Jamie's Cauliflower and Squash Rogan Josh

By Helen

Main Ingredients:

• Butternut squash
• Chickpeas
• Cauliflower
• Curry paste
• Spinach
• Chapattis, rice, yogurt

Week two of Veggie Lent and one of the less exciting-looking recipes. No crazy ingredients - in fact nothing I hadn't already added to a meat curry before. I wasn't convinced that this would be particularly memorable.

I started by chopping an alarmingly large pile of vegetables - two onions, garlic, most of a squash and a whole cauliflower. They clearly weren't going to fit into the saucepan I had optimistically pre-heated so once I'd juggled the whole lot into two pans I could add the Patak's paste, chickpeas and coriander.

With that bubbling away vigorously I could turn my attention to the rice (microwaved since there weren't any pans left), sprinkling the chapattis with turmeric and keeping warm in the oven, and dressing the grated carrot with ginger, lemon juice, flaked almonds and more coriander. 

Thankfully by this point the veggies were looking less raw and taking up a little less space so I could chuck in some spinach and make the ten-second lemon pickle with mustard seeds, chilli and turmeric. This was a real hit with Chris - much more fragrant and less astringent than the jars of Lime Pickle we've had before.

So, lots to do - even though the yogurt and chapattis were pretty much ready-made and one of the sides is 'BEER'. Overall it was definitely worth it - the cauliflower quickly broke down to make a surprisingly creamy sauce and the chickpeas had lost all their chalkiness, even in the relatively short cooking time. 

And the vital stats? 38 minutes and a bargainous £1.40 a head.

Best for... Feeding (and impressing) a crowd that has descended on the flat to watch a sporting event 

Taken from... Jamie Oliver - 30 Minute Meals

Chris says... The carrot salad was the perfect example of something I wouldn't have even tried before we started this project, but I loved it!

Jamie's Pork Chops & Crispy Crackling

By Chris
Main ingredients:

• Pork Chops (4x 200g)
• King Edward Potatoes
• Savoy Cabbage
• Wholegrain Mustard
• Honey, Sage and Garlic

This recipe doesn't sound like much on paper, but really worked out to be more than the sum of its parts. If nothing else, I learnt how to make my own pork scratchings, which is an invaluable life skill if ever I learnt one!

Jamie's recipe suggests cutting the rind off the pork (harder than it sounds), then frying on a high heat to crisp up. This made pretty decent scratchings, but filled my flat with smoke, which was mildly embarrassing since the guests had already arrived. Once they were done and the chops were seared, it all went in the oven with the honey, garlic and sage, which made for some very juicy, tasty chops.

I served this with boiled savoy cabbage, which was flavoured with mint sauce, and microwaved King Edward potatoes with parsley and mustard. None of this is exactly rocket science, but somehow it took 45 minutes - another fail by 30 minute meals standard. The dish didn't look spectacular, although the subtle flavours combined brilliantly to make a very satisfying meal, which at £1.75 per head was very affordable.

Best for... Entertaining friends on a budget (even if they don't normally like cabbage)

Taken from... Jamie Oliver - 30 Minute Meals

Helen says... A couple of extra ingredients made an initially rather uninspiring prospect much more impressive - I'll definitely be adding mint sauce to cabbage again.