When I was young and skint (now I am simply old and skint) there was television show on ITV called Get Stuffed! It was comprised of many short episodes – of between 5 to 10 minutes each – of young people cooking their favourite dishes in their own kitchens and having fun doing so. The program was mostly aimed at students and encouraged viewers to attempt very simple recipes made from inexpensive ingredients using standard kitchen equipment. I wasn’t a student at that time but the show appealed to me. I don’t like cooking however I’ve always maintained that it’s important to eat well and cook your own food.

Get Stuffed! Banquets for Bankrupts

Get Stuffed! Banquets for BankruptsDue to the overwhelming popularity of the TV program, a book called Get Stuffed! Banquets for Bankrupts was produced. It was full of recipes from the show that were both cheap and simple to make. I purchased the book immediately and I still have it to this day, although it is quite dog-eared now as it is the only recipe book I ever use. I even bought my mum a copy and she still uses hers.

The book contains about 118 recipes of all kinds; snacks and main courses; fish, meat and vegetarian recipes; afternoon tea and dessert ideas. Throughout the book are silly cartoons and funny notes, but it is also very useful for those that find cooking a chore as it contains many handy tips and ideas. A percentage of the royalties from the sale of each book goes to “Feed the Children” charity, which was excellent too!

Anyway, in the book there is a recipe for Fire-Dragon Pie, a delicious, potato-based spicy dish that is meat-free so is great for vegetarians! It’s pretty much the same as Red Dragon Pie, which is the vegetarian equivalent of shepherd’s pie, however Fire-Dragon Pie is spicier, which suits me just fine!

Fire-Dragon Pie

So-called because of the fire in the chilli. This is a real winter warmer – how hot can you take it?

Ingredients

Fire Dragon

  • 3-4 potatoes
  • Lentils
  • Oil
  • 1 onion
  • Garlic
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 tin kidney beans
  • Chilli sauce
  • Tomato purée
  • Herbs
  • Milk
  • Butter

Method

  1. Scrape the potatoes leaving some of the skin on for the fibre and cut into pieces.
  2. Boil the potatoes and lentils in separate pans.
  3. Heat the oil in a frying-pan. Chop the onion, garlic and pepper and add to the frying-pan.
  4. Drain the lentils and the tin of kidney beans and mix them with all the stuff in the frying-pan.
  5. Put into a casserole dish. Add the hot chilli sauce, water, tomato purée and herbs.
  6. Mash the potatoes with milk and butter and layer the potato on top of the beany-lentily goo.
  7. Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes at 180°C (350°F, Gas Mark 4) until the top is crispy and crunchy.

Please note: The recipe shown here is copyright of the book Get Stuffed! Banquets for Bankrupts. I really recommend you buy it today – It may just change the way you look at cooking!