Save money in kitchen with these recipes

FORMER roofer Ian Bursnall knows a thing or two about cutting costs in the kitchen.

Growing up in a family of seven people, he says his mum “was able to stretch food a long way on a budget”, which is something he’s definitely inherited.

After setting up an Instagram , The Skint Cook, which now has 12.8k followers, he appeared on Jamie Oliver’s The Great Cookbook Challenge television show in 2022.

Bursnall, aged 47, says he was practically forced to learn how to cook when he moved out of home around 17 or 18 years old.

“My mum gave me a load of pots and pans and some recipes scribbled down on pen and paper – there was no Facebook and all that in those days,” he re. 

It was either me cook, or eat rubbish. So I started to cook and then my mates used to come around on a Friday – I was doing things like chilli con carne or stews, and they seemed to love it.

Health issues meant Burnsall had to step away from roofing, and now he cooks for his partner Donna and whoever from their children and grandchildren the dinner table.

“Money was tight – still is tight to this day,” he says, meaning Leicester-based Bursnall has become an absolute pro at saving money in the kitchen.

The recipes in his debut cookbook, The Skint Cook, are the meals he’s been making for years. He says it’s “what I’ve been cooking day in, day out, week in, week out, month in, month out – year in, year out, with friends and family” – and these are his tips for making cost-effective dishes that are still delicious.

Reduce your meat intake

“Meat’s obviously a big expense,” says Bursnall. Price-wise, he tends to stick to cheaper varieties – like chicken rather than beef or lamb – while generally cutting down a lot more.

You don’t have to skip meat entirely, but you can supplement it with cheaper ingredients.

“If you’re doing things like chilli con carne, you can minimise the meat intake and bulk it out with things like kidney beans, tinned tomatoes, baked beans,” he advises.

Stock up on the essentials

If you’ve got a well-stocked cupboard, anything is possible in the kitchen.

“Build up your cupboard, all your spices – people say they go off, they don’t unless you don’t use them in five years,” Bursnall says.

With herbs and spices you can “pimp anything up to the next level”, he says, “just use your imagination”.

If your store cupboard is well-stocked, you don’t have to go to the supermarket and spend more money.

One of Bursnall’s favourite recipes is a tomato soup made entirely from ingredients you’ll already have hanging about.

“If you’ve got them in your house that day, you don’t have to go anywhere – whip that soup up and have some nice cheese and pickle sandwiches with it.”

Make your ingredients last longer

Bursnall recommends really thinking about how you store your fruit and veg: “Things like iceberg lettuce – when you’ve used a slice of it, wrap it really well and it lasts five times longer than it would otherwise.

“Wrap your cucumbers up, cover your tomatoes and peppers – that’ll put the shelf life up.”

The same logic applies to u leftovers.

Never throw your leftovers [out] – like roast potatoes, you can do a really nice bubble and squeak the next day.

He recommends making a curry from any leftover meat you might have and any veg can easily be chucked into a delicious soup.

Don’t worry about planning too much

One of the biggest tips you often hear about saving money in the kitchen is to meticulously plan every meal you eat. While that might work for some people, Bursnall doesn’t think it’s necessarily the one and only key to cost-cutting.

He re working with obsessive planners – and every Tuesday they’d have the same thing. “I’d think: you might not want that, that night? I go out to the supermarket at the time when all the bargains are out, see what there is and think something up. 

I never plan what we’re having – today I woke up and we weren’t going to have chilli con carne, but we are now. 

"I don’t plan months in advance, I think that’s a bit boring – I think go out and act on your impulse and create something, and you’ll be surprised.”

The Skint Cook: Over 80 Easy, Tasty Recipes That Won’t Break The Bank by Ian Bursnall is published by HQ. Photography by Martin Poole

Here are some recipes from the book...

Garlic and Herb Roast Butter Chicken

THIS recipe will pretty much guarantee juicy chicken, every time.

“Pushing the garlic and herb butter under the chicken skin is a great way to not only add flavour, but to keep the meat nice and juicy. Use your imagination and put your spin on it,” says Ian Bursnall.

His top piece of advice? “I would highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer. You’ll have juicy meat every time.” 

Ingredients: (Serves 4) 

1 onion, quartered

 5 garlic cloves, skin on, smashed 

2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 

3-4 sprigs of thyme 

1 medium oven-ready chicken, around 1.5kg 

Boiling water, to cover

 ½tbsp plain flour 

Salt and pepper 

For the herb butter:

60g unsalted butter, softened 

4 garlic cloves, crushed

 ½tsp chopped thyme leaves 

1tbsp chopped parsley 

1tsp chopped chives Zest of 1 lemon 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6.
• 1. Place the onion, the 5 smashed garlic cloves, the carrots and thyme sprigs in a roasting tin. In a bowl, mix together the herb butter ingredients and a good pinch each of salt and pepper, then put to one side.
• 2. Now take your chicken and a spoon. At the top of the chicken breast on the big opening side, slide the spoon in between the skin and the flesh. Go all the way down on both breasts to form a pocket each side of the backbone. Spoon three-quarters of the garlic butter mix into both pockets, dividing it evenly, then spread and smooth down. Rub the remaining garlic butter all over the chicken and season the skin with a good pinch each of salt and pepper.
• 3. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting tin. Just cover the bottom of the tin with boiling water (this stops the vegetables burning). Now place the chicken in the oven to cook. After 20 minutes, start to baste the chicken with the juices. Repeat this process every 15 minutes. The chicken should take around one-and-a-quarter to one-and-a-half hours, depending on the size. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 74°C/165°F and the juices run clear – check the thickest part of the breast and test with a meat thermometer.
• 4. Now take the chicken out of the roasting tin and place on a plate. Lightly cover with foil and put to one side to rest.
• 5. Place the roasting tin over a medium heat on the hob. Add the flour and mix well, scraping all the goodness off the bottom of the tin. Now stir in 200 millilitres of water. Bring to a simmer, stirring, and smash the vegetables to release their flavour.
• 6. Simmer for a few minutes, then strain into a saucepan, making sure you push hard on the vegetables and garlic to get all the flavour. Simmer the gravy over a medium heat until it’s reduced to the consistency of your liking. Season with a good pinch each of salt and pepper and add any juices from the resting chicken (don’t waste flavour).
• 7. Carve the chicken and serve with roast potatoes, cooked vegetables and cauliflower cheese. Spoon the gravy all over and enjoy.

Leftover doughnut bread pudding

YOU’LL never throw old doughnuts away again after trying this delicious dessert.

“I came up with this tasty recipe having taken some doughnuts to share at my brother and his wife’s home, but they didn’t all get eaten, so they insisted I take them home with me. A couple of days later they had gone slightly stale and I didn’t want to throw them away, so I made this – they were perfect for this easy pudding,” says Ian.

Bursnall recommends using stale doughnuts for this one, so they soak up the egg mixture properly.

Ingredients (Serves 4) 

Knob of butter 

220g jam doughnuts (about 3 medium doughnuts)

 220g custard doughnuts (about 3 medium doughnuts) 

3 medium eggs 

200ml milk 

30g caster sugar

 ¼tsp vanilla extract

 ¼tsp ground nutmeg ¼tsp ground cinnamon 

Method:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6.
• 2. Grease a 20 x 20 x 5 centimetre baking dish with the butter. Cut all the doughnuts into bite-sized pieces and place in the baking dish. Now crack your eggs into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour the egg mixture over the doughnuts and press them down, then leave to soak for 10 minutes.
• 3. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. I like mine crispy on top and gooey in the middle. If you want the middle to be more cooked, bake for a further five to 10 minutes. When the pudding is done, take it out of the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream or custard.

Curried Corn and Fried Eggs on Toast

YOU can whip this easy dish up with ingredients you’ll likely already have on hand.

Ian Bursnall developed this recipe when he appeared on The Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver.

He says it’s “such an easy and cheap recipe, but it definitely delivers on flavour”.

Ingredients (Serves 2) 

1 x 200g can sweetcorn 

1tbsp vegetable oil 

2 slices of bread (of your choice) 

½ red onion, chopped 

2 garlic cloves, crushed

 ½ red chilli, finely chopped 

½ green chilli, finely chopped

 1tbsp medium curry powder 

2tbsp unsalted butter 

2 eggs 

Salt and pepper

 1tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish 

Method:

• 1. Drain the sweetcorn and tip into a saucepan. Add half a tablespoon of the oil and cook over a medium heat to warm through.
• 2. Meanwhile, toast your bread.
• 3. Now add the onion, garlic and chillies to the sweetcorn. Fry for a few minutes, then stir in the curry powder. Cook for a minute, then add the butter and cook for a few more minutes.
• You can add one tablespoon of water, if you like, depending on how loose you want it to be. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put to one side and keep warm.
• 4. Put the remaining half a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan and fry the eggs to your liking.
• 5. Put the toast onto plates, place the fried eggs on top and spoon the sweetcorn mixture all over.
• Garnish with the chopped coriander. Tuck in.