Make more for less

Enjoy flavourful, filling dishes for all the family that also keep you on budget – let’s make those precious pennies count, together

RECIPES SARAH COOK

Our creamy homemade dressing adds an extra-tasty touch to a midweek dish that kids and adults alike will love to pick up and munch on.

Serves 4 | Ready in 18 mins

Faff factor |

• 16 Asda Omega 3 Fish Fingers

• 85g Lighter than Light Mayonnaise

• 3 spring onions, 1 roughly chopped

• ½ lemon, zested and juiced

• 20g capers, rinsed well

• 1 cucumber

• ½ Asda Iceberg Lettuce

• 8 wholemeal wraps

1 Cook the fish fingers under the grill following pack instructions, or in an air fryer for 8 mins at 180°C.

2 For the tartare sauce, pulse together the mayonnaise, chopped spring onions, lemon zest and juice, capers and 1 tbsp water in a mini food processor or with a stick blender. Alternatively, finely chop the spring onions and capers and mix by hand.

3 Use a vegetable peeler to peel the cucumber into long ribbons, discarding the seeded, watery middle bit. Shred the lettuce and remaining two spring onions, and put everything in separate bowls for people to help themselves.

4 Warm the wraps following pack instructions (it makes them easier to roll up), then let everyone assemble their own wraps with salad and dollops of the homemade tartare sauce.

Serving suggestions: Crisp but soft-centred sweet potato fries are the ideal side dish if you’re feeding a hungry family of four.

Keep your cool

Favourite frozen choices, like peas, spinach or broccoli florets, are perfect in this versatile dish – but use up any fresh vegetables you have first.

Serves 4 | Ready in 30 mins

Faff factor

• 3 garlic cloves, sliced

• 2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil

• 5 tsp mild curry powder

• 300g easy cook long grain rice

• 75g mango chutney

• 900ml vegetable stock, made from 1 cube

• 2 lemons, 1 zested and juiced, 1 cut into wedges

• 1 red onion, finely chopped

• 400g frozen cauliflower florets

• 300g frozen green beans

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 20g fresh coriander

1 Use a large saucepan with a lid. Add the garlic and oil and fry for 1–2 mins until fragrant. Stir in the curry powder for 20 secs, followed by the rice and stir to coat all the grains in the spices. Set aside 2 tsp of the mango chutney in a small mixing bowl, then add the rest to the rice with the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and turn the heat down to low. Simmer the rice for 10 mins.

2 Mix lemon juice and zest into the reserved mango chutney with salt and pepper. Add the finely chopped red onion, and stir occasionally to pickle.

3 After 8 mins simmering stir the frozen cauliflower, green beans and chickpeas into the rice. Re-cover and cook for another 8–10 mins until the rice and veg is tender. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 5 mins.

4 Finely chop the coriander, including the stalks, then stir everything through the pickled red onion mixture.

5 Serve the pilaf scattered with the red onion pickle along with extra lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

Use leftover herbs from our pilaf (p19) or orzotto (p21) recipes – finely chop and stir through the couscous.

Use any mince you like in this fragrant, tagine-style stew.

Serves 4 | Ready in 40 mins

Faff factor | DF MF LF EF d |

• 500g Just Essentials by Asda Lean Pork Mince

• 4 tsp ground cumin (or coriander)

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

• 3 tsp vegetable oil

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 red pepper, deseeded and diced

• 1 x 400g tin peeled plum tomatoes

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 75g chopped dried apricots

• ½ vegetable or chicken stock cube, crumbled

• 250g couscous

• 100g spinach leaves, roughly chopped

1 Put the mince, 2 tsp of cumin, lemon zest, ½ tsp of salt and some pepper into a bowl. Use your hands to mix, then roll into 12 oval-shaped koftas.

2 Fry the koftas in 2 tsp of oil until browned. Lift onto a plate – don’t worry if they’re not cooked through.

3 Add the diced onion and red pepper with a splash of water plus the remaining oil to the same pan. Fry for 5 mins until softened. Meanwhile, using kitchen scissors, snip the tomatoes into smaller chunks inside the tin. Stir the remaining cumin and cinnamon into the veg for 1 min, then tip in the tomatoes. Fill the tin with water to rinse and tip this in too. Add the apricots, then bring everything to a simmer and bubble for 5 mins.

4 Put the koftas into the tomatoey sauce and simmer for about 8 mins more until the sauce is thick and the koftas are cooked through.

5 Make the stock with 375ml boiling water. Tip the couscous into a heatproof bowl, add stock and cover with a plate. Leave for 10 mins to soften, then use a fork to fluff up the grains and stir through the lemon juice.

6 Stir the spinach through the sauce to wilt, then serve with the couscous.

Using tiny orzo pasta instead of rice halves the time it takes to make a classic risotto-style dish, saving you both time and energy.

Serves 4 | Ready in 25 mins

Faff factor | V EF |

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 courgettes, cut into 1–2cm chunks

• 300g orzo

• 850ml vegetable stock

• 250g cherry tomatoes

• 100g Asda Light Garlic & Herb

Soft Cheese

• 100g spinach leaves

• ½ lemon, juiced

• 10g fresh chives

1 Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and oil and fry for about 5 mins over a medium heat until soft. Stir in the courgette, increase the heat and fry for 2 mins more.

2 Stir in the orzo, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Scatter over the tomatoes, then simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins until the orzo is tender.

3 Turn off the heat under the pan. Stir in the cream cheese followed by the spinach, a handful at a time, to wilt. Stir in the lemon juice and season.

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? MAKE MORE FOR LESS

Meat lovers

Opt for chicken, pancetta or seafood if you’re cooking for carnivores – all go well with orzo.

4 Use scissors to snip the chives over the top of the orzotto and serve straight away.

Cook’s tip: Orzo is so versatile, and takes less time to cook than rice. Use as a replacement for couscous in salads, or add to soups.

Each 335g portion contains

Create deep, rich flavours by marinating the drumsticks well ahead of cooking.

Serves 4 | Ready in 20–35 mins depending on chicken cooking

Faff factor |

• 1 x 170g sachet Hoisin Stir Fry Sauce

• 20g frozen crushed ginger

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 3 tbsp sesame oil

• 8 chicken drumsticks

• 250g dried noodles

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced

• 4 spring onions, 3 cut into short lengths, 1 finely sliced

• 500g stir-fry vegetables

• 2 tsp sesame seeds

1 For the ginger marinade, whisk together 2 tbsp of hoisin sauce with the ginger, soy sauce and 1 tbsp of the sesame oil. Toss with the chicken drumsticks, then cook straightaway or leave to marinate if you have time.

2 You can cook the drumsticks in three different ways. Roast for 25–30 mins in an oven preheated to 220°C/200°C/ gas 7, air-fry for 16–20 mins at 180°C or grill under a hot grill (275°C) for 15 mins, turning often. Check the chicken is cooked through.

3 Soften the noodles following the pack instructions then drain well.

4 In a wok or large, non-stick frying pan, combine the sliced garlic and remaining sesame oil. Put over a low-medium heat and gently cook, stirring, until the garlic is just beginning to sizzle. Tip in the spring onions and vegetables, turn up the heat and stir-fry for 3–4 mins until the veg still has a little bite. Tip in the cooked noodles and toss briefly to heat through and mix with the vegetables. Add a splash of water to stuck-together noodles to separate them. Season.

5 When the chicken is done, warm the rest of the hoisin sauce in a microwave. Pour over the drumsticks and use tongs to toss until well coated. Scatter with sesame seeds and finely sliced spring onions then serve with the noodles.

Shine a spotlight on these powerful little pulses, they make a greatvalue choice for teatime and a small packet goes a very long way. Protein-packed and budget-busting – it’s time to feel the lentil love