The fireworks are great and all…but I’m just here for the food. I wanted to cook something special but I’m held back by a student budget and an amateur level of skill. So I set out looking at recipes and creating my own improvised versions. And they’re actually pretty good – I present to you a three course meal. Just call me Delia.
Starter: Peasants’ Tomato Soup
I’ve called it this because it’s a case of buying canned chopped tomatoes and chucking in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. Simple and costs a couple of quid.
To make soup for two people, grab a 400g can of chopped tomatoes and put in a saucepan on medium heat. Add water until it looks like the normal thickness for soup. Remember to stir or it will burn! Once it’s heated up turn the heat down so it simmers.
Cut up your vegetables. You can use pretty much anything – I just used half a red onion and a clove of garlic. Chop the garlic finely. Do the same with the red onion or just roughly cut it into bite size pieces. Add it to your saucepan and stir. I had some fresh coriander in the fridge and some dried Italian herbs so I threw those in, too. Stir it all up then let it stew for ten minutes.
If you’re feeling fancy, pour your soup into oven safe bowls and grate cheese over the top. Heat the oven to around 150 degrees and put in the bowls. Wait until the cheese melts and then take them out. And you’re done!
Main Course: Mango Chutney Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Chips
For two people you will need: 2 pork chops, 2 sweet potatoes (around 200g each), salt + pepper, oil, mango chutney.
Sort your sweet potato chips out first. Chop the ends off and carefully cut them in half widthways. Stand the halves up on your cutting board so you can cut them lengthways into chips. This is usually a case of improvisation but if you cut them in half, then cut those bits in half your chips will start to take shape. Slice them so they’re about 1-2cm thick.
Put them straight onto a baking tray and mix them up with enough oil to coat and some salt to season. Our oven is a bit dodgy but I turn it up to 210 degrees and the chips cook in about 15-20 minutes. If your oven is boring and predictable keep the oven at 210 degrees but check the chips often, turning them so they cook evenly. Wait until they start going brown and test one to see if it’s soft enough. Don’t worry too much if some of them are going very dark, they’ll taste more like caramel then charcoal. Take them out the oven when you’re satisfied they’re done. I like to sprinkle some paprika and eat them with mayo. These also work amazingly as an afternoon snack.
Ok, so skip back to the part about putting the chips in the oven – this is when you should start the pork. Put a large pan on a high heat and add oil. Wait until it’s heated and put in the pork chops. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the top to season. Keep turning them over until they are nice and brown on both sides (and DEFINITELY cooked).
Put a large spoonful of mango chutney on each of the pork chops. Again, keep turning the pork chops until they are fully coated in mango chutney – at this stage I usually add more!
Keep cooking until the chutney goes a nice dark colour (see the above picture for guidance) and gets all sticky. It should smell really good.
Keep them simmering away until the chips are done and then serve it all on a plate.
Drinks: Fool Proof Mulled Wine
You will only need these very simple ingredients:
Put a saucepan on low to medium heat and add the wine. Try to keep the pan no more than half full so it’s easy to manage. Slice the orange however you want and add once the wine is starting to give off steam. Careful with the cinnamon – normally you would use sticks which aren’t nearly as strong as the ground stuff. Add a few sprinkles and a couple of small spoons of sugar. Taking care not to burn your tongue, taste your concoction and add more sugar, cinnamon or orange slices until you’re satisfied. Once it’s all heated and smells like Christmas serve it up. Mugs are best. I used a cocktail glass for the sake of this nice photo:
Dessert: Toffee Apples
Technically they’re caramel. You will need caster sugar and apples (any kind, but red is tastiest) and a big frying pan. Pour enough the caster sugar evenly over the pan – there should be enough just to cover it. Put it on high heat and wait for it to melt. To get all the sugar to melt, keep tilting the pan to move the sugar around. Don’t use a spoon, you’ll make a mess. Be patient, it WILL all melt.
Once it has all melted, act quickly. You don’t want it to burn because it will taste gross and your nice saucepan will be ruined. Spear an apple with a fork, tilt the pan so your caramel pools and dip the apple in, turning it around in the caramel so it gets fully coated, like this:
Have a board of some description ready to plant the apples onto. Obviously only do one apple at a time or you’ll be in ribbons – keep turning until you’re happy it’s coated. Transfer quickly to the board. You can make your apples tastier by adding nuts to caramel.
And that’s your feast! Happy Bonfire Night!
Image sources
All own images.