Frugal food – but no need to scrimp on quality

"Because of the recession, people want to cook cheaply. But that does not mean they have to cook badly," says Jason. "Frugal food is always equated with pasta and anything fried. That's rubbish. There has to be a way to eat restaurant quality food that's inexpensive."

"I wanted to prove that you could go to a supermarket and spend 10 for a two-course restaurant-quality dinner for two," he explains.

Jersey Royals with avocado, smoked trout and horseradish cream

(Serves 4 as a starter)

4 Jersey royal potatoes, cleaned

sea salt

2 thyme sprigs

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

150g smoked rainbow trout

1 avocado

Juice of lime

Horseradish cream:

1 tbsp double cream

1 tsp horseradish sauce, or a little more to taste

Garnish:

4-5 radishes, sliced dill leaves

Small handful of pea shoots or baby salad leaves

Olive oil, to drizzle

Boil a pan of well-salted water with the thyme and garlic added. Add the potatoes and boil until cooked, about 7-9 minutes; test with a knife. Drain the potatoes and peel while still warm. Place in a bowl, cover and chill.

In a small bowl, whisk the wine vinegar, olive oil and a couple of pinches of salt together to make vinaigrette. Cut the cold potatoes into 1cm thick slices, add to the dressing and toss gently to coat. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour.

For the horseradish cream, lightly whip the cream in a small bowl, then fold in the horseradish sauce. Cover and chill. Check the smoked trout for small bones, removing any with tweezers, then break into bite-sized pieces.

Halve and peel the avocado, removing the stone. Cut the flesh crossways into slices, season with salt to taste and drizzle with the lime juice.

Sea bream with tomato and corn salsa

(Serves 4)

4 sea bream fillets (about 160g each), skin on

Olive oil, for brushing and drizzling

Sea salt and black pepper

Salsa:

1 corn-on-the-cob, kernels stripped

3 tomatoes, halved and deseeded

1 avocado, halved, peeled and stoned

cucumber, trimmed

yellow pepper, cored and deseeded

red onion, peeled

1 spring onion, trimmed

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 green chilli, halved and deseeded

Juice of 1 lime

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp chopped coriander leaves

Garnish:

Rocket leaves

Rinse the sea bream and fillets, pat dry with kitchen paper and check for small bones, removing any with kitchen tweezers. Lightly score the skin side of the fish fillets, using a sharp knife. Cover and chill.

For the salsa, simmer the corn kernels in a pan of boiling water until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water and drain well. Tip the corn kernels into a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and yellow pepper; finely dice the red onion, spring onion, garlic and chilli. Add these ingredients to the corn with the limejuice, olive oil and coriander. Toss to combine and season well with salt and pepper. Cover and chill for one hour.

Brush the fish fillets with olive oil and season well. Heat a griddle pan or the grill to medium-high. When hot, add the fish, skin side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until just cooked through.

Pink peppercorn meringues with lemon and lime curd

(Serves 4)

Pink peppercorn syrup:

1 tsp pink peppercorns, cracked

1 vanilla pod

100g caster sugar

Meringues:

100g egg whites (2-3 eggs, depending on size)

100g caster sugar

100g icing sugar, sifted

Passion fruit syrup:

2 passion fruit

20g granulated or caster sugar

Lemon and lime curd:

Juice of 2 lemons (save the zest)

Juice of 2 limes (save the zest)

80g caster sugar

80g eggs (about 2 large), beaten

80g egg yolks (4 medium)

80g butter, diced

To finish:

tsp pink peppercorns

Zest of 2 limes (in long strips)

Zest of 2 lemons (in long strips)

100g caster sugar

30g granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 90C/gas mark and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

For the peppercorn syrup, put the sugar and 200ml water in a small saucepan over a low heat. When the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the seeds and add them to the sugar syrup. Mix the cracked pink peppercorns with the vanilla syrup in a small bowl; set aside.

To make candied lime and lemon zest, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add the citrus zests and blanch for one minute, then drain. Repeat the process twice, changing the water each time.

Put the caster sugar and 100ml water into a saucepan over a low heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat, bring to the boil and let bubble for a minute or two. Add the citrus zests and simmer for about 3-5 minutes until softened.

Remove the citrus zest with a slotted spoon, discarding the syrup. Toss the zest strips in a small bowl with the granulated sugar to coat evenly, then place on a tray lined with baking parchment and let stand until dry, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

To make the meringues, using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites with 2 tbsp caster sugar on high speed until thickened. Whisk in the remaining caster sugar; 1 tbsp at a time. Keep whisking until the meringue is stiff, shiny and holding firm peaks, about 4-6 minutes. Now, with a large spatula, fold in the icing sugar a quarter at a time.

Spoon the meringue into four mounds on the lined baking sheet, making a curling peak on top of each one. Dry in the oven for 40 minutes or until the other outer shell has just hardened.

Take out the meringues and brush gently with peppercorn syrup. Return to the oven for another 1-1 hours until dry and easily peel off the paper.

For the passion fruit syrup, scoop out the flesh and seeds from the fruit into a small pan and mix in the sugar. Simmer over a medium-low heat to dissolve the sugar, about 2-3 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and chill.

To make the lemon and lime curd, put the citrus juices in a heavy-based pan with the sugar. Dissolve over a medium heat, bring to the boil, then take off the heat. In a bowl, whisk the whole eggs and yolks, then pour in the hot citrus syrup in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly.

Return to the pan and place over a low heat. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time, then stir over the heat for 4-6 minutes until the curd thickens. Pour into a bowl, cover the surface with

cling film.

When you're ready to serve, sprinkle with pink pepper-corns and candied zest.

Gourmet Food For A Fiver by Jason Atherton, is published, on Friday, by Quadrille, priced 14.99. To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post Bookshop, call free on 0800 0153232 or go online at www.yorkshire

postbookshop.co.uk. P&P is 2.75.