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About 2 hr 30 min · Cooking and freezing

Batch-cook day

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Four everyday dishes cooked side by side: one beef, one chicken and two plant-based. Batch costs are estimates.

DishBlocksBatch costCook time
Beef Chilli20£5.571 hr 30
Chicken Tinga16£5.701 hr
Curried Chickpeas17£2.4245 min
Lentil Bolognese19£1.7950 min
Total72£15.48

The four share onions, garlic, carrots and tinned tomatoes, so one prep run covers all of them. You need four pans (or two, cooking in two rounds) and three or four 16-cell trays.

Shopping list

AmountItem
6 tinsChopped tomatoes
1kgOnions
1 bulbGarlic
3–4Carrots
1Red pepper
500gBeef mince (20%)
450gChicken (thighs and breast)
1 tinBlack beans
1 tinKidney beans
1½ tinsChickpeas
130gRed lentils
320gFrozen spinach
85gFrozen broccoli
120mlCoconut milk
1Lime
A small pieceGinger
To tasteChipotle paste, mango chutney, tomato purée

Timeline

TimeStep
0:00Prep everything. Dice all the onions (about 690g), grate the carrots, crush the garlic, slice the pepper. Split them into four labelled bowls. (20 min)
0:20Start the Beef Chilli. It needs the longest simmer. Brown the mince, add its veg and spices, then the tomatoes. Leave it simmering, lid half on. (80 min to finish)
0:35Start the Chicken Tinga. Soften its veg, add chipotle, tomatoes and stock, then the whole chicken pieces. Simmer, covered, 30 min.
0:45Start the Lentil Bolognese. Soften veg, add lentils, tomatoes and water. Simmer 25 min, stirring now and then.
1:10Finish the Bolognese. Stir in the spinach, cook 5 min, blitz if you want the veg hidden. Take off the heat and spread out to cool.
1:10Shred the Tinga. Lift out the chicken, shred it, return it with the black beans. Simmer uncovered 15 min, then add lime.
1:15Make the Curried Chickpeas in the freed pan. About 32 min start to finish.
1:25Beans into the chilli. Add the kidney beans and simmer uncovered 15 min until thick.
1:45–2:30Cool, portion, freeze. Fill trays as each dish cools: Bolognese first, then Tinga, chilli and chickpeas. Wash up while the last one cools.

Swaps

Swap any dish for another of similar timing: Sausage Arrabbiata or Hot Honey Ragu for the chilli; Golden Turmeric Dal or Chana Dal for the chickpeas.

Cooking for IBS? IBS-friendly batch-cook day follows the same plan with four gentler dishes, and Turkey mince day and Plant-based day are two more.

The recipes