POT LUCK
One-pot cooking: easy, filling dishes that, by and large, are best left to their own devices. Simply layering meat, veg and so on into a pot and shoving it into the oven means you can get on with watching Bargain Hunt on the telly, safe in the knowledge that as soon as Doctors comes on, you can switch off the medical angst and indulge in a delicious lunch, instead.
Your pot will also quite likely contain all your five-a-day as well as a little protein, making it one of the easiest, cheapest ways to feed a family, or even a singleton: one-pot cooking is like cut-and-come-again cake, a multitasker that can be reheated, re-used and recycled all week. It saves on the washing-up, too…
And should you have tired of the basic stew/ soup-in-a-pot scenario, Georgina Fuggle has raced to the rescue with a whole book devoted to new one-pot cooking recipes, including chapters on game, vegetables, fish and even puddings. As a bishop’s daughter, Fuggle thinks that ‘sitting among pews in a church nourishes the soul in a similar way to a hearty bowl of soup’ – so you know that her recipes will be good-hearted and filling.
Indeed, her chapter Mother Souperia is full of chunky soups that ‘cross the fine line between a soup and a stew. All-in-one fish pie is the ‘edible equivalent of a robust bear hug’, and – cheapest of the lot – leek, kale and barley broth, is a January winner.
Take One Pot by Georgina Fuggle, with photography by Tara Fisher, is published by Kyle Books, priced £14.99.
Serves 6
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 1.5-2 litre ovenproof dish with olive oil. Put the fish chunks in a large bowl and sprinkle over the plain flour. Gently toss so each piece of fish is lightly coated.
Add the vegetables, white sauce, dill (reserving a little for the garnish) and lemon zest. Gently combine so that the sauce is spread throughout the mixture. Season and transfer to the ovenproof dish.
Brush one side of the filo pastry sheets with butter and scrunch up, leaving the buttered side facing upwards. Place on top of the fi sh mixture – the more abstract, the more beautiful. Give a good twist of black pepper, a sprinkling of salt and a little dusting of the reserved dill.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the sauce bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow the fi sh to continue cooking for 5 minutes or so before serving.
Makes 6-8 mugfuls
For the broth
For the salted paprika yogurt
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan. Add leeks and garlic and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the leeks begin to turn translucent, but don’t allow them to colour. Add the sprigs of thyme and season well. Cover and continue to cook on a very low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the leeks have wilted.
Stir the pearl barley into the pot and pour over the hot chicken stock. Simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until the barley is tender. Stir in the kale towards the end of the cooking time, letting it boil for 6-8 minutes. Top up with hot stock if needed. It’s lovely for the kale to retain its crunch and vibrant green, so do not cook for longer than needed.
For the salted paprika yogurt, combine the crème fraîche, lemon zest, juice, paprika and salt and allow to sit while the soup develops. Ladle into the mugs and serve your soup with parsley bobbing in it and a good heap of paprika yogurt.
Your pot will also quite likely contain all your five-a-day as well as a little protein, making it one of the easiest, cheapest ways to feed a family, or even a singleton: one-pot cooking is like cut-and-come-again cake, a multitasker that can be reheated, re-used and recycled all week. It saves on the washing-up, too…
And should you have tired of the basic stew/ soup-in-a-pot scenario, Georgina Fuggle has raced to the rescue with a whole book devoted to new one-pot cooking recipes, including chapters on game, vegetables, fish and even puddings. As a bishop’s daughter, Fuggle thinks that ‘sitting among pews in a church nourishes the soul in a similar way to a hearty bowl of soup’ – so you know that her recipes will be good-hearted and filling.
Indeed, her chapter Mother Souperia is full of chunky soups that ‘cross the fine line between a soup and a stew. All-in-one fish pie is the ‘edible equivalent of a robust bear hug’, and – cheapest of the lot – leek, kale and barley broth, is a January winner.
Take One Pot by Georgina Fuggle, with photography by Tara Fisher, is published by Kyle Books, priced £14.99.
ALL-IN-ONE FISH PIE (pictured above)
Serves 6
- Olive oil, for greasing
- 250g pollock fillets, skinned and cut into 2-3cm chunks
- 250g salmon, skinned and cut into 2-3cm chunks
- 250g smoked haddock, skinned and cut into 2-3cm chunks
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 red onion, peeled and very finely sliced
- 2 carrots (approx 200g), peeled and coarsely grated
- 150g frozen peas (no need to pre-cook them)
- 500ml good-quality, bought white sauce, or homemade
- A good clump of dill, roughly chopped
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 150g fi lo pastry
- 50g butter, melted
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a 1.5-2 litre ovenproof dish with olive oil. Put the fish chunks in a large bowl and sprinkle over the plain flour. Gently toss so each piece of fish is lightly coated.
Add the vegetables, white sauce, dill (reserving a little for the garnish) and lemon zest. Gently combine so that the sauce is spread throughout the mixture. Season and transfer to the ovenproof dish.
Brush one side of the filo pastry sheets with butter and scrunch up, leaving the buttered side facing upwards. Place on top of the fi sh mixture – the more abstract, the more beautiful. Give a good twist of black pepper, a sprinkling of salt and a little dusting of the reserved dill.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the sauce bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow the fi sh to continue cooking for 5 minutes or so before serving.
LEEK, KALE & BARLEY BROTH
Makes 6-8 mugfuls
For the broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium leeks, finely sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 100g pearl barley
- 2 litres hot chicken stock
- 200g curly kale, stems removed, washed thoroughly and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped flatleaf parsley
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salted paprika yogurt
- 200g crème fraîche
- Grated zest of 1 lemon and juice of half a lemon
- ½ tsp Spanish smoked paprika
- 2 good pinches of salt
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan. Add leeks and garlic and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the leeks begin to turn translucent, but don’t allow them to colour. Add the sprigs of thyme and season well. Cover and continue to cook on a very low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the leeks have wilted.
Stir the pearl barley into the pot and pour over the hot chicken stock. Simmer gently for 30-40 minutes until the barley is tender. Stir in the kale towards the end of the cooking time, letting it boil for 6-8 minutes. Top up with hot stock if needed. It’s lovely for the kale to retain its crunch and vibrant green, so do not cook for longer than needed.
For the salted paprika yogurt, combine the crème fraîche, lemon zest, juice, paprika and salt and allow to sit while the soup develops. Ladle into the mugs and serve your soup with parsley bobbing in it and a good heap of paprika yogurt.