smoky sweet potato & mixed bean stew.

The final of my three Domu challenges - to make a meal for a family for under £4. For this I created a smoky stew packed with pulses and extra vegetables. Not forgetting the secret weapon for making budget meals extra tasty - the trusty slow cooker! This sweet potato and mixed bean stew recipe came in at a savvy £2.72 and served four portions - so I knew I had enough dosh leftover for my favourite posh Red Leicester and sunflower seed bread too. 

mexican pulled jackfruit.

I do love me a hearty meal packed with vegetables, even better - what I like to call secret veg! Sometime last year, I sampled a delicious jackfruit burger at The Orange Tree in Leicester. The green jackfruit, found in most Asian supermarkets has a fleshy almost "pulled" appearance which gives it a very realistic pulled pork texture. It also has next to no flavour, making it perfect for adapting to whatever vegetarian recipe takes your fancy.

Domu have recently set me three challenges, the first being cooking with an ingredient you've never used before. The perfect opportunity to get my hands on a can of jackfruit and experiment with Mexican flavours in one of their VonShef slow cookers. Here's how I got on...