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Cooking Clever - Fab food for tough times No. 49

Protein kicks

Ever invited someone round for dinner only to regret it when they tell you that they can't eat this or that? Here's a terrific menu that all your guests will enjoy, and will be hugely appreciated by anyone living with kidney disease, writes Katy McGuinness. All recipes are taken from Truly Tasty, published by Atrium Press with royalties going to the Irish Kidney Association

Branade of White Fish

Medallions of Beef with Garlic Butter and Roasted Vegetables

Tarte Tatin

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Each recipe: Serves 4-8, costs less than €2.65 per portion, takes less than an hour to prepare

Branade of White Fish Cost: €6.50

Serves 4

(½ portion vegetables, ½ a potato, 1½ protein exchanges)

2tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
200g potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium sized fillets of fresh cod, skin removed and fish cut into chunks (haddock, whiting, hake and plaice are also suitable)
125ml milk
1 bay leaf
A pinch of freshly ground white pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
1tbsp honey
2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Warm pitta bread, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a stainless-steel saucepan, add the garlic and fry over a low heat until it starts to turn golden. Add the sliced onions, cover with lid and cook gently for 10 minutes or until softened. Cook the potatoes in 10 times their volume of water until just tender. Then drain and add to the sliced onion mixture. Pour in enough milk to barely cover the mixture. Add the cod and cook, stirring gently, until the cod is flaky and translucent. Purée the mixture with a hand blender or in a food processor. Slowly incorporate the extra-virgin olive oil whilst blitzing along with the pepper, honey and lemon juice. Do not over-process, as the consistency should be that of runny, lumpy, mashed potatoes. Spoon into a bowl. Serve with warm pitta bread with a little extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on top.

Medallions of Beef with Garlic Butter and Roasted Vegetables Cost: €4.73

Serves 4

(2 portions vegetables, 5 protein exchanges)

For the roasted vegetables:

2 medium onions
1/2 red pepper, seeded
1/2 yellow pepper, seeded
100g courgette
2 tbsp olive oil
1 level tsp garlic, crushed

For the beef:

4 x 150g medallions of beef
2 tbsp olive oil
90g butter, softened to room temperature
1 garlic clove, crushed
10g fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.

Cut the vegetables into bite-sized chunks and mix together with olive oil and crushed garlic until they are well coated. Place on a baking tray and cook in the hot oven for 30–40 minutes.

To cook the steaks, heat a cast-iron griddle pan (or frying pan) with a metal handle until very hot. Cook the steaks for 5–7 minutes and then transfer the seared steaks to the oven and cook for 10 minutes for well-done, turning the steaks depending on their thickness.

To make the garlic butter, mix the soft butter, crushed garlic and chopped parsley together in a small bowl.

To serve, spoon the roast vegetables on to a plate, place the beef on top (you may want to cut the medallion and serve it in two halves) and finish with a teaspoon of garlic butter. You can serve with rice.

Tarte Tatin Cost: €6

Serves 8

(1 portion fruit)

90g vanilla sugar
60g unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
8-10 crisp apples
Juice of one lemon
18 g puff pastry, thawed if frozen
Flour, for dusting
120ml fresh cream, softly whipped, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Use a medium-sized ovenproof frying pan. Put the sugar in the pan in a thin layer and heat it gently until it turns into a golden brown liquid and forms a caramel – do not let it burn. Once caramelised, remove from the heat and immediately add 20g butter, in small pieces, into the caramel. It will bubble instantly. Peel, core and slice all the apples into quarters except one, which you should peel, core and cut in half. Sprinkle over some lemon juice to stop the apples discolouring. Put half an apple cut-side-up in the middle of the pan then place the quarters around it, tightly packed. Dot with the remaining 40g butter and place over a gentle heat, just to start the cooking process. Remove from the heat. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and form it into a circle just bigger than the pan. Roll it loosely over the rolling pin and blanket the apples. Tuck the pastry down the side of the pan and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Cover the plate with a serving plate and invert the tarte on to it. Serve with a small amount of softly whipped cream.

Next week: A coeliac menu