Budget Bites: Three affordable, seasonal recipes for spring

Time to swap those hearty root vegetables for lighter, greener spring produce, says Hannah Twiggs. Here’s three recipe suggestions that don’t break the bank

Greens galore: roast courgette, rocket and feta gnocchi; butter roast cabbage with herby mash; and pea and feta soup (Sorted)

Spring has sprung, which means it’s time to make the most of the abundance of seasonal produce (hopefully) hitting supermarket shelves.

With just a few storecupboard ingredients that you already have, you can cook up these three gloriously green recipes in no time.

As part of our Budget Bites column – where we’ve teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month – we’ve brought you three seasonal dishes that make the most of your staple ingredients while keeping your fresh shopping list minimal.

We’ve also provided a handy shopping list for the ingredients (though hopefully most of it will be knocking about already), which are used across all recipes to ensure minimal food waste. You just need to decide where to shop, whether it’s locally or online.

Shopping list

• 1 brown onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 courgette
• 1 sweetheart cabbage
• 600g loose white potatoes
• 30g fresh basil
• 30g fresh parsley
• 30g fresh mint
• 60g rocket
• 1 lemon
• 75g unsalted butter
• 200g feta
• Olive oil
• Vegetable oil
• 500g pre-cooked gnocchi
• 1 ciabatta (1x 250g)
• Dijon mustard
• Honey
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• Dried oregano
• 300g frozen peas

Roast courgette with rocket gnocchi with roast feta

If you want to swap feta for goat’s cheese, go ahead (Sorted)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 courgette

2 cloves garlic

4 tbsp olive oil

75g feta

1 tsp dried oregano

500g pre-cooked gnocchi

30g fresh basil

60g rocket

Method:

1. Get ready: Preheat the oven to 220C. Fill a kettle with water and put it on to boil – this will be for the gnocchi later.

2. Prep it up: Coarsely grate 2 courgettes into a large roasting tray. Peel 2 cloves of garlic, flatten them, and throw them in too.

3. Mix: Drizzle over 3 tbsp of the oil, season with salt, pepper and toss everything together. Spread the courgette out into 1 even layer.

4. Roast: Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden in places and completely soft. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

5. Get the feta ready in: Crumble 75g of feta onto a small tray and toss with 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tsp of oregano.

6. Roast the feta: Roast in the oven alongside the courgette for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Crack on with a bit ofwashing up while you wait.

7. Cook the gnocchi: Tip 500g of gnocchi into a large mixing bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Allow to stand for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Crack on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

8. Blend: Once the courgette is ready, scrape it into a measuring jug with 30g of basil and 60g of rocket. Add 4 tbsp of the gnocchi's cooking water, then blitz until smooth with a hand blender. Season to taste with salt.

9. Mix it up: Once the gnocchi is soft, drain through a colander over the sink, return it to the bowl and fold through the green sauce.

10. Serve: Divide the gnocchi between plates or bowls, scatter over the roast feta and get stuck in!

Butter roast cabbage with herb mash

Feel free to get creative with herbs in this recipe – why not try subbing in chives? (Sorted)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

5 tbsp vegetable oil

1 sweetheart cabbage

600g loose white potatoes

50g unsalted butter

½ ciabatta (1x 250g)

1 clove garlic

20g fresh parsley

10g fresh mint

Method:

1. Preheat: Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Prep the cabbage: Add 2 tbsp of the oil to a large, oven proof frying pan and place it over a medium heat. While the oil comes up to temperature, cut 1 sweetheart cabbage in half lengthways.

3. Fry the cabbage: Once the oil starts to shimmer and loosen, place the cabbage halves in the pan cut-side down. Fry undisturbed for 5-6 minutes, until golden. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

4. Prep the potatoes: Cut 600g of potatoes into large chunks and tip them into a medium saucepan.

5. Get the potatoes on: Cover the potatoes with water, season with a generous pinch of salt and place the pan over a highheat. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Get on with the rest of the dish in the nextsteps while you wait.

6. Flip and butter: Once the cut-sides of the cabbage are golden, flip the halves, season with salt and add 25g of the butter to the pan.

7. Roast the cabbage: Cover with a lid and pop the whole pan into the oven to roast and steam for 12-15 minutes, until soft. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

8. Get the ciabatta ready: Rip small chunks from ½ a ciabatta onto a small tray – we will use the rest in another recipe this week if you haven't used it already.

9. Toss: Peel 1 clove of garlic, finely grate it over the ciabatta, and add 3 tbsp of oil. Toss everything together with a generous pinch of salt – ensure the bread is fully coated.

10. Cook the ciabatta: Bake the ciabatta in the oven with the cabbage for 8-10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

11. Chop the herbs: Finely chop 20g of parsley and 10g of mint. If you are still waiting on the potatoes, now would be a great time to crack on with a bit of washing up.

12. Mash and mix: Once the potatoes are ready, drain through a colander over the sink and return to the pan. Mash with 25g of butter until smooth, then fold through the herbs and season to taste with salt.

13. Serve: Divide the mash between plates and top each mound with a cabbage half. Spoon over the crispy, garlicky ciabatta and enjoy!

Pea and feta soup with mint dressing

If you are low on time, sub out the mint dressing for pre-made mint sauce let down with a splash of vinegar (Sorted)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic

25g unsalted butter

20g fresh mint

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon

1 vegetable stock cube

300g frozen peas

½ ciabatta (1x 250g)

10g fresh parsley

125g feta

Method:

1. Get the kettle on: Fill the kettle with water and put it on to boil, this will be for the peas later.

2. Prep it up: Halve, peel and finely dice 1 onion. Peel and mince 2 cloves of garlic.

3. Melt the butter: Melt 25g of butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat.

4. Sweat the veg: Chuck the onion and garlic in with the butter. Season with a pinch of salt, give everything a mix, then cover with a lid and sweat for 6-8 minutes, until translucent. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

5. Assemble the dressing: Add 20g of mint, 1 tsp of mustard, 1 tsp of honey, and 2 tbsp of olive oil to a measuring jug. Finely grate in the zest from 1 lemon and squeeze in its juice.

6. Blend the dressing: Blitz until smooth with a hand blender. Season to taste with salt.

7. Add the stock and peas: Once the onion and garlic are ready, crumble in 1 stock cube. Then, add 300g of peas and tip in enough boiling water from the kettle to cover them.

8. Simmer: Bring everything up to a boil, then cook for 4-5 minutes, until the peas are soft. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

9. Preheat the grill: Preheat the grill to its highest temperature. Cut ½ a ciabatta in half through the middle while it heats up.

10. Get crispy: Toast the bread under the grill for 1-2 minutes, until golden and crisp. Keep an eye on it as it can burn FAST!

11. Assemble the soup: Once the peas are soft, remove a mug-full of the stock. Add 10g of parsley and 100g of the feta to the pan – we will use the remaining 25g for garnish later.

12. Blend the soup: Blitz until smooth and silky with a hand blender. Loosen with the reserved stock if necessary.

13. Serve: Divide the soup between bowls and top with the dressing and reserved feta. Serve with the toasted ciabatta and tuck in!

In response to the rising cost of living, we have teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month. Find out more about Sorted and their nifty meal-planning app Sidekick at sortedfood.com/sidekick.