These freezable, budget-friendly recipes from bestselling author Suzanne Mulholland - AKA The Batch Lady - will save you time, money and energy during the week
Sharing Shish Kebab
Serves: 4
Prepare: 10 minutes
Cook: 12–14 minutes
2 tbsps tomato purée
2 tsps smoked paprika
3 tsps frozen chopped garlic
1 tbsp dried oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
100g natural yoghurt
1 tsp salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Flatbreads
Chilli sauce
Shredded lettuce
Natural yoghurt
1. Put the tomato puree, smoked paprika, frozen garlic, oregano, lemon juice and natural yoghurt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the salt and a generous grinding of pepper and mix again.
2. Preheat the grill to medium and line a grill pan with foil. Add the chicken to the bowl and use your hands to give everything a mix and ensure the chicken is well coated. Thread the chicken thighs onto two large skewers so that each skewer runs parallel to the other through all the pieces of chicken (if you are using wooden skewers, it’s a good idea to soak them in cold water for half an hour or so before using). Try and position the skewers to the outer edges of the chicken, rather than closely together in the middle.
3. Lay the skewered chicken on the prepared grill pan and cook under the grill for 12–14 minutes on each side, until juicy, golden brown and cooked all the way through. Remove the skewers from the chicken and carve the kebab into slices, then place in the middle of the table with your chosen accompaniments and let everyone dig in!
Make ahead
Transfer the marinade to a large, labelled freezer bag along with the chicken, then give the bag a squeeze to ensure that the chicken is well coated in the marinade. Freeze flat for up to 3 months
TO COOK:
Remove the bag from the freezer and leave to defrost in the fridge, ideally overnight. Once defrosted, thread the chicken onto skewers, cook and serve as described above.
Make ahead
Leave the fish to cool to room temperature, then lay on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour to firm up. Once part-frozen, transfer the fish to a large, labelled freezer bag and freeze flat for up to 3 months.
TO COOK:
These can be cooked directly from frozen. Simply preheat the oven to 180˚°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 and line a baking sheet with foil. Lay the frozen fish on the prepared baking sheet and transfer to the oven for 25–30 minutes, until crisp, golden and piping hot all of the way through. Serve as described above.
Chip Shop Fish
Serves: 4
Prepare: 10 minutes
Cook: 3–5 minutes
300g plain flour
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
410ml cold water
4 fillets white fish (coley, pollock, cod
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