As much as I love spending time in the kitchen imagining I’m a gourmet chef, there are seasons in life when simplicity becomes the most attractive option. So imagine: you’ve got a few little people who don’t care much about food trends. In fact, their tastes change every three hours: at breakfast they definitely hated cheese and so you ate the rest of it, now it’s lunchtime and all they want is cheese. There is no knowing. It’s called a four-year-old world.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to somehow get them to eat nutritious food that will keep them relatively strong and healthy. Of course, you will accept it. You’ll favour cooking from scratch at least some if not most of the time, because you’ll want to have a rough idea of what your food actually contains. You’ll want to include fresh, most valuable veg, preferably green if you can manage to convince them to eat it.
Then there’s the ever growing issue of energy. It’s expensive. In the year 2022 it is officially a luxury to cook at home, just because of the amount of gas/electricity you might use in the process. Oven is a killer in this regard. We still have a gas-fan appliance, though admittedly it’s on its last legs. Roasting a gammon ham takes over two hours. Try doing that often and see what happens to your bills...
Well, these seasons do tend to teach us a thing or two about efficiency, or what in the days past people called frugality. You can make good savings on food costs by growing your own. And you can save a tonne of energy by cooking your meals on a single hob. Here’s a recipe for a dinner meal that combines the two, AND packs in three major food groups - plenty of balanced nutrition!
Prep time: about 60-70 minutes
Serves: 2 adults and 2 children
Ingredients:
6 chicken drumsticks
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
3-4 tablespoons of cooking oil (we used rapeseed)
1 large white onion
6 whole leaves of rainbow swiss chard (or any chard)
1 litre water or vegetable stock (we used water)
3 tablespoons of vinegar (we used apple-cider, but I recon white-wine vinegar would be great too, and the usual white vinegar would also work just fine)
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour or corn flour
150 grams of wholewheat couscous
salt and black pepper to season
Steps:
1. Place your drumsticks in a bowl, add the crushed garlic, a good pinch or two of salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix well together and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Place a large deep pan or deep skillet on a medium heat and add a bit of oil to the bottom (you can skip the oil if your pot allows you to heat it dry).
3. Place the drumsticks onto the hot pan and fry until well-browned and crispy on all sides. This will likely take about 15-20 minutes on a medium heat.
4. While the chicken is frying, peel the onion and wash the leaves of swiss chard thoroughly. Chop the onion into half-wedges and the stalks of the swiss chard into finger-thick pieces.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan for now and keep covered. Add a tablespoon or two of oil if needed and throw in the onion and chard. Toss around and cook until the onion looks clear and glossy.
6. Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour over the veg and toss until disappeared. Pour over water to cover the veg completely and some more. Stir in the vinegar. Place the chicken back inside the pan, nesting it in between the veg. Bring to boil, cover and simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes.
7. Shred the chard leaves finely in the meantime. Once the chard in the pan is softened, throw in the shredded leaves, cover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
8. By now the chicken should be cooked well through - check this by cutting through one of the drumsticks to make sure there is no pink meat remaining.
9. Once the chicken is cooked through, gently move all the contents to one side of the pan, to make room for couscous. Add 150 grams of couscous into the created space, making sure it is completely submerged in the sauce (you can add some more hot water if needed).
10. Turn the heat off, cover and leave for 5 minutes for the couscous to swell. Uncover, serve and enjoy!
If you’ve tried cooking this meal, please do leave us your feedback in the comments below. Stay tuned for more ideas on healthy, energy-efficient meals under the Frugal Faculty category of posts on our site. Stay well and till next time!
Comments