Is Economy Gastronomy good for me?

We've been through a fair few TV chefs (and their shows) here - Nigella Express, Delia's How to Cheat and Jamie Oliver's various vehicles. I've been critical at times, I admit.

The latest TV show to have a go is Economy Gastronomy, which is based around a cookery book just produced by Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merritt, both of whom I don't hold a grudge against, so that's a start. Allegra's the brain behind Leon's (one word: YES) and Paul, well, I don't know as much about him but he doesn't bug me, so there.

My brief with all these shows is to put them to the test on how realistically good for you the recipes are. Economy Gastronomy ticks two boxes I strive to tick myself - tasty and not too expensive. But if they blow it out of the water with lots of fatty or unhealthy foods, I'll call them out on it - and suggest a few tweaks of my own.

One of their latest recipes is for a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb with grilled vegetable and white bean salad and smoked aubergine. Those early autumn flavours spring into my mouth just thinking about it - especially the smoked aubergine (which I had recently at the Empress of India with seared scallops, but that's another story...).

By my calculations - and that's assuming you have all lean parts of the shoulder - the menu comes to just under 900 calories. If you're not doing that, it's at least 1200 calories per serving. Now, I've seen worse - getting a burger and chips at a Wetherspoons [pdf] is likely to set you back at least that - but 900 calories to my mind is really more of a special treat rather than an economic gastronomic meal.

It could have been much worse, though - they were sparing with the oil, didn't go crazy on the feta cheese, and incorporated lots of veggies. I think it's really just the lamb that's sending us over the top - so I'd recommend instead of reducing the other ingredients, to simply reduce the portion size of lamb. Go ahead and cook the whole thing, but reserve some of the lamb for later in the week (which surely, Allegra and Paul would approve of).

From what I've seen so far, I'm more positive than negative on the project. I'll keep sizing up the recipes. In the meantime, what do you think? Have you tried any of their recipes?

grilled lamb steaks on a bed of roasted sweet potatoes and tomatoes with chickpeas, harissa and rosemary

When in doubt, grill it: a healthy option, generally hard to mess up and a time saver (or saviour, depending on your viewpoint). Last night, I created this warming, rustic dish full of autumn colours and deep, savoury flavours.

(serves 2)

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking time: 60 minutes

(for the lamb)

2-3 lamb leg steaks

Fresh rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp of harissa

5 sprays of olive oil

(for the sweet potato mixture)

2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

200 grams of the ripest tomatoes you can find (I used a mixture of cherry, pomodorino, and flavouripe), halved

Leaves of three stalks of rosemary

15 sprays of olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 can of cherry tomatoes in rich juices

1 tablespoon of harissa

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

2 stalks of rosemary

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Combine the sweet potatoes, tomatoes, olive oil, rosemary and salt and pepper in a foil-lined roasting tin. Roast for 45 minutes.

About 15 minutes before the sweet potatoes are done, combine the can of cherry tomatoes with juice, the red wine vinegar and the can of drained chickpeas to a large sauté pan. Bring slowly to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Prepare the lamb steaks by seasoning with pepper and sticking a part of a sprig of rosemary into the centre of the steak (use a knife to cut a small slit). Smear a small amount of harissa onto the top of the meat.

Once the sweet potatoes/tomatoes are ready, remove from the oven and allow to rest.

Change the setting from the oven to the grill and allow the grill to preheat to medium. Once it is ready, place the lamb steaks under the grill for about 4 minutes on each side.

Add the entire contents of the roasting tin to the chickpea mixture and add a tablespoon of harissa and the 2 stalks of rosemary. Mix the contents gently, then cover and allow the flavours to infuse until the lamb steaks are finished.

Spoon generous helpings of the mixture on to a place, piling high near the centre. Gently rest the lamb steak on the top of the mixture. Serve with the jar of harissa to the side should some want a bit of extra heat.

As it was only my second venture into cooking with lamb, I was particularly pleased with the outcome. The aromas of rosemary permeated the flat, but very delicately infused the meat. The addition of harissa was a crucial one: it added a spicy, earthy layer to the dish (I even added a bit more during the meal, and would consider marinating the lamb in harissa for a few hours prior to cooking next time).

As always, the sweet potatoes were deep and sweet, having soaked the tangy addition of tomatoes and vinegar. I am keen to seek out the original flavour from lamb: thus far, for me, it has been more about what is added to accompany this sweet, fatty meat rather than the meat itself. For fish, I find the complete opposite is true. On to the next stage of experimentation, then...