Feed five for under a fiver

Check out this amazing recipe for Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise - and feed five for less than £5!

Recipe #8: Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise

210g of closed cup mushrooms (51p)
500g of beef mince (£1.21)
1kg maris piper potatoes (£1)
1 large red onion (21p)
1 pack (100g) of fresh lemon thyme (68p)
2 cartons (264ml per carton - total 568ml) of Elmlea double cream (£1.20)
6 cloves of garlic (use cloves from last week's bulb)

The cupboard staples...

Salt and pepper, olive oil and an egg. Include some peas as a vegetable side if you have any lurking in the freezer!

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco, where it came to just £4.81.

Instructions

Finely chop the onion and mushrooms and fry off in a little olive oil until they have taken on a good colour and all the juices have evaporated. Set to one side to cool.
Now finely chop 2 cloves of garlic and thyme and mix together with the beef in a mixing bowl along with some seasoning and the egg. Add the onion and mushrooms once they have cooled down and get your hands in giving it all a good mix.
Get a loaf tin (around 1.5lbs) and grease with a little olive oil and add the mixture. Place some oiled greaseproof paper on top of the loaf to ensure it doesn't burn. Set to one side whilst you prepare the potato dauphinoise.
Pre-heat the oven to 160C.
Slice the potatoes very thinly (around 2mm).
Get a large thick bottomed pan and pour in the cream heating to a simmer. Grate the remaining four cloves of garlic; add to the cream and season well. This will take a little extra salt due to the quantity of potatoes.
Now add the potatoes to the cream and simmer for 5 minutes (add a little milk if the cream looks on the low side). Once this is done add the potatoes to a shallow oven proof dish.
Both the meatloaf and dauphinoise will take around 1 hour to cook in the pre-heated oven. Remove the greaseproof paper for the last 15 minutes of cooking of the meatloaf.
You can test to see if the loaf is done by putting a metal skewer through the loaf and just touching the skewer on your top lip. If it's done the skewer will be hot and come out clean.
For the dauphinoise be careful the cream doesn't split, check every 20 minutes and turn down a little if it does (don't worry about the meatloaf as you can just leave this in a little longer). The dauphinoise will be ready when bubbling and all browned on top.
Happy eating!

A bit about our Chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Saturday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" MDW1954

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Thanks Paul for a great vegetarian recipe, it's nice to see you've included us veggies. More of these please!" essexfairy

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other 'Feed five for under a fiver' recipes: Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne | Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Mixed bean and coriander green curry