Long live British scran: Three classic dishes for autumn

When the nights draw in and the temperature drops, low-effort, high-impact British dishes are the ones I’ll be reaching for, says Hannah Twiggs

British food isn’t always considered the most interesting, but hearty and comforting is what we do best (Gousto)

Britain might not boast the most interesting food in the world... but when the nights start to draw in, we know you will be reaching for these recipes. Low-effort, high-impact food is what we do best.

As part of our Budget Bites column – where we’ve teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month – we’ve brought you three cosy autumnal dishes straight out of the British kitchen. They also make the most of your staple ingredients while keeping your fresh shopping list minimal.

We’ve also provided a handy shopping list for the ingredients (though hopefully most of it will be knocking about already), which are used across all recipes to ensure minimal food waste. You just need to decide where to shop, whether it’s locally or online.

Shopping list

• 2 red onions
• 2 courgettes
• 200g chestnut mushrooms
• 600g loose white potatoes
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 30g fresh parsley
• 20g fresh rosemary
• 6 large eggs
• 8 pork sausages
• 250g beef mince
• 100ml milk
• 90g cheddar
• 200ml vegetable oil
• 80g plain flour
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 500g pre-cooked gnocchi
• 187ml red wine

Sausage, eggs, chips and homemade ketchup

Is there anything more classically British? (Sorted Food)

Chef’s tip: Vegetarian-ise this recipe and use meat-free sausages instead!

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

600g loose white potatoes

7 tbsp vegetable oil

200g cherry tomatoes

4 pork sausages

15g fresh parsley

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp caster sugar

4 large eggs

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C – this will be for the potatoes, tomatoes, and sausages later.

2. Cut 600g of potatoes into 8-12 wedges each.

3. Toss with 3 tbsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt on a large roasting tray. Spread the wedges out and ensure they are all positioned on their skins.

4. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden, crisp and soft throughout. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

5. Cut 200g of cherry tomatoes in half, then toss them onto another large baking tray along with 4 sausages. Drizzle over 2 tbsp of oil, season with salt, and toss to coat. Spread everything out into 1 even layer.

6. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the sausages are golden all over, cooked throughout, and the tomatoes have softened. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

7. Roughly chop 15g of parsley, we will use it for the eggs later. While you wait for the sausages and tomatoes, crack on with a bit of washing up.

8. Once the sausages and tomatoes are ready, transfer the tomatoes to a large measuring jug. Blitz until smooth with 2 tbsp of vinegar and 1 tsp of sugar.

9. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to a large frying pan over a high heat.

10. Once the oil starts to shimmer and loosen, tip in the parsley and fry for 20 seconds, until the leaves start to darken. Then, crack in 4 eggs.

11. Fry the eggs for 3-4 minutes, until the whites are set, crispy on the bottom, and the yolks still have a wobble. Spoon the parsley and oil onto the whites as they cook. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

12. Spoon the ketchup onto plates and spread it out to form even discs. Load on the wedges and sausages, then finish with the parsley-fried eggs. Serve!

One-pan cheat’s cottage pie

We use gnocchi instead of mashed potatoes to top our pie in this recipe to save on time (Sorted Food)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

250g beef mince

200g chestnut mushrooms

1 red onion

1 tbsp plain flour

187ml red wine

1 beef stock cube

10g fresh rosemary

500g pre-cooked gnocchi

90g cheddar

Method:

1. Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to a large, oven proof frying pan, and place it over a high heat.

2. Once the oil begins to shimmer and loosen, add 250g of beef mince. Fry for 6-8 minutes, breaking it up occasionally until golden and crisp in places. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

3. Finely chop 200g of mushrooms, then halve, peel, and finely dice 1 red onion.

4. Once the beef is ready, add the mushrooms and onion. Fry for a further 6-8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the veg is soft. Season with a pinch of salt.

5. Once the beef and veg are ready, add 1 tbsp of flour. Cook, tossing regularly for a further 1-2 minutes.

6. Add 187ml (a small bottle) of red wine to the pan and allow the wine to boil, then thicken, scraping the bottom of the pan with a spoon all the while to get up any stuck bits of flavour.

7. Add 1 stock cube, 200ml of water, and give everything a stir.

8. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the liquid coats the meat in a loose glaze. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

9. Preheat the grill to its highest temperature, then finely chop 10g of rosemary.

10. Once the mince is ready, top with 500g of gnocchi, and sprinkle over the rosemary.

11. Finely grate over 90g of cheddar cheese.

12. Grill for 6-8 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait.

13. Serve the pie straight from the pan, and get involved!

Sausage casserole with dippy Yorkshire pudding

Vegetarian-ise this recipe by using veggie sausages instead of meaty ones (Sorted Food)

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

70g plain flour

2 large eggs

100ml milk

10g fresh rosemary

5 tbsp vegetable oil

4 pork sausages

1 red onion

2 tbsp tomato purée

2 courgettes

1 chicken stock cube

15g fresh parsley

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 210C – this will be for the Yorkshire pudding later.

2. Add 70g of flour to a large mixing bowl, crack in 2 eggs, and pour in 100ml of milk.

3. Finely chop 10g of rosemary, add it to the bowl, season with a pinch of salt, then beat until just smooth and even with a whisk. Don’t overmix it!

4. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a large saucepan and place it over a medium-high heat.

5. Once the oil starts to shimmer and loosen, squeeze in the meat from the casings of 4 sausages.

6. Fry, making sure not to break the meat up too much for 5-6 minutes, until golden in places. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

7. Halve, peel, and roughly slice 1 red onion.

8. Add the remaining 3 tbsp of oil to a medium roasting tray and pop it in the oven to heat, ready for the Yorkshire pudding later.

9. Once the sausage meat is ready, add the onion and fry for a further 5-6 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden in places. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

10. Once the oil on the tray starts to shimmer and loosen, pull the tray out and carefully tip in the batter.

11. Cook the batter in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until it has puffed up and become golden. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

12. Once the sausage meat is ready, add the onion, a pinch of salt, and fry for a further 5-6 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden in places. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

13. Cut 2 courgettes into rough, bite-sized chunks.

14. Add the courgettes to the pan along with 1 stock cube and enough water to nearly cover everything.

15. Bring everything up to a bubble, then simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the courgette is soft and the liquid has reduced to a loose glaze that coats everything. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait.

16. Divide the stew between bowls, top with leaves from 15g of parsley, and serve with large hunks of Yorkshire pudding!

In response to the rising cost of living, we have teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month. Find out more about Sorted and their nifty meal-planning app Sidekick at sortedfood.com/sidekick.