Low-Cost Luscious Recipes

These amazing recipes include farfalle with zucchini and parsley-almond pesto and braised chicken legs with green olives.

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Orecchiette with Sautéed Greens and Scallion Sauce

For a cheap and easy version of this recipe, toss store-bought orecchiette with arugula and chard (both are tastier than spinach) and make the sauce with scallions instead of green garlic.

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Herb-and-Lemon-Roasted Chicken

Classic comfort food, for only a couple of dollars a person.

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Pork Cheek and Black-Eyed Pea Chili

For his luscious chili, Michael Symon uses incredibly flavorful and succulent pork cheeks—an unusual cut worth seeking out. If pork cheeks aren't available, also-affordable pork shoulder (cut into 2-inch pieces) can be substituted.

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Merguez-Spiced Lamb Shanks with Chickpeas

Lamb shanks are great for dinner parties because they are affordable and dramatic, and Tanya Cauthen of Belmont Butchery in Richmond, Virginia, likes flavoring this supremely tender braised lamb with a North African spice blend that includes cumin and fennel seeds.

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Farfalle with Zucchini and Parsley-Almond Pesto

Melissa Rubel combines roasted almonds, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for a nutty, fresh-tasting and affordable pesto. This pasta dish is terrific served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and served as a cold pasta salad.

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Malabar Spice-Crusted Hanger Steaks with Gingered Carrot Puree

With lesser-known cuts of beef, like hanger steaks, the cost is less but the technique really matters. Bruce Sherman, chef at Chicago’s North Pond and an F&W Best New Chef 2003, spent more than three years living in India. He uses spices from the Malabar Coast, a region in the southwestern part of the country, to form the crispy crust for his hanger steaks.

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Braised Chicken Legs with Green Olives

Braising very affordable chicken legs in a liquid that combines onions, carrots, bacon and olives creates complex flavor relatively quickly in this recipe from star chef Daniel Boulud.

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Rich and Creamy Butterscotch Pudding

Store-bought caramel sauce and butterscotch chips make this recipe cheap and easy.

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Low-Cost Luscious Recipes

1 of 9

Orecchiette with Sautéed Greens and Scallion Sauce