What is Batch Cooking
The 'Batch Cooking' concept helps to better manage meals during the week. It involves preparing large quantities of basic dishes that can be refrigerated or frozen. The idea is that you dedicate only a few hours to cooking to have recipes planned, healthy and at hand the rest of the week.
This method is very versatile, effective and can be adapted to large or small families, even to a single person. But, above all, it is ideal for:
People who do not like to cook, do not have time to do it or have to take food to work.
People who follow diets, since it allows them to organize their menus without neglecting health.
It's about optimizing time, leaving food ready so you do not have to cook every day and come up with more balanced menus. Thus, we save money and time, we eat healthy and more varied.
Ideas for Batch Cooking
The first thing we have to do to carry out an efficient Batch Cooking is to write the shopping list, depending on the number of menus we are going to prepare.
A working week has 10 meals, although there may be several combinations and ingredients (such as cooked vegetables) that can be served in more than one dish.
Think about how many of these dishes can be frozen: if you cook spoon dishes, prepare triple and freeze, always in the portions that are going to be consumed (for one two), and without having to thaw what we are not going to eat .
Program the recipes that endure worst over time for the beginning of the week. Fish or raw breasts, for example, should be eaten on Monday or Tuesday. Etiquétalo everything using a marker pen and paper tape.
Batch Cooking Recipes
It is preferable to choose those dishes, light and tasty, that allow us to make large quantities and freeze later. Potajes, salads, soups or creams are some of the most suitable for this type of preparation. Here are some ideas:
Pea soup
Mix the ingredients (1/2 kg of peas, 12 cups of water, 1 garlic, 4 carrots, 1 onion, 3 stalks of celery, 2 parsnips, 1 turnip, bay leaf and pepper) in a pot.
Let everything boil until the peas are tender.
With a blender, mix the food until you get a creamy texture.
Chickpeas with spinach
Cook 1 large egg in boiling water for 8 minutes. Cool in water, peel and reserve.
Cut 150 gr of fresh spinach julienne and reserve.
Pica 1 can of anchovies of 50 gr with scissors. Heat a little oil in a low casserole, add them and reheat for 5 minutes until they melt.
Add 1 can of tuna of about 100 gr, well drained and set aside 2 minutes. Incorporates 350 gr of cooked chickpeas. Remove from heat and add spinach.
Mix everything and add oil, if it is dry. Serve with the chopped egg on top.
Mango couscous
Prepare the couscous following the manufacturer's instructions.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over high heat.
Add 1 clove of chopped garlic, a mango peeled and cut into cubes.
Sauté until the mango begins to brown a little.
Add the couscous, half a cup of raisins, 1 ripe tomato, the juice of 1 lemon, chopped cilantro sprigs and a little parsley.
Pumpkin cream
Peel and cut the pumpkin into cubes, and also 1 onion, 1 leek and 1 potato.
In a pot, let it boil all with a little water, without covering it all. Add salt and cover for 20 minutes.
When it is cold, crush it with a blender, eliminating the lumps.
Potato salad
Boil 4 medium potatoes with skin and 6 eggs. Let it cool.
Cut 1 onion (if it is large) very thin, and peel the potatoes and eggs to sheets.
In a tray, make layers, watered in oil, potato, egg, tomato and onion.
This dish can be served cold.
Vichyssoise (cream of leeks)
Clean 3 leeks and 1 onion, and cut it (only the white part) in julienne.
Peel, clean and chop 2 potatoes. Put them to boil.
In another casserole, add 50 g of butter and cook the leeks and onions over low heat, with a lid, for 15 minutes.
Add the boiled potatoes, beat and let cool 4 hours.
Add salt and white pepper at the time of consumption.
Lentil Salad
Drain and pass a pot of lentils already cooked (1/2 kilo) per water.
Cut 1/2 red pepper, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 tomatoes and 4 anchovies very small.
Mix everything with the lentils together with tuna and olives to taste.
You can make a vinaigrette with one part of vinegar and three of oil, salt and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.
Grilled fish with vegetables
In a pot, cook 2 onions with a little oil, until golden brown.
Add the onion on a baking sheet and on top, slices of potato, with a little salt and 200 ml of water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 190ºC for 25 minutes.
Remove the aluminum foil and add a few slices of zucchini on the potato, a drizzle of oil and put it back in the oven another 10 minutes.
Remove the tray again and add 4 fish fillets, 100 grams of grated tomato, garlic and chopped parsley. Place in the oven at 190ºC for 7 minutes.
Cheese tortilla
In a pan, add a little olive oil and 2 eggs beaten with a little salt.
When they are half curdled, at one end add a strip of grated cheese and fold it as if you were making a tortilla à la française.
Once cooked, you can eat it on top of a slice of bread.
Vegetable fajitas
You can use whole wheat or corn pancakes.
In a frying pan with oil, add 2 onions cut in julienne. Then add 1 green pepper, 1 red cut, 1 eggplant and 1 zucchini, all cut into strips.
In another pan, fry a chicken breast, divided into sticks and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Stir the vegetables well and add the chicken with a little soy sauce and vinegar.
Stir until the vegetables are soft.
At the time of eating, heat the fajitas a little in the microwave and refill them.
As you see, the philosophy of Batch Cooking is to optimize time and resources, and make our menus healthier. Take advantage of the weekend to prepare all the food for the rest of the days.
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