This is the first post in a series for The Family Dinner Project Fast Food Challenge. Over the next few weeks, members of our project team will share recipes for fast homemade meals that can be prepared for less than $21, which is the cost of a typical fast food meal for a family of four. We hope you’ll join in, too! To submit a recipe for the Fast Food Challenge, email ashley@thefamilydinnerproject.org.
We found this recipe in Giulano Hazan’s cookbook of 30 Minute Pastas. Our son Luca asked for a pasta cookbook for Christmas, and this seemed like a good source. We’ve enjoyed Marcella Hazan’s cookbooks for years (she is Guilano’s mother).
So on Monday, we had pasta with asparagus and prosciutto, and a romaine salad with some buttery, crispy shallots. Dinner came to $14.06. We actually had some dessert leftover from the previous night, but you could easily use the other portion of the heavy cream (this recipe calls for only a little) and make some fresh whipped cream to enjoy with berries of one kind or another. Even though fruit is expensive at this time of year, the total would easily be under $21. Or you could whip up a batch of homemade brownies for under $6. I’ve made Katherine Hepburn’s brownies, from the new Gourmet cookbook many, many times and they’re easy, quick, and only require basic ingredients.
Asparagus = $1.67/lb – we used 1 lb
Pasta = 4/$5 or $1.25 lb – we used 1 lb
White onion = 1.50 per bag; about 6 onions per bag that’s 25 cents per onion – we used ½ onion
Butter = $2.99 for a box /1 lb = recipe calls for 3 tablespoons or 28 cents
Heavy cream = $2.62 a quart – 2/3 cup = 43 cents
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano $14.85/lb (per Amazon, but this can vary – it can be CRAZY expensive but the good stuff makes a HUGE difference) about an ounce – 93 cents
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Prosciutto $25 lb – again, expensive but we only need 4 oz so $6.25
Salad:
1 head of lettuce: $2
Olive oil, favorite vinegar, kosher salt, pepper= 50 cents
Shallot sautéed in butter = 50 cents.
Total cost of dinner = $14.06
When you’re ready to toss the salad, remove the garlic and throw in your greens. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, then gradually add your favorite vinegar (we used balsamic), tasting as you go along. When you like the combination of oil and vinegar, add the shallots.
The conversation about nutrition and cost and lifestyle is definitely enriched by the fact that our government is making it a national topic – good to be able to point to recent appearances by Michelle Obama and ask the boys what they think about it all!