Nutritious eating on a dime is the premise of Melanie Lionello’s recently published cookbook, “Frugal Mediterranean Cooking: Easy, Affordable Recipes for Lifelong Health” (Page Street Publishing Co., $21.99).
Saving money while still serving a wholesome meal to the family is certainly on the minds of Americans who are looking to stay healthy during the pandemic yet need to pinch pennies due to the economic crisis.
Lionello’s recipe for piselli, peas braised in an aromatic tomato sauce, fits the bill. Passed down to her by her Italian grandmother, the dish calls for a modicum of ingredients, all readily available at the grocery store, and that Lionello calculates to cost $0.91 per serving.
Ripe for these crazy pandemic times, the cooking method couldn’t be easier. Just saute the onion, garlic and pancetta, add a can of crushed tomatoes, a healthy glug of wine and a bag and a half of frozen peas (a 12-ounce package equates to 2 1/4 cups, so purchase two bags on your next shopping run), then let it simmer away for an hour while you get back to the next Zoom meeting or oversee squirmy youngsters learning remotely.
It doesn’t take much effort to turn this side dish into a main, either. Ladle it over cooked lentils or another legume of your choosing, pour the textured mixture over pasta with nice nooks and crannies, or atop a bowl of hot brown rice.
It may seem like jarring events that characterized 2020 have followed us into the new year, but dinner doesn’t have to be one of them.
Credit: Melanie Lionello
Credit: Melanie Lionello
Reprinted with permission from “Frugal Mediterranean Cooking” by Melanie Lionello, Page Street Publishing Co., 2020.
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