The Thrifty Cookbook

salt and pepper
Tabasco sauce, to serve (optional)
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan, add the onion, garlic and chillies and cook until softened but not browned. Add the sausages or chorizo and cook until the fat begins to run and they start to colour. Add the rice, bay leaf and spices and stir well so that the rice is coated in the oil and flavourings. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. After about 10 minutes, when the rice is half cooked, add the vegetables and then the leftover chicken and continue to simmer until the rice is just about done. Watch the rice: if it is just covered by stock, all will be well, but if it begins to look too dry, add a little more stock as needed.
Stir in the prawns and mix well. Turn off the heat, put the lid on the pan and leave for 3–4 minutes, to allow the prawns to cook in the heat of the rice. If you are using tiger prawns, however, you will need to add them with the chicken, as they will take 10 minutes to cook; smaller prawns will need almost no cooking and will become tough if overdone. Season to taste and serve hot, with a dash of Tabasco sauce for more bite

This spicy rice dish from the southern states of America uses long grain rice and just about anything you have lying around. It’s a great vehicle for mixed vegetables, with either leftover chicken or frozen prawns. Don’t be alarmed by the length of the ingredients list below – just use what you have and ignore whatever you don’t.
This recipe is just a starting point. For example, to make use of Christmas leftovers, use ham and turkey together, adding a 400g can of chopped tomatoes after the onion has cooked and reduce the quantity of stock accordingly. You could also convert it into a pasta dish by replacing the rice with small pasta such as macaroni, which gives the Creole thing an ironic Italian twist.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 hot chillies, deseeded and finely chopped, or 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
3 or 4 sausages or 1 good-sized chorizo sausage, skinned and chopped
360g long grain rice
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
1.3 litres stock
any mixed vegetables you have: a couple of red peppers, cut into strips, for example, and a teacup or two of diced courgettes, peas, beans or cauliflower florets
2 teacups (about 200g) diced cooked chicken
2 teacups (about 200g) defrosted raw prawns

ice simmered in oniony, spicy stock and youcando it this way, adding leftover meat or vegetables right at the end once the rice is cooked. But you can also make a pretty good approximation with a spare bowl of rice that will take half the time.
The bonus is that this is also a great way of clearing the fridge of needy vegetables or leftover meat.
Serves 3
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
a little butter or olive oil
1 teacup leftover or raw vegetables, cut into small pieces
1 teacup leftover meat, shredded fairly small
1½–2 teacups (160–200g) leftover rice
salt and pepper
To serve:
a handful of parsley or other herbs, finely chopped plain yogurt
Gently cook the onion and garlic in a little butter or olive oil in a frying pan, letting the onion brown to add sweetness to the dish. Add the vegetables. Leftover vegetables will simply need to heat through, but if they are raw, cook until they are tender. Add the meat and rice and season well with salt and a little pepper. Move the mixture about until it is hot right through. Serve in a bowl, with a handful of chopped parsley or your favourite herb and a dollop of tart plain yogurt

Adding leftover rice to the frying pan turns it, in effect, into a pilaf. A true pilaf (or pilau, if you prefer) should of course be made with raw

This is a gentle, well-behaved curry. You can play around with the spices as you like: substitute a rounded teaspoon of curry paste or powder for the individual spices used below or replace them with gentler spices such as cumin or coriander seeds – well toasted and then bashed in a mortar -or bruised cardamom pods, fenugreek and fennel seeds along with the ginger and garlic. With mild curries like these, a final squeeze of lemon adds real brightness and a generous handful of toasted flaked almonds will give a sweet crunch.
When it comes to vegetable curries, take inspiration from your favourite Indian restaurant; sweet potatoes and pumpkin are particularly fine together; mushrooms pair deliciously with green beans.
Serves 2

This is a gentle, well-behaved curry. You can play around with the spices as you like: substitute a rounded teaspoon of curry paste or powder for the individual spices used below or replace them with gentler spices such as cumin or coriander seeds – well toasted and then bashed in a mortar -or bruised cardamom pods, fenugreek and fennel seeds along with the ginger and garlic. With mild curries like these, a final squeeze of lemon adds real brightness and a generous handful of toasted flaked almonds will give a sweet crunch.
When it comes to vegetable curries, take inspiration from your favourite Indian restaurant; sweet potatoes and pumpkin are particularly fine together; mushrooms pair deliciously with green beans.
Serves 2
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
a little butter or oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons garam masala
a small pinch of chilli powder (or more, to taste)
2 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
½ teacup coconut milk or yogurt
about 2 teacups (200g) diced leftover poultry, fish or vegetables of your choice (or fresh meat, fish or vegetables)
a handful of chopped fresh coriander
Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in a little butter or oil until just beginning to colour. Add the turmeric, garam masala and chilli (or replace these with curry paste or powder) and cook gently for 1-2 minutes to open up the flavour of the spices.
If you are using fresh meat, fish or vegetables, add them now and turn them in the spiced onion mixture until well coated. Then stir in the tomatoes, followed by the coconut milk or yogurt (which will separat

This is a gentle, well-behaved curry. You can play around with the spices as you like: substitute a rounded teaspoon of curry paste or powder for the individual spices used below or replace them with gentler spices such as cumin or coriander seeds – well toasted and then bashed in a mortar -or bruised cardamom pods, fenugreek and fennel seeds along with the ginger and garlic. With mild curries like these, a final squeeze of lemon adds real brightness and a generous handful of toasted flaked almonds will give a sweet crunch.
When it comes to vegetable curries, take inspiration from your favourite Indian restaurant; sweet potatoes and pumpkin are particularly fine together; mushrooms pair deliciously with green beans.
Serves 2
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
a little butter or oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons garam masala
a small pinch of chilli powder (or more, to taste)
2 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
½ teacup coconut milk or yogurt
about 2 teacups (200g) diced leftover poultry, fish or vegetables of your choice (or fresh meat, fish or vegetables)
a handful of chopped fresh coriander
Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in a little butter or oil until just beginning to colour. Add the turmeric, garam masala and chilli (or replace these with curry paste or powder) and cook gently for 1-2 minutes to open up the flavour of the spices.
If you are using fresh meat, fish or vegetables, add them now and turn them in the spiced onion mixture until well coated. Then stir in the tomatoes, followed by the coconut milk or yogurt (which will separate slightly

the most delicious with this clinging, sweet and winey sauce. Or you could forget the meat and use root vegetables instead, adding them with the onion marmalade at the start.
Serves 3-4
a little oil
2 rounded tablespoons Onion Marmalade (see page 42)
1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and ground ginger
a good pinch of ground cinnamon
6 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
2 tablespoons each of stoned black olives and capers, drained and rinsed
180ml red wine
180ml water or mild stock
250g dried fruits – a mixture of apricots and prunes is lovely
4 teacups (400-500g) cooked lamb, trimmed and cut into pieces
salt and pepper
In a heavy-based pan, gently heat a little oil and the onion marmalade. Stir in the cumin, ginger and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute. Add all the other ingredients except the meat, stir well and cover. Cook slowly on the hob or in a low oven (150°C/Gas Mark 2) for 40 minutes or so, until the sauce has reduced by a good third. Add the meat and heat through for 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve with couscous and a green salad.

This fake ‘tagine’ works well with any meat, though lamb is perhaps