As joyful as the act of preparing food can be, deciding what to cook in the first place is often half the battle, as is finding the time to prepare dishes that you’re excited to eat. 

Here, Mimi Harrison, author of Beat The Budget, demonstrates that delicious food doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

In the newly released cookbook, self-taught cook Harrison has made it her mission to share tasty and fun recipes to help people put good food on the table within budget. Easy and affordable, her recipes take the stress out of mealtimes, proving that you can cut down on price without compromising on flavour.

Here are three of her easy, tasty creations that will be joining our weekly meal rotation.

Serves 5

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 500g linguine
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 160g frozen spinach
• 125g goat’s cheese
• 30g fresh basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chilli flakes (optional)

Method

2 min prep + 10 min cook

Set a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and gently fry for four minutes.

Meanwhile, set a large pan of salted water over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Add the linguine and cook for two minutes less than the packet cooking time.

While the pasta is cooking and once the onions have softened, add the garlic to fry for a minute before adding the frozen spinach to the pan, along with 400 ml of the starchy pasta water. Increase the heat and cook the spinach and onion mix until the pasta is ready.

Add the spinach and onion mix to a blender with half of the goat’s cheese and the basil and blitz until smooth.

Drain the linguine and transfer back to the pan. Pour over the blended sauce and continue to cook over a low/medium heat.

After about two minutes, the sauce should thicken and coat the linguine. Serve with a sprinkle of any remaining goat’s cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper. Optionally, top with chilli flakes if you love a little heat.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 200g canned pork and ham (I use Spam), sliced into thin planks
• 800ml milk
• 1.2 litres water
• 4 x 70g pack instant noodles, seasoning sachets reserved
• 2 heads pak choi, sliced lengthways into quarters
• 4 eggs (optional)
• Handful of spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 fresh lime cut into wedges to serve
• Pepper to taste

Method

4 min prep + 6 min cook

Set a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Add the meat to the pan and fry for three minutes on each side, until golden and crispy.

Meanwhile, set a deep pan over a medium heat, add the milk and water and bring up to a low simmer. Add the noodles, ensuring they are all submerged. Add the pak choi and cover with a lid, simmering for the cooking time given on your noodle packet.

If using eggs, set a pan of water over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Gently lower the eggs into the water, cook for six minutes, then transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop them from cooking any further.

When the noodles and pak choi are ready, add any seasoning sachets to the pan and stir to combine.

Remove the shell from the eggs and slice each in half. Serve each portion of ramen in a deep bowl, ladling in some of the broth, a serving of noodles and pak choi, a couple of slices of pork and half a jammy egg. Sprinkle over some crunchy spring onion to garnish. Add a lime wedge and a generous grind of pepper before digging in.

Serves 5

Ingredients

• 20 fish fingers
• 150g white rice, thoroughly rinsed
• 6 tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 30g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 4 small, ripe avocados
• 5 large wraps
• 1 x 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

5min prep + 12 min cook

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan.

Place the fish fingers on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, set a pan filled with 400ml of water over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and cook for the time given on the packet instructions.

In a bowl, combine the diced tomato, red onion and coriander to make a simple pico de gallo. Add the juice of half a lime and season generously with salt and pepper.

In another bowl, mash the avocados along with the juice of half a lime. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, take one of the wraps, add a dollop of avocado to the centre. Next, add a layer of rice, some black beans, a spoonful of tomato salsa and four crispy fish fingers.

Fold the sides of the burrito inwards before tightly rolling away from you. Tuck in and enjoy.

Beat the Budget by Mimi Harrison (Ebury Press, £16.99) is out now

Images: Mimi Harrison