Make the most of tinned tomatoes – a storage cupboard favourite – with Samuel Goldsmith’s easy and budget-friendly recipes
COMPILED BY: ALI GRAVES
Tomato, Cheddar & pesto tart
SERVES 4-6
Ingredients
1 × 320g packet ready-rolled
puff pastry
1 tsp olive oil
½ red onion or 1 shallot, finely chopped
1 × 227g tin chopped tomatoes
50g Genovese basil pesto
40g Cheddar cheese, grated
Handful of basil leaves, to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6 and unroll the puff pastry sheet. Lay it on a nonstick baking tray. Score along each side of the pastry, about 3cm in from the edge, so you have a scored rectangle just inside the pastry.
2. Prick the inside of the rectangle all over with a fork. Bake in the hot oven for 10–15 minutes or until light golden brown and puffed up.
3. While the pastry cooks, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion and fry for 6–8 minutes or until it’s beginning to brown. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until thickened.
4. Remove the pastry from the oven and, using a spoon or fork, push the inner rectangle down so you have a border of puffed-up pastry.
5. Pour the tomato sauce over the indented rectangle and gently spread it out to the border. Spoon blobs of the pesto all over the sauce and then scatter over the Cheddar.
6. Bake in the hot oven for 10–12 minutes or until the cheese is golden and the pastry is cooked through.
Mix it up: If you’re serving this at a gathering, it’s easy to make a couple of alternative options. Try a different flavour, such as red onion chutney and goats’ cheese instead of the basil pesto and Cheddar.
Prawn & coconut curry
SERVES 4
Ingredients
1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
1 large red onion, sliced
A thumb-sized piece (about 25g) of fresh
root ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
or grated
1 red chilli, sliced (omit if you prefer
a mild curry)
4 tbsp balti spice paste (gluten-free,
if necessary)
1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 × 400ml tin coconut milk
300g raw prawns, cleaned and deveined
To serve
A handful of torn coriander leaves 1 lime, cut into wedges Plain cooked rice or naan bread (optional) Poppadoms (optional) Your choice of raita or chutneys
