I'll convert you to sprouts!

Sprouts have an incredibly bad press. And it's true- an over boiled sprout is neither beautiful to behold, has a whiff of its own and tastes, well, like the proverbial sprout.

This dish- a spicy, crunchy, colourful meal- is none of those things!

For one (increase quantities for more people) (can be served with rice or noodles)

Ten fresh sprouts, quartered
A medium sized onion (or a couple of banana shallots), diced
Curry Powder (medium)
Toasted Sesame Oil
Olive Oil
half cupful of red-skin peanuts/ cashews (raw) or a mixture

Add a generous splash of toasted sesame oil to a wok, and a liberal amount of olive oil. Put on a high heat.

Add the nuts, and the chopped vegetables.

Add a generous sprinking of the curry powder.

Stir! The heat needs to be high to toast the nuts. However, the vegetables will burn if you do not pay attention!

This will take you twenty minutes to make (absolute maximum!) and is cheap, nutritious and delicious!

tip: I bought the sprouts on a tree, which should keep them fresher for longer : )

Bernie's Tiroler “Groestl” or “Roast”

I grew up in Austria, and this is my favourite “left over” recipe e.g. a little ham/bacon/veggies leftover and added to the potatoes that are always at home. It’s also quite simple to make and surprisingly tasty for the few simple ingredients used...

Tiroler “Groestl” or “Roast”

This is an original Austrian recipe which uses boiled beef, a regional speciality. I’ve adapted it so that it can be used with leftovers found in a British kitchen.

Ingredients for 2 people:

Basics

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion
• 400 g potatoes (boiled & peeled and sliced ca ¼ inch thick) These can be from the day before, unpeeled would also be possible but I always peel them.
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped 
• salt & pepper 
• 2 fried eggs (optional)
• Veggie option
• 200g mushrooms

Meat option

• 200g of bacon, ham, cooked beef, roast pork etc (whatever leftovers there are)
• The original recipe quotes ca. 120 g cooked beef, 70 g bacon; I usually mix bacon/ham and mushrooms

How to make:

1. Boil the potatoes, peel and slice them.
2. Heat up the oil, add chopped onions and meat and/or mushrooms and let them brown slightly (ca 5 minutes).
3. Add the potatoes and roast everything through by stirring frequently so everything is heated up thoroughly (ca 5 minutes). The potatoes should be cold before adding to the pan to avoid stirring it into a “mash”.
4. Season with salt, pepper and parsley.
5. Serve immediately with a fresh salad, adding a fried egg on top (optional). Guten Appetit!

Serve with Almdudler!!!

WONDER likes: 101 Cookbooks

photo: Heidi Swanson 

Written by a woman. Yes. Using seasonal local ingredients where possible. Yes. Nutritious and delicious. Yes. Environmentally friendly. Oh yeah.

Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks blog is amazing. It's not just the food, it's the great pictures too. This gal manages to make vegetarian look and sound so enticing that you don't even realise that it's a veggie blog. And with meat production leading to rising prices for the basic staples that some of the world's poorest people rely on- maize, wheat and soy, for example, as we in the West now eat WAY more than the recommened 100g of protein a day that we are recommended, and a large amount of that is unnecessary animal protein, this is a resource that we could do with.

Not forgetting that for people on a budget, veggie tends to be much cheaper. You might have a few investment costs in some key herbs and spices, but that will still probably cost less that one person's meat budget over a fortnight...

Don't be fooled: this is about so much more than nut roast and tofu!!!