During the week, I try to cook meals which are quick and easy and not too hard on the budget. Living on a pension means we have a very basic fixed income, and so there is not a lot of room for playing around overly much, and with way food costs are rising, it gets harder and harder each week to make ends meet and still keep our meals interesting.
This means that I now do most of my shopping at one of the bargain supermarkets, usually Aldi. It's actually a pretty good place to do your shopping as the prices are great and the quality is pretty good on most things. There are no frills, and your choice is limited in comparison to the major shops, but overall it's a great place to shop. I do my major shop there and then if there is something I really need that they don't have, I will whip into one of the other shops to get it.
Last week they had a super deal going on dry cured un smoked gammon steaks. For those of you who live in North America, gammon is uncooked ham. I like dry cured gammon and bacon. It isn't pumped full of water. It cooks nicer in my opinion. When I first moved over here 14 years ago, you would never have found dry cured anything at Aldi, it was a very basic place to shop, but these days they do carry a lot more and some foodie type of items as well. Dry cured bacon and gammon is one of them.
At only £2.99 per pack they made for a lovely supper, simply browned off in a hot skillet and glazed with a mix of a good quality chutney and water. I trim off the rind and clip the fat prior to cooking so that they don't curl. I also cut them in half crosswise. I like to use the Geetas Chutney because it is nice and snappy and filled with lots of lovely little bits like cloves and pepper corns, pieces of star anise and black onion seeds. In short . . . it's good. I served them with some potatoes and a mix of corn and peas.
*Sticky Gammon Steaks*
Trim
the rind off of the gammon steaks and then snip the fat at 1/4 inch
intervals all the way around. This helps to keep them from curling
up. Cut them in half crosswise into two half moons.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the steaks and brown them well, about two minutes per side. Add the chutney and the water. Bring to the boil. Cook for several minutes longer,
turning the steaks frequently until they are well glazed and the sauce has thickened nicely. Serve hot with some of the sauce spooned over top.
Note - Use a well flavoured chutney. I favor Geetas because it is nicely spiced and has all sorts of interesting bits in it.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the steaks and brown them well, about two minutes per side. Add the chutney and the water. Bring to the boil. Cook for several minutes longer,
turning the steaks frequently until they are well glazed and the sauce has thickened nicely. Serve hot with some of the sauce spooned over top.
Marie, you are always so creative with food. I always love to see what you will come up with next like the Gnocchi salad the other day. That was very clever! I would never really have guest that you were on a strict budget because your food is always so tempting and ALWAYS makes me hungry! Thanks for all the time and effort you put into making these dishes, taking pictures of them and then sharing them with all of us on your blog. You are such a good, sharing and sweet person. Love you so much! xoxo
ReplyDeleteVAlerie! Thank you so much for your sweet and kind comment! You made my day. I have learned to be very clever and inventive with what I have to use! I love that I am able to make you hungry too! Love you very much! xxoo
ReplyDeleteYou dress up everything and make everything special!
ReplyDeleteI made these sticky gammon steaks for dinner tonight and they were lovely. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Monique! I don't think my presentation is as nice as yours though! You are the master at that!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you enjoyed these Jane! Yay!