We’ve got supper sorted!

Four meals guaranteed to ward off the winter chills. Under R140 • Serves 4 • Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

Gnocchi stroganoff

• 30ml oil • 600g stir-fry pork strips • 10ml mustard powder • 1 onion, finely chopped • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped • 400g mixed mushrooms, sliced

• 250ml sour cream • 125ml stock • a handful Italian parsley, chopped • 400g gnocchi

1 Heat the oil until piping hot. Season the meat with the mustard powder, salt and pepper and fry quickly over high heat until golden brown. Remove and stir-fry the onion and garlic in the same pan until glossy. Add the mushrooms and cook until done. Return the meat to the pan along with the cream and stock, and sprinkle the parsley over. Simmer until the sauce has thickened.

2 Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi. Scoop it out as soon as the gnocchi starts to float on top; serve with the pork.

Chicken with chorizo and butter beans

Under R130 • Serves 4 • Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes • about 15ml olive oil • 1 chorizo sausage, thinly sliced • 4 chicken breast fillets • ½ red onion, cut into thin wedges

1 Fry the sausage in the oil until crispy; spoon out and reserve the aromatic oil. Make three incisions in each chicken breast (this helps the chicken to cook evenly) and fry the chicken, cut side first, until golden brown. Stir in the onion and cauliflower and cook for a few more minutes.

2 Now return the chorizo to the pan along with the beans and stock, and stir through. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkling of fresh herbs such as flat-leaf parsley. Mash the beans lightly and tuck in! • ½ head cauliflower, broken into florets • 2 tins butter beans, rinsed • about 125ml stock • fresh herbs

Sausage and egg bake

Under R100 • Serves 4 • Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 50 minutes • Oven temperature: 200°C • 15ml olive oil • 8 pork bangers • 6 baby sweet potatoes, halved • 12 baby potatoes, halved and boiled for 10 minutes • 400g pumpkin, cut into chunks • 15ml wholegrain mustard • a handful baby spinach • 4 extra-large eggs • fresh rocket

1 Preheat the oven. Heat a roasting pan or ovenproof frying pan on the stove. Pour the oil into the pan and fry the sausages quickly over high heat until the skin starts to brown. Stir in the sweet potatoes, potatoes, pumpkin and mustard and add a dash of water to the pan. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Remember to make sure your vegetables are more or less the same size to ensure that they cook evenly.

2 Remove the foil and stir in the spinach. Make a slight hollow in the vegetables in each quarter of the pan and break an egg (or two) into each hollow. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and put the pan back in the oven until the eggs are cooked – about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tip This is a convenient way to cook eggs but it can be tricky to get both a soft yolk and cooked white. If you prefer a soft yolk, cook the eggs in a separate pan.

Aromatic lentil soup

Under R85 • Serves 4 • Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes • 30ml oil • 1 onion, chopped • 1 red chilli, finely chopped • 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 15ml mild curry powder • 1 carrot, grated • 1 medium sweet potato, coarsely grated • 250ml brown lentils, rinsed and drained • 1L vegetable stock • 1 tin coconut milk • a handful baby spinach • lime juice and fresh coriander to taste

1 Heat the oil and fry the onion, chilli, ginger, garlic and curry powder until fragrant. Stir in the vegetables and lentils and add the stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Don’t add salt – it will make the lentils tough.

2 Stir in the spinach, lime juice and coriander, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend the soup with a stick blender, but not too much – you want the soup to thicken but not be too smooth. Serve with crispy poppadoms.