/VG]

Published by Jack

Whether you’re after vegan pancakes, dairy-free, savoury, classic crepes or fluffy American style puffs of glory, there’s a pancake recipe here for you! Happy Pancake Day, fellow tossers! Fluffy Berry Pancakes from Cooking On A Bootstrap: Fluffy Berry Pancakes, 41p [Cooking On A Bootstrap] Gluten-Free Berry Buckwheat pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2020/02/25/gluten-free-berry-buckwheat-pancakes-33p/ 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/11/18/banana-pancakes-recipe/ Courgette and Lemon pancakes, from Cooking On A Bootstrap: Courgette Lemon Pancakes, 24p [Cooking On A Bootstrap] Vegan AppleSauce Pancakes: Applesauce Pancakes, 17p [from ‘Veganish’] Rolly-Up Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2020/02/25/rolly-up-pancakes/ Egg-Free Dollar Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/02/12/dollar-pancakes-recipe/ Porridge Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2015/02/16/jacks-porridge-pancakes-recipe/ Apple & Sultana Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2013/11/20/apple-sultana-pancakes-22p/ Click here for my books! All text copyright Jack Monroe. This site is free, and always will be, but it does incur costs to keep it running. If you use it and benefit, enjoy it, and would like to keep it going, please consider popping something in the tip jar, and thankyou.

Rolly-Up Pancakes, 8p

Published by Jack

Unless you’re very deft with your pans, don’t try cooking more than one at a time. Just serve them as soon as they’re ready, or keep them warm on a heatproof plate over a pan of gently simmering water. Makes approximately 10 from 8p each. Prices correct at time of publication 2 eggs, 25p (£1.48/12 medium free range, Asda) a pinch of salt, <1p (27p/750g, Smartprice at Asda) 120g plain flour, 4p (45p/1.5kg, Smartprice at Asda) 400ml milk, 20p (49p/l, Asda) 50g butter, melted, 29p (£1.45/250g, Smartprice at Asda) To serve: lemon and sugar Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, and add the salt, flour and milk. Beat until you have a smooth batter, then cover with a tea towel and leave to stand for an hour. Melt the butter in a thin, shallow frying pan on a medium heat, tilting the pan to run the butter around it as it melts. Ladle in just enough batter to form a thin layer when you tilt the pan. When the pancake starts to brown around …

Peanut Butter Ice Cream, 43p

Published by Jack

Caster sugar is generally more expensive than standard granulated sugar (currently £1.19 for 1kg compared to 69p for granulated at the supermarket) – but a few years ago I worked out that I could make my own substitute for it. All you need is a small powerful blender, and a bag of regular sugar, and you can blitz it up to a finely ground sugar suitable for making ice creams and floaty-light cakes with. Admittedly the blender is an initial investment, but I use mine every day for making soups from scrappy leftovers, hummus from cans of chickpeas, light and creamy batters for pancakes and yorkshire puddings – so it’s well worth digging into your pocket for in the long term, if you can. This recipe is from A Year In 120 Recipes, my 2014 book of seasonal, thrifty recipes, available here. Serves 6 from 43p each. Prices from Tesco, correct at time of writing. This recipe is not sponsored, however I make make a small fee if you click a link and make a …

Cornish Yarg Fish Pie, £1.11 [ITV]

Published by Jack

I was asked to make a fish pie for ITV This Morning ‘with a Cornish element to it’, so I opted for a healthy dollop of Cornish Yarg in the mash. Yarg is one of my favourite cheeses; it was brought to prominence by a couple called Alan and Jenny Gray (Yarg is ‘Gray’ backwards!) around 30 years ago, after they found a recipe dating from 1615 in a dusty old book in the attic. I love a bit of foodie folklore, so I happily went and found some, but if you can’t get hold of it, you can use a blend of mature cheddar and Caerphilly for a similar flavour. Also, the lovely Gemma in makeup did my HAIR AND LOOK AT IT!! (Back to the fish pie, sorry!) Serves 4-6 from £1.11 per head Mash: 800g white potatoes with skin, 40p (£1/2kg, Farm Stores at Asda) 100g butter, 58p (£1.45/250g, Smartprice at Asda) 120g Cornish Yarg, £2.56 (£5/235g, Waitrose) Filling: 100g sliced leek, 14p (99p/700g, frozen at Asda) 2 sticks celery, 5p (50p/10 …

Come-To-Bed Parmigiana, 74p [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

Almost three years ago now, I turned up to work late, sleepless, an incoherent babbling wreck chewed up by an 18 month landmark court trial and with bright copper dye fading from my wiry, tousled mania of hair. I left my walking stick in the lobby, and limped in to work…to find a hand thrust towards me in a polite gesture of welcome, a smile, a curt hello. She introduced herself. I apologised seven times for my lateness and my pulled-from-a-car-wreck appearance. She was firm and professional, and she smiled at me again. And I felt that self-same car wreck collide with my solar plexus and toss me down a rabbit hole of giddy head spinning highs and that soaring, almost nauseatingly disorienting feeling of time stopping and slowing and turning on its head. I stumbled away, a new crush ablaze across my cheeks and in every tip of my fingers, burning coiled springs in the soles of my feet, a song whispering in the cold, grey, slumbering chamber of my strange little heart. And …

Lemon-Drop Tuppence Cookies, 2p

Published by Jack

My son, who is nine years old, absolutely adores lemon curd, and we often have half a jar of it knocking around the house. I had had a particularly awful few days with my badly-wired head and poor mental health; an adrenaline crash from coming back off my Veganish book tour, plus a piece of horrible news that sent me into a spiral. I won’t go into it, but it’s been a grim few days round here. So I spent a couple of piteous days eating my way through all of the leftover Christmas junk in the house; four mince pies in one sitting, all of the selection box chocolate I had hidden on top of the fridge, five bags of crisps, a whole packet of grissini – and still craved a swift sugar hit at the end of the day. I know it isn’t sensible, but sometimes you just have to give in to the gremlin and start again tomorrow. Failing to turn up any more crunchy junk no matter how hard I looked, …

Diet-Coke Chicken, 54p [A Girl Called Jack]

Published by Jack

You don’t have to use Diet Coke to make the barbecue sauce for this recipe; if you don’t mind the sugar, ordinary full-fat will do instead. And of course, I have priced mine as supermarket own brand saccharine sticky cola, because that’s my jam. Serve with rice, chips, a buttered bun, or slaw – however you like. (For vegan and vegetarian readers, this recipe was first published in A Girl Called Jack in 2014. The same sauce works brilliantly with a large flat mushroom, and when I have got around to uploading my back catalogue, I will do that recipe too! For now, just scroll past and mutter rude things about me, if you must.) Serves 2 from 54p each (This post is not sponsored; I provide links to the ingredients that I use so you can see how I calculate my recipe costs, and I may earn a small commission if you click the links or purchase any ingredients.) 2 tbsp oil, 3p (97p/1l, Asda) 4 chicken thighs or drums, 73p (£2.20/12 drumsticks, Asda) …

Biscoff Ice Cream, 42p [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

Of all of the hundreds, if not thousands, of dishes I have made for Small Boy and Mrs J, both of them instantly declared this to be ‘the best’ of all of them. And that’s quite some compliment indeed. Mrs J despises coconut, detects it in absolutely anything I try to smuggle it in, but the Biscoff was a sufficient disguise for it here, so if you aren’t a huge coconut fan, bear that in mind and perhaps give it a go. I have piled this into a KnickerBiscoff Glory, sandwiched it between Biscoff biscuits for the ultimate warm weather snack on the fly, and eaten it straight from the blender. I hope you love it as much as we do. Other, inferior, biscuits are also available. Also, for the sake of precision, I weighed a Biscoff biscuit and it’s 6.5g, which means this recipe uses 23 of them. Happy to help!  Serves 6 from 42p each (This post is not sponsored; I provide links to the ingredients that I use so you can see …

Creamy Mustard Chicken With Root Veg, 48p [A Girl Called Jack]

Published by Jack

This creamy mustard chicken recipe is adapted from A Girl Called Jack and contains four of your five a day! If you’re veggie, replace the chicken with butter beans for a similar protein hit, and if you’re vegan, use your favourite plant-based milk in place of the usual stuff. Serves 4 from 48p each. Prices calculated at major supermarkets and correct at the time of writing. This post is not sponsored though I may make a small amount if you click the links and make a purchase. 600g chicken thighs or drums, 95p (£1.58/kg, frozen at Tesco) 2 tbsp cooking oil, 3p (£1/1l, Asda) 500ml chicken stock, 3p (39p/12 stock cubes, Asda) 200g carrots, 10p (50p/1kg, Sainsburys) 200g onion, 10p (50p/1kg, Sainsburys) 250g swede, 26p (30p a jar, Smartprice at Asda) 1 tsp mixed dried herbs, 3p 200g long grain rice, to serve, 9p (45p/1kg, Sainsburys) 2 tbsp plain flour, 5p (45p/1.5kg, Stockwell at Tesco) 2 more tbsp cooking oil, 6p (£1/1l, Asda) 1 tsp mustard, 1p (35p a jar, Sainsburys) 125ml milk, 6p (52p/1l, …

Salmon, Lemon and Pea Pasta, 22p [ITV]

Published by Jack

This recipe was adapted from the Creamy Salmon Pasta in A Girl Called Jack – I’ve simplified the cooking method a bit and added a generous fistful of frozen peas to make it even healthier. Serves 4 from 21p per head. Prices calculated at major supermarkets and correct at time of writing. 300g spaghetti, 12p (20p/500g, Asda) 150g salmon paste, 54p (27p/75g jar, Stockwell at Tesco) 60ml milk, 3p (52p/1l UHT, Asda) 200g frozen peas, 14p (68p/1kg, Asda) Lemon juice, 3p, and plenty of black pepper, <1p Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, and add the pasta. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the peas halfway through to defrost and cook so they’re lovely and tender. While the pasta and peas cook, grab a small bowl, and beat together the salmon paste, milk and lemon juice. Season generously with black pepper. When the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and drain. Tip the pasta into the pan and coat with the sauce, and …

Make-Me-Better Mug, 15p [A Year In 120 Recipes]

Published by Jack

Scratchy throat, simultaneous blocked and runny nose, muggy head, general air of malaise? Yeah, that happens a lot round here, courtesy of having a rubbish immune system, awful working hours and an 8 year old. In a bid to banish the heavy-cold feeling, I knock up a large jug of this stuff – and, by golly, it works a treat every time. If you have an office job, take it to work in a Thermos flask or similar, and sip it at your desk to banish the blues. Or take the day off, curl up with a book and snooze, sip, snooze, sip … Makes a 1 litre jug from 15p. This post is not sponsored; I provide links to the ingredients that I use so you can see how I calculate my recipe costs, and I may earn a small commission if you click the links and make a purchase. All prices correct at the time of printing and are subject to change. 1 litre water 1 lemon or 2 tbsp lemon juice, 6p …

Best Vegan Sausages, 38p [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

This is a brand new and exclusive recipe from my new book Vegan(ish), published in December. I get a few questions about the title, so just to be clear, it’s a totally vegan book full of totally vegan recipes – I just describe myself as ‘veganish’ these days because I still occasionally work with animal products, but the book is 100% deliciously vegan. You can grab a copy here – I think it’s my best yet! I fear that the term ‘everyday sausages’ somewhat underplays the magnificence of these simple beasts; but they are my favourite go-to vegan sausage recipe, and everyone in my household raves about them. The filling also makes incredibly delicious sausage rolls, fooling all of my friends and family into thinking they are the real thing, which, in my mind, they absolutely are. I use Violife Original cheese for these, it’s merely a binding agent rather than imparting ny particular flavour, so any faux cheddar or mozzarella style cheese will do the same job if you can’t get hold of it. …