Beat the post-Christmas pinch with five tasty recipes for under a fiver

FEELING the post-Christmas pinch? You’re not alone.

Food bills – as well as your waistband – are getting bigger. But help is at hand, thanks to Ashleigh Mogford’s new cookbook.

Known as ‘Cardiff Mum’ to her 425,000 Instagram followers, Ashleigh, 31, has tried and tested her recipes on her husband Damian and kids Addie, four, and one-year-old Emmie.

Her Thrifty Feasts book, top, which is out this month features savvy slow-cooker meals, air-fryer faves and wonder one-pots – all under a fiver.

Kirsty Spence picks out some of the tastiest.

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Mexican bean patty flatbreads

Serves: 4, Time taken: 40 mins

YOU NEED:

For the patties:

• 1 red onion
• Handful fresh coriander
• 2 x 400g tins black beans
• 4 slices fresh mozzarella
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• Juice 1 lime
• 2 handfuls porridge oats
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

For the flatbreads:

• 4 folded flatbreads or pitta breads
• Pickled jalapenos

METHOD:

1. Finely chop the onion and coriander.
2. Set aside ½ tin of black beans and the mozzarella, then put the rest of the patty ingredients into a blender and blitz for a few mins, until everything is chopped but the mixture isn’t smooth.
3. Add the beans you set aside and blitz for just a few secs, to keep them chunky. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Using a spoon, divide the mixture into 4 balls and shape them into patties.
5. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the patties on both sides for 5 mins, making sure the heat isn’t too high or they will burn.
6. Add a slice of mozzarella to each patty while it’s in the pan, and let it melt.
7. Warm your flatbreads in the air fryer or toaster, then open them up and add a patty to each one, with some pickled jalapenos.

Stovetop minestrone soup with cheesy croutons

Serves: 4, Time taken: 40 mins

YOU NEED:

• 1 red onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery sticks
• 1 red pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• 2L chicken or veg stock
• 400g tin cannellini beans
• 150g tin sweetcorn
• 400g fusilli pasta
• 4 slices stale bread
• 200g grated cheddar
• Handful fresh basil
• Handful fresh parsley
• 3 tbsp red pesto

METHOD:

1. Chop the onion, carrots, celery, red pepper and garlic, and put them into a large soup pan with a few tablespoons olive oil.
2. Cook over a medium heat, and when the ingredients have softened, add the stock and cook for 10 mins more.
3. Drain the cannellini beans and sweetcorn and add them to the pan, then add the pasta and cook for another 15 mins.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. Chop the bread into small squares, put them on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, and place in the oven for 5 mins.
5. Remove the tray from the oven and sprinkle half the grated cheese over the croutons, then place under a hot grill for 5 mins to melt the cheese.
6. Finely chop the basil and parsley and add to the soup. Stir in the red pesto and cook for 5 more mins.
7. Serve in bowls, with the cheddar croutons and sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top.

Creamy tomato gnocchi

Serves: 4, Time taken: 20 mins

YOU NEED:

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• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g cherry tomatoes
• 500g gnocchi
• 150ml single cream
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 1 packet fresh mozzarella

METHOD:

1. Crush the cloves of garlic, then put them into a frying pan with the olive oil and fry on a low heat for 3 mins.
2. Add the cherry tomatoes and fry for another 5 mins.
3. Add the gnocchi, cream and veg stock, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 8 mins.
4. Once cooked, tear up the mozzarella, sprinkle it over the top and serve.

Creamy harissa pasta & cod

Serves: 4, Time taken: 30 mins

YOU NEED:

• 400g spaghetti
• 100g sliced kale
• 4 small frozen cod fillets, defrosted
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp harissa seasoning or paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 250g mascarpone
• 50g Parmesan
• 200g sun-dried tomatoes
• Chopped parsley, to serve

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C on the grill setting.
2. Cook your pasta in salted boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
3. Add the kale to the water for the final 2 mins of cooking. Drain and reserve a ladle of pasta water.
4. Drizzle the cod fillets with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and spoon or sprinkle the harissa over them.
5. Air fry for 7 minutes at 190C.
6. Chop the garlic, then place it in a blender with the mascarpone, Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes, and blitz until smooth.
7. Put the pasta and kale back into the pan, and add the creamy sauce mixture and the reserved pasta water.
8. Mix well, add the parsley and serve.

Creamy garlic mushroom risotto

Serves: 4, Time taken: 30 mins

YOU NEED:

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion
• 2 celery sticks
• 500g frozen mushrooms
• 100g frozen or fresh spinach
• 1 veg stock cube
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 300g risotto rice
• Handful fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 100g grated cheddar

METHOD:

1. Finely chop the garlic, onion and celery.
2. Defrost the mushrooms and spinach, if using frozen, using the microwave.
3. Drain the mushrooms but keep the liquid. Place the mushroom liquid in a jug with a veg stock cube and top it up to 850ml with hot water.
4. Put the mushrooms into a pan with 1 tbsp butter, the thyme and the chopped garlic and cook until the mushrooms are golden. When cooked, remove them from the pan.
5. Finely chop half the mushrooms. Add the chopped onion and celery to the same pan and cook for a few minutes, until soft.
6. Add the risotto rice to the pan and stir for 2 mins to toast and combine well with the vegetables.
7. Slowly start adding the stock. Add a ladle at a time, stirring the risotto after each one, and don’t add any more until the previous ladle of stock has evaporated.
8. Continue to add stock until your rice is nearly cooked. Then add the chopped mushrooms and spinach, and keep adding stock until the rice is tender.
9. Chop the parsley. Stir the cream cheese and 1 tbsp butter into the rice, then add the grated cheddar, season with salt and pepper and finish with the rest of the mushrooms and chopped parsley.

• Cardiff Mum’s Thrifty Feasts by Ashleigh Mogford (£22, Michael Joseph) is out January 18.