We couldn't have a budget friendly month without a recipe with the humble potato, which might be the cheapest vegetable on earth! Here I'm using plant-based cheese, but feel free to skip it, to keep it on budget.
Vegan, nut free, soy free | Serves 3 | MAIN
Ingredients:
- 680g potatoes
- Salt and pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 60g peas
- 160g broccoli
- 20g plant-based butter
- 20g flour
- 300ml plant-based milk
- Pinch of garlic granules
- 50g plant-based cheese (grated)
- 1 spring onion
- 2 tablespoons of plant-based cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
Steps:
1.Wash the potatoes really well and pokes some holes on them using a fork.
2.Place each potato on a piece of foil, add a drizzle of olive oil, and some salt and pepper and wrap it. Do the same of all the potatoes.
3.Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes or until cooked (check by inserting a knife).
4.In a pot, boil the broccoli and peas in salted water for 3 minutes, then rinse and set aside.
5.In the same pot, melt the butter on a medium heat, then add the flour and whisk to combine.
6.Add the milk in batches, whisking constantly. I like to use a silicon spatula in between to scrape the bechamel from the sides of the pot.
7.Season with salt, garlic granules and half of the plant-based cheese, set aside until needed.
8.Chop the spring onion and the boiled veggies.
9.Remove the potatoes from the oven, carefully remove the foil, and cut them in the middle, lengthwise. Scoop out the inside of the potato, leaving a thin layer (0.5cm) inside and put the flesh in a mixing bowl.
10.Place the potato shells in a baking tray, drizzle some olive oil and season with salt and pepper, bake for 15-minutes.
11.Mash the potato flesh, add the cream cheese, spring onions, 2 tablespoons of the bechamel sauce, the boiled broccoli and peas, the nutritional yeast and the herbs and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
12.Add the potato mixture inside the shells, then cover with 1-2 tablespoons of bechamel on each potato, sprinkle some shredded cheese and oregano and bake for another 10 minutes.
13.Serve with a salad.
Enjoy!
