During the SCOTY final Jennifer, who is a school chef at Sarum Academy (OCS) in Salisbury, impressed judges with her inclusion of fish, ambitious flavours and her creativity.
She said: “A couple of little tips I can share with you are to swap your canned beans and pulses for dried ones. They will need soaking overnight, but are much more economical.
“At our school I have a couple of meat-free days each week, and I would recommend them as a way you keep down meal costs. Also if you take the time to cook ‘something splendid’, then why not make enough for another meal too. If you’re serious about cutting energy costs then the freezer is definitely your friend.”
Quick easy and low budget Singapore noodles:
Ingredients: olive oil, for frying; 1 onion, thinly sliced; ½ red pepper; 1 parsnip, shredded or coarsely grated; ½ savoy cabbage, finely shredded; 2 garlic cloves; 2 tsp curry powder; pinch of dried chilli flakes; 50g/1¾oz spring onions; 150g/5½oz rice vermicelli noodles; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; coriander to garnish
Method:
- Soak noodles, drain and rinse under cold running water
- Heat a splash of oil in a wok or large frying pan until smoking, then add the onion, pepper and parsnip
- Fry until softened and lightly charred, then add cabbage and garlic and fry for two more minutes
- Add curry powder and chilli flakes, fry for 30 seconds, then add the soaked noodles and spring onions
- Drizzle in soy sauce and toss everything together
- Serve garnished with chopped coriander