SInce coming to Australia me and Ash have started to enjoy cooking together although at times we (mainly me) tend to get in each others way. This has been a new experience in itself as back home we live with our parents who tend to do most of the cooking. Thanks Moms!
So here are a few recipes that we’ve started making on a regular basis. All quite tasty, affordable and pretty simple to cook even for any fellow backpackers living in a hostel. Most of the recipes have been found on the following useful websites:
http://www.jamieoliver.com
http://www.nigella.com
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com
We have tweaked them to suit our needs either by reducing the cost or adding taste. I’ve also included the approximate cost of each meal in Australian Dollars based on purchasing ingredients from Coles supermarket.
Mince Meat Ragu
Serves 4 – Total cost $6 = $1.50 per serving
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 1.5 hours
Ingredients: Olive oil, 1 onion diced, 1 garlic clove diced, 2 carrots diced, 2x 400g can diced tomato, 500g mince meat (beef), seasoning.
Optional: red wine, bacon, mixed beans, chilli, rosemary.
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add all vegetables and cook for 15mins.
- Add mince meat to pan and cook for further 10mins or until meat sealed.
- Increase heat (add wine?) tomatoes and season to taste. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Serve with mash, pasta or rice.
The ragu is a very versatile dish that you can get creative with. Freeze or refrigerate the left overs.
Sausarole ( Sausage & Bean casserole)
Serves 4 – Total cost $5 = $1.25 per serving
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ingredients: Olive oil, 8 sausages or 1kg, 1 onion sliced, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2tbsp instant gravy powder, 2 cups water, 400g can diced tomatoes, 400g can cannellini or mixed beans, seasoning.
Optional: red wine, rosemary
- Heat oil in large deep saucepan over medium heat. Cook sausages until golden brown then transfer onto a plate.
- Cook onion in same pan until softened. Add garlic (and red wine) on high for 1 minute.
- Add sausages back into saucepan and stir in gravy powder. Add water, tomato (and rosemary), bring to the boil then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in beans few minutes from end until soften and season to taste.
- Serve with crusty bread, potato mash or rice.
Prawn/Mix Seafood Risotto (Paella)
Serves 4 – Total cost $10.50 = $2.60 per serving
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ingredients: Olive oil, 1 onion diced, 1 garlic clove diced, 300g risotto rice, 400g can diced tomato, 3tbsp white wine, 900ml chicken stock, 400g frozen prawns/seafood mix, paprika, 1 lemon.
- Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until golden.
- Stir in paprika and add rice. Cook for 1 minute whilst stirring then add wine and cook for a further minute or until absorbed.
- Add tomato, garlic, chicken stock and season. Cook for 15 minutes whilst stirring making sure rice does not stick to bottom.
- Rinse frozen prawns/seafood under cold water then add to rice. Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes until seafood cooked through.
- Squeeze in juice of half a lemon then serve with parsley and a slice of lemon.
Why not try them out for yourself. Remember to subscribe to our blog to stay updated and more recipes will be posted on here soon. Feel free to drop us a comment about any recipes you would like to recommend.
Half The World Away 