Olive Magazine ‘7 meals for £35’ to the test!

Now that we’re home from honeymoon and feeling the pinch a little,  I’ve decided to put Olive Magazine to the test and try out their “7 meals for £35” feature. Having spent some time going through my old copies to find the tastiest selection, I decided to go for the Mar 2011 issue but you can see the current Oct 2012 one here.

Essentially, for those of you who are not familiar with the concept, its so simple – each issue, Olive selects one weeks worth of meals complete with a shopping list split by fresh and store cupboard items.   Being the impatient lady that I am, I couldn’t wait until Monday to start this challenge so my 7 days started tonight and will run Friday to Friday!

DAY ONE – Moroccan Baked Eggs

Ingredients:

• Red onion halved and sliced
• Olive oil 
• Chorizo 100g chopped
• Plum tomatoes x 1 400g tin 
• Coriander 1/2 small bunch, chopped
• Eggs x 4 (I love Burford Browns)
• Wholemeal pitta bread to serve. 

 Method:

• Cook the onion in a little oil until softened. Add the chorizo and cook for a few mins until starting to crisp up. Tip in the tomatoes and simmer for 10 mins then stir in half the coriander and season.
• Heat the oven to 180c/fan160c/gas mark 4. Divide the sauce between two ovenproof dishes and make 2 dips in each. Crack the eggs into the dips and put on a baking tray then bake for 15-20 mins until the whites are set and yolks are as you like them. Scatter with coriander and serve with pittas.

The finished thing.

My verdict: Totally delicious and surprisingly filling – whats better than tomatoes and chorizo together? The eggs weren’t very runny which was a shame (and my fault for not keeping an eye on them).. I also lightly toasted the pittas but next time might replace them with a couple of cheeky slices of garlic bread. 8/10

DAY TWO – Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with Sesame Rice

Ingredients:

• Soy Sauce 2 tbsp
• Mirin 2 tbsp
• Brown Sugar 1 tbsp
• Salmon fillets 2, skinless
• Brown Basmati Rice 
• Edamame (soy) beans 75g
• Mangetout 75g, halved length ways
• Sesame oil 2 tsp
• Red Chilli shredded
• Spring onions x4 shredded 

Method:

• Stir the soy, mirin and brown sugar until the sugar dissolves. Put the salmon in a bowl or freezer bag, add the marinade and leave for 10 minutes. Cook the rice to pack instructions and add mangetout and edamame beans for last 2 minutes.
• Grill the salmon for 5 minutes, spooning any left over marinade until glazed and just cooked through. Drain the rice and toss with the sesame oil  and a splash of soy sauce and the spring onions and chilli. Serve with the salmon and a dipping sauce. 

My verdict: Really tasty. I think this looks impressive on the plate but is really easy (and quick) to make. Alterations for me – I used white rice as that’s what I had in the cupboard and next time I think I’d put just 1 tbsp of sesame oil into the rice. The smokiness is nice but a little over powering. 7/10

DAY THREE – Gnocci with Broccoli & Parmesan Cream Sauce

Ingredients: 

• Butter
• Garlic 1 clove, crushed
• Chilli flakes, a pinch (optional)
• Vegetable stock 150ml
• Half-fat Creme Fraiche 4 tbsp
• Parmesan 50g, finely grated 
• Tenderstem broccoli 250g, halved lengthways 
• Gnocci 250g 

Method: 

• Heat a knob of butter in a small pan then cook the garlic and chilli (if using) for 2 minutes.  Add the stock, bring to the boil then reduce by 3/4. Whisk in the creme fraiche then stir in the parmesan to make a sauce. Keep warm on a low heat.
• Cook the broccoli in a large pan of boiling salted water until just tender. Scoop out the pan with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain. Add the gnocchi to the same water and cook to instructions on pack. Drain. Toss the gnocchi and broccoli with sauce and serve in warmed bowls. 

My verdict: This was quite rich but great comfort food. I think it would benefit from some smoked bacon or pancetta cubes to jazz it up and in my case, I needed to cook the broccoli for just another minute. 6/10

DAY FOUR – Tex Mex Lentil & Chipotle Soup 

Ingredients: 

• Onions 2 chopped
• Carrot, 1 peeled and grated
• Celery, 1 stalk, finely chopped
• Green chillies, 2 finely chopped (I used 1 and the soup was pretty spicy!)
• Olive oil
• Chipotle paste, 2tsp
• Ground cumin, 1/2 tsp
• Red lentils, 75g
• Chopped tomatoes, 400g tin
• Soured cream, to serve
• Tabasco, to serve (optional)
• Tortilla chips, to serve 

Method:

• Cook the onion, carrot, celery and chillies over a gentle heat in a splash of olive oil until softened. Add the chipotle paste and cumin and cook for a minute. Tip in the lentils, tomatoes and 400ml water. Simmer for 30 mins or until the lentils are tender. 
• Whiz half the soup in a blender or or blend briefly with a stick blender then mix everything together. Season, then serve in bowls with a dollop of soured cream, a splash of Tabasco (optional) and a pile of tortilla chips on the side.

My verdict:
I’ve not cooked with chipotle before, the scent and flavour is fabulous, very smoky and rich. The smell of the soup whilst it was cooking was gorgeous. The soup was filling and moreish but quite spicy so it needed the soured cream. 8.5 /10

DAY FIVE – Mushroom, thyme & mascarpone pizza 

Ingredients:

• Pizza or Ciabatta bread mix approx 300g 
• Olive oil
• Flat or Portobello mushrooms, 250g sliced
• Garlic, 1/2 clove crushed
• Thyme – 2 sprigs, leaves stripped
• Mascarpone 4 tbsp
• Rocket, a few leaves
• Parmesan shavings to serve

Method:

• Make up the base mix according to the packet instructions and leave to rest while you make the topping. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a large non stick frying pan. Add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and cook for two mins until they start to soften. Add the garlic and the thyme and cook for another few minutes turning up the heat to drive off the liquid.
• Heat the oven to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7. Roll out the dough fairly thinly. Spread the mascarpone over the base then scatter over the mushrooms. Bake for 10 – 15 mins until golden. 
• Scatter with rocket and parmesan and drizzle over olive oil to serve.

Spot the bit I’ve eaten!

My verdict:

The hardest dish to make so far this week but looked impressive when done. I think a tomato base would work better than the mascarpone as it was a little dry. The mushrooms were moist and lovely and the thyme very tasty but overall, a bit bland. 4/10

DAY SIX – Italian Chicken & Rosemary Stew

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken thigh fillets, skinless & boneless quartered (about 500g) 
• Olive oil
• Rosemary needles, from 2 springs chopped finely
• 2 Onions, sliced
• Garlic, 2 cloves crushed
• Balsamic 1 tbsp
• Chicken stock 500ml 
• Pealed Spelt 2 tbsp
• Waxy potatoes such as Charlotte, quartered lengthways and peeled – 250g 
• Parsley, a small bunch chopped 

Method:

• Heat the oven to 190c/170fan/gas5. Fry the chicken thighs in a little olive oil until browned and then scoop out the pan. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a minute. Add the balsamic and cook for a minute then add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a simmer then cover and transfer to the oven for 1 hour. Stir in the parsley and serve with crusty bread if you like.  

My Verdict:
The worst of the meals so far – the flavour was quite bland and the sauce was quite watery. I’m not sure if this was because I used rice instead of pearled spelt (because I couldn’t get it) and it didn’t expand as much. This isn’t something I’ll make again sadly. 2/10

DAY SEVEN  – Toad in the hole with caramelised onion gravy

Ingredients: 

• Eggs 2
• Plain Flour 150g
• Milk 300ml
• Dijon or English Mustard 2tsp
• Pork Sausages 8
• Red Onion 1, cut into thin wedges

Caramelised onion gravy

• Onions 2 halved and sliced
• Butter
• Beef Stock 500ml 

Method:

• To make the gravy, cook the onions in a large knob of butter and a big pinch of salt stirring until they are dark brown and caramelised (this will take about 30 mins so be patient!). Add the stock then simmer for 20 minutes.
• To make the batter, add the eggs to the flour with a little milk, then whisk until smooth. Add the rest of the milk and whisk in. Stir in the mustard and season. 
• Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6. Put the sausages and red onion into a large ovenproof dish or tin with plenty of room between the sausages and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil. Season then cook for 20-30 mins until the sausages are browned. Pour over the batter then put back in the oven for 30-40 mins until puffed and golden. Serve with gravy. 

My verdict:
The last night! Can’t believe it! This was by far the best of the full week, a nice meal to end on. I used Tesco finest pork sausages and Burford Brown eggs in the batter which I’m sure added to the loveliness.  I served with cabbage and carrots. Totally delicious, quite labour intensive but worth the effort. 9/10