Lunches Ingredients

Pot-roast turkey leg with lemon and garlic, brown rice and roast beetroot, to serve four

The cost of higher-welfare meat is wince-making if you’re on a tight budget. Get round this by using an overlooked cut: turkey leg. For free range, check the National Farmers Union’s Turkey Finder list of local farms (I’m a fan of Herb Fed Poultry which sells two free range turkey legs for £6.20); supermarket legs won’t be free range, and the flavour will be less gamey, more chicken-like.

The day before you’re eating, put 1.52kg turkey leg(s) in a roasting tin and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Cover and refrigerate. The next day, preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas mark 3. Rinse off the salt and pat the legs dry. Return to the rinsed-out roasting tin. Slice a lemon and arrange around the leg, along with 4 cloves of unpeeled garlic, a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary if you have them, plus 200ml water. Cover with foil.

Roast for 1½ hours until tender. Uncover, raise the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6, and cook until browned and crisp (about 20 minutes). At the same time, chop a packet of cooked beetroot into chunks, toss in olive oil and put to cook in a dish on a shelf under the turkey. Serve the turkey with the beetroot, cooked brown rice and peas.

Afterwards: strip any leftover meat from the bones – keep scrappy bits for soup and chunks for salads, curries or tzatziki wraps. Use the bones and any bits of skin to make stock.

Turkey and vegetable noodle soup, to serve four

Put 2-3 litres of turkey stock in a pan with a cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon and a star anise if you have them. Boil down to about 1.5 litres. Remove 300ml for the spicy tofu recipe (opposite) and season the rest with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Add 350g sliced carrots and simmer until tender, then stir in a handful of frozen peas plus any leftover scraps of turkey. Cook 250g wholewheat noodles according to the packet directions and divide between four bowls. Ladle over the hot broth, peas and carrots. Serve with finely sliced spring onion. Some fresh coriander leaves to scatter on top would be nice if you have them.

Turkey and tzatziki wraps, to serve four

To make the wraps from scratch, mix 200g plain flour with 120ml yoghurt or milk, ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp melted butter. Add a little water if it is too dry. Knead until you have a smooth dough then wrap in a plastic bag and leave to rest in the fridge.

For the filling, cut a small cucumber in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Cut the rest into small dice and mix with 8 tbsp yoghurt and half a small bunch of mint, chopped. Fold in chopped cooked turkey – about 400g for four people, but less is fine – and season.

Divide the dough into four and roll out each portion into a thin 20cm-circle. Heat a dry frying pan and cook each circle until browned on each side, flipping once. Allow to cool slightly then use to wrap the turkey and cucumber filling. If you have some lettuce or spinach leaves, add them to the wrap too.

500g dried speckled puy style lentils (lentilles vertes)

2 garlic cloves, left unpeeled 4 baking potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion (about 160g), finely chopped

200g carrots (about 2 medium carrots), finely chopped

½ tsp cumin seeds

A dash of chilli sauce

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 4-8 tbsp plain natural yoghurt

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. • Rinse the lentils and put them in a saucepan with the cloves of garlic.

• Cover generously with water, add a fat pinch of salt and simmer until just tender but not collapsing (about 25-30 minutes), then drain and keep to one side. • Meanwhile, pierce the potatoes a few times all over and place them in the microwave. Cook on full power for 10 minutes then transfer to the oven, placing them directly on the shelf, to cook for 20-30 minutes to crisp up the skin. If you don’t have a microwave, bake in the oven for an hour until tender inside with a crisp skin.

• While the potatoes and lentils are cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion, carrot and cumin seeds. Cook gently for 10 minutes until tender and beginning to colour.

• Add a dash of chilli sauce and the tomatoes and simmer gently for 5 minutes before mixing in half the lentils (squeeze the garlic puree out of the skins and add that too).

• Keep the rest of the lentils in the fridge or freezer to use in the minestrone or braised red cabbage for dinner.

• Serve the potatoes topped with the lentils and a dollop of yoghurt.

Roasted Mediterranean vegetables with feta and warm grains

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4 Cost per person: 97p

A generous, hearty salad (below left). Any leftovers are good cold the next day.

Ingredients

1 x 500g bag frozen Mediterranean vegetables, defrosted 3 red onions, peeled and cut into eight wedges through the root

3 carrots, halved lengthways then cut into 3cm pieces (about 350g total)

4 tbsp olive oil

250g pearl barley or other whole grain, or leftover lentils, cooked (you should have about 500g when cooked)

200g feta or feta-style cheese, crumbled

½ lemon

½ bunch fresh mint

Method

• Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. • Mix the Mediterranean vegetables, onion wedges and carrot sticks with the olive oil and some salt and black pepper.

• Spread out on a roasting tin and roast for 30 minutes or until tinged with brown. • Remove from the oven and tip the cooked grains and crumbled feta onto the veg in the hot roasting tin. Toss together gently.

• Season again with salt, pepper and some lemon juice, plus a little grated lemon zest. Rip over the fresh mint.

Mackerel salad with lemon mayonnaise

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Serves 4

Cost per person: £1.84

I like to peel the tomatoes first by covering them with boiling water, leaving for 30 seconds then draining. The skins should slip off fairly easily. It’s extra faff but does make the salad (main picture) feel more special.

Ingredients

5 eggs

320g frozen peas 1 spring onion, white part finely chopped (save the green part for making stock or another dish)

400g baby new potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tsp

320g tomatoes (about 4 tomatoes), peeled if you like 1 tsp English or Dijon mustard (optional)

¼ garlic clove, peeled (optional) 200ml vegetable oil

Squeeze of lemon juice, to taste (optional)

4 x 125g tins mackerel, in oil or brine

Method

• Put 4 of the eggs in a pan of water and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid, turn off the heat and leave to cook in the residual heat for 8 minutes. Peel and quarter the eggs.

• Put the peas in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5 minutes then drain and mix with a pinch of salt and the chopped spring onion.

• Meanwhile, slice the potatoes and cook in boiling water until tender (this should take about 15 minutes). Drain the potatoes and mix with 1 tsp of olive oil.

• Slice the tomatoes.

• Break the remaining egg into a small blender, add a pinch of salt and, if you have them, the mustard and garlic.

• Set the machine running and drizzle in the vegetable oil gradually until it comes together to make a creamy mayonnaise.

• Stir in a tablespoonful of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, if you have any. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice.

• Drain the mackerel and mix it gently, without breaking up the pieces of fish too much, with 2 tbsp of the mayonnaise.

• Arrange the mackerel with the boiled egg quarters, peas, potatoes and tomato slices on plates.

• Trickle a few more spoonfuls of mayonnaise decoratively over the salad and serve.

Easy shakshuka

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes Serves 4

Cost per person: £1.06

This is a hearty, colourful breakfast, brunch or lunch that really packs in the vegetables (below). Eat the shakshuka with slices of toasted Doris Grant loaf.

Peeling the tomatoes is more faff but it does make your salad feel more special

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 x 500g bag sliced mixed peppers

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

A dash of chilli sauce or pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)

8 cubes frozen whole-leaf spinach (not chopped), defrosted (optional) 8 eggs

Method

• Heat the oil in a large, shallow pan about 30cm across – one that has a lid. • Cook the onion until tender and just beginning to colour.

• Add the garlic and cumin to the pan, cook for another minute, then stir in the peppers.

• Continue to cook until the peppers are well softened and thoroughly cooked through.

• Stir in the tomatoes along with a dash of chilli sauce or flakes, if you like, and a pinch of salt.

• Simmer until the sauce is thick, about 5-10 minutes. • Scatter the spinach leaves (if using) around the pan, then make eight wells in the mixture. Break an egg into each well.

• Sprinkle the whole thing with a pinch of salt then cover and cook gently for five minutes or until the whites of the eggs are set.