In last week’s blog we gave some food preservation tips to help you in this self-isolation, social distancing world we currently live in, so this week we thought it would be useful to show you how you can also make meals go further.
In particular we’re talking about batch cooking, i.e. making something which can stretch to two or more meals.
This is something which can particularly help you in the current climate, but it’s also something you should think about doing even post Covid-19 – even though we won’t blame you for wanting to initially binge out on restaurant and takeaway meals. Ah, remember those days….
The benefits of batch cooking are numerous, but here are 3 to get you started:
- It will save you money (because you will be shopping less often)
- You will massively reduce the amount of food you waste (ditto)
- It will improve your cooking skills (which is no bad thing)
Batch cooking, back in the day, used to be about making one huge big pot and eating the same thing for 3-4 nights on the trot. Now, I like lasagne more than most, but by day 4, the cheese and bechamel sauce have dried up, the mince is devoid of tomato sauce and the pasta has gone from al dente to, well, just dented!
Mince, including the vegetarian version, is a great ingredient for batch cooking. Pretty much everyone knows how to make a bolognese sauce (don’t they?), so you can make lasagne and spaghetti bolognese in one go; and savoury mince is also just as easy to do, so a cottage pie can also be knocked up quickly at the same time. There are three meals before you have even broken sweat!
Chicken is another great staple. As long as you have a few basic spices in the cupboard, a curry is easy enough to make, as are Mexican dishes such as enchiladas and fajitas.
And for the veggies amongst us, well, if you don’t like using meat substitutes, then as long as you have basic ingredients such as cauliflowers, carrots, lentils and squash, it’s straightforward enough to make curries, casseroles and tomato-based sauces too.
In all cases, these are meals which can be easily frozen; just remember to put them in sealed plastic bags and squash them down where you can so you maximise the space in your freezer. Remember when your mum used to freeze things in massive ice cream tubs????
If cooking doesn’t come naturally to you, but let’s face it you currently have more time on your hands than ever before, then don’t be ashamed to follow a recipe in a cookbook or look online, and before you know it you may even have caught the cooking bug and be after my job!
Batch cooking – Chicken enchiladas (8 portions)
Ingredients:
For the enchilada sauce:
- 2 finely chopped large onions
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1kg passata
- 2 bsp brown sugar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the enchilada:
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- 2 yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
- 2-3 finely chopped and de-seeded red chillis
- 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 2 tins of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 16 flour tortillas
- 200g cheddar, grated
Method:
Method
- Make the sauce by cooking the onion until it goes soft and then add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the smoked paprika, dried oregano, chilli powder and ground cumin, mix well and cook for a further minute.
- Add the passata, brown sugar and vinegar to the pan, season and cook over a low heat for around 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/170C/Gas 5.
- For the enchilada, heat half of the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the sliced onions and peppers and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red chilli and cook for a further 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan, add the chicken and cook quickly over a medium heat until cooked through and golden brown.
- Return the onion and pepper mixture to the pan, add half of the enchilada sauce, and drained kidney beans, season well and cook for a further minute.
- Lay the flour tortillas on the work surface and divide the chicken mixture between them. Roll the flour tortillas around the filling and place in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and scatter with grated cheese.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is piping hot and the cheese bubbling, melted and golden-brown.
- Serve with soured cream or creme fraiche if you wish.
About Sean Flint
Development & Innovation Chef of SK Foods.
Your food. Our Passion.
