EVERY WEEK I take £5 to Ridley Road Market in Dalston, Hackney, London E8 2LH, to spend on seasonal food, obviously not including items likely to be already in a kitchen, such as sauces, oil, herbs and spices. On Friday I tell you what I have chosen and publish a seasonal recipe.
As usual, expenditure on any extra ingredients, eg, flour, will be recouped by usage over subsequent weeks. Some of the recipes will be frugal. They will all be vegetarian. They will be tasty.
This week’s £5 basket
Bowl bell peppers (7) £1
Bowl cherry tomatoes (too many to count) £1
Bowl onions (9) £1
Bunch beetroot £1.50
Total £4.50
Recipe: Bell pepper salad
Serves 2
Equipment: kitchen knife, grill, tongs, plastic bag, serving dish. Grill set to hot
Preparation 30 minutes, including grilling 8 minutes
Ingredients: 4 mixed-colour peppers, juice I lemon (from last week’s basket) 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar and oil, mustard, seasoning and herbs of choice. Wash peppers and dry.
Method: Cut the peppers in quarters from top to bottom and remove seeds and membrane from the inside. Place the cut peppers skin-side up under the grill and cook until skins blacken and blister. Using tongs, put the burnt peppers in a plastic bag and seal. Leave for 15 minutes.
Remove the peppers from the bag and peel the skins away from the flesh. The skin should come away easily after its sweating in the bag. Slice the peppers into long, thin strips and place in a serving dish. Make the dressing with the last 5 ingredients shown above and pour over the peppers. Leave for 30 minutes to marinate.
This salad can be served as a side dish or without the dressing the peppers can be mixed into cooked pasta — for example, orzo or penne.
With the remaining food from my basket I’ll make a grated-beetroot-and-ginger salad with lemon dressing.
The tomatoes from this week’s basket will be added to almost everything I cook — same with the onions. The remaining peppers will go in a risotto with some of the tomatoes and onions.
Tip: Do not discard the beetroot leaves. Use them in salads.
* Two websites have recently written about this column. Hackney Post has published an interview with Shooey, as has the Food Bankers. — Ed.
* Emboldened, coloured words may indicate a hyperlink. If a link does not work, it is probably because the site to which the URL refers has not been maintained.
Previous articles hyperlinked:
Gnocchi and tomato sauce with zucchini salad 19 April 2013 Tomato soup with soda bread 12 April 2013; Broccoli mornay 5 April 2013; Easter redemption song 29 March 2013 Less is enough 22 March 2013; A tart in the mart 15 March 2013; Polenta verde and sauté mushrooms 8 March 2013; Caribeasy 29 February 2013; Feeling fruity 22February 2013; Kashmir delight 15 February 2013; Samphire surprise 8 February 2013; Two dishes from £5 1 February 2013; Ae fond neep 25 January 2013; Cauliflower cheese 18 January 2013; Hackney frittata 11 January 2013; Tasty and easy Christmas snack 21 December 2012; The shops behind the market stalls 9 November 2012; Chutney 2 November 2012; Piccalilli 26 October 2012; Golden soup 19 October 2012; Roasted, stuffed squash 12 October 2012; Vegetable curry 5 October 2012;Carrot and coriander soup 28 September 2012; Ratatouille Gypsy stew 21 September 2012; Bubble and squeak Shooey style, Bakewell pudding 14 September 2012; Coleslaw and radishes 7 September 2012; Turkish spinach pie 31 August 2012; Tomato tart, marinated aubergines