Chana masala
Chana masala is a chickpea curry in a tangy onion and tomato sauce. It is a good weeknight dish, it costs very little, and it tastes even better the day after, which makes it a natural choice for…
29 recipes
Chana masala is a chickpea curry in a tangy onion and tomato sauce. It is a good weeknight dish, it costs very little, and it tastes even better the day after, which makes it a natural choice for…
⏱ 45 minVery easy🌱Vegan
Chili sin carne, "chili without meat", is a thick, spicy stew of beans, tomatoes and peppers. It feeds a crowd for very little money, freezes well, and goes with rice, tortillas, baked potatoes or…
⏱ 55 minVery easy🌱Vegan
This potato salad has no mayonnaise. Warm sliced potatoes are soaked in a hot dressing of stock, vinegar, onion and oil, and turn silky as they drink it up. It is served lukewarm or at room…
⏱ 40 minVery easy🌱Vegan
Guacamole is mashed ripe avocado with lime juice, onion, chili, tomato and coriander. Serve it with tortilla chips, in tacos and burritos, on toast, or next to chili. It must be made shortly before…
⏱ 10 minTrivial🌱Vegan
Hummus is a smooth purée of chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste), lemon and garlic. Spread it on bread, dip raw vegetables in it, or make it the centre of a meal with falafel, salad and pita. Homemade…
⏱ 10 minTrivial🌱Vegan
Mujaddara is a dish of lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with a big pile of deeply browned onions. It is cheap, filling and surprisingly rich in taste for such simple ingredients. Eat it…
⏱ 1 hVery easy🌱Vegan
Pumpkin soup is a smooth, orange, slightly sweet soup that most children like. Make it in autumn and early winter, when pumpkins and squashes are everywhere and cheap. Butternut squash, Hokkaido (red…
⏱ 45 minTrivial🌱Vegan
Ratatouille is a slow stew of summer vegetables cooked in olive oil: aubergine, courgette, peppers, onions and tomatoes. Make it at the end of summer when these vegetables are cheap and ripe. Serve…
⏱ 1 h 15 minVery easy🌱Vegan
Dal is a dish of split lentils or peas cooked until soft, then finished with spices fried in hot oil. Made with red lentils, it needs no soaking and is ready in half an hour, which makes it one of…
⏱ 40 minTrivial🌱Vegan
Gratin dauphinois is thinly sliced potatoes baked slowly in milk and cream flavoured with garlic, until soft inside and golden on top. It is the classic side for a roast or a grilled steak, and with…
⏱ 1 h 40 minVery easy🌱Vegetarian
Insalata caprese is slices of tomato and fresh mozzarella with basil leaves and olive oil, nothing more. With so few ingredients, everything depends on their quality: ripe summer tomatoes, soft…
⏱ 10 minTrivial🌱Vegetarian
French chocolate mousse is light and airy yet intensely chocolatey, made from just dark chocolate, eggs, a little butter and sugar. It is made several hours ahead, which makes it a good dessert for…
⏱ 25 minSome care🌱Vegetarian
Coleslaw is shredded raw cabbage and carrot in a creamy, slightly sweet and sour dressing. It is the classic side for barbecues, burgers, sandwiches and fried chicken, and it keeps a day or two in…
⏱ 20 minTrivial🌱Vegetarian
A French omelette is pale yellow outside, without any brown, and soft and creamy inside, rolled into a neat oval. It takes three eggs and two minutes. It is the dish to master for a quick lunch or…
⏱ 5 minSome care🌱Vegetarian
Greek salad is chunks of tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion with olives and a thick slice of feta, dressed with olive oil and oregano. It has no lettuce. Made with summer tomatoes and good feta, it…
⏱ 15 minTrivial🌱Vegetarian
Leek and potato soup is mild, creamy and very cheap, the kind of soup that warms you up on a grey day. It needs five ingredients and half an hour.
⏱ 45 minTrivial🌱Vegetarian
Risotto is rice cooked slowly in hot stock, stirred so its starch makes a creamy sauce, then finished with butter and cheese. With mushrooms, it is an autumn and winter favourite. It is not hard, but…
⏱ 50 minSome care🌱Vegetarian
The Spanish tortilla, tortilla de patatas, is a thick omelette of potatoes and onions slowly cooked in olive oil. Served warm or at room temperature, it is a lunch, a picnic dish, or tapas cut into…
⏱ 55 minSome care🌱Vegetarian
Tzatziki is a cool dip of thick yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, olive oil and dill. It goes with grilled meat, fish and vegetables, in pita with falafel, or simply with bread. It is fresh, very…
⏱ 15 minTrivial🌱Vegetarian
Chraime is white fish simmered in a hot, garlicky sauce of tomato, red pepper, paprika and cumin, finished with lemon and coriander. It takes half an hour in one pan and works with any firm white…
⏱ 35 minVery easyFish
Cullen skink is a thick Scottish soup of smoked haddock, potatoes, onion and milk. It is smoky and filling, and with bread it makes a full meal on a cold evening. It takes about 50 minutes and only…
⏱ 50 minVery easyFish
Heringsstipp is pieces of mild salted herring in a cold, creamy sauce with apple, onion and gherkin, served with hot potatoes boiled in their skins. Apart from the potatoes there is no cooking, and…
⏱ 45 minTrivialFish
Salade niçoise is a summer salad of ripe tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and small black olives, dressed with olive oil. With canned tuna it is cheap and needs almost no cooking, and it…
⏱ 30 minTrivialFish
Salmon en papillote is salmon baked in a sealed parcel of baking paper on a bed of thin courgette slices, with lemon and dill. The fish steams in its own juices, so it stays moist, and the whole dish…
⏱ 30 minVery easyFish
This warm potato salad with smoked mackerel mixes sliced potatoes in a hot dressing of stock, vinegar, mustard and red onion with flakes of smoked fish and dill. Smoked mackerel is sold cooked and…
⏱ 40 minTrivialFish
Moules marinières are mussels steamed open in white wine with shallots, garlic, butter and parsley. They cook in five minutes and are served in the pot, with bread for the juices or fries on the side…
⏱ 35 minEasyFish
Chili con carne, "chili with meat", is a spicy stew of beef, chilies and spices, here with tomatoes and beans. It is made in large pots for parties, game nights and cold weekends, and it tastes even…
⏱ 1 h 45 minVery easyMeat
Goulash is a beef and paprika soup-stew, red, warming and filling, with potatoes and vegetables. It is a one-pot dish for cold days, simmered slowly and better the next day.
⏱ 2 h 20 minVery easyMeat
A whole chicken roasted in the oven with lemon, garlic and herbs, with potatoes cooking in its juices underneath, is one of the great family meals. It makes Sunday lunch, and the leftovers make…
⏱ 1 h 45 minEasyMeat
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