Tomato and Basil Soup

I am back with my Recipes That Cost Less Than £1 series with a classic. Good ol' tomato soup. If you think there's nothing special about soup, you'd be wrong. This recipe is simple, easy to prepare (although it does require a blender so keep that in mind) and it's cheap as chips (except much much cheaper than chips). I hope you enjoy!

(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 400g Sainsburys basics chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 400ml Vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 handful of chopped basil

1. Add the olive oil and the onions to a large pan and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until they are browned.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock. Once boiling, simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if you wish.
3. Add the basil and leave to cool.
4. Once cooled, add the soup into a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Reheat on the stove, this time be careful not to boil and serve when hot.

The Maths:

• 400g Sainsburys basics chopped tomatoes cost £0.35
• 1 onion (roughly 20p depending on where you buy them from) halved is £0.10
• Marigold Swiss vegetable Bouillon is £2.00 for 150g. We're using 1 tsp, so that is 5g. This is £0.06
• 100ml of olive oil cost £0.32. Tbsp converted into ml is 17ml per tbsp = £0.06
• Sainsburys fresh basil costs £0.80 in a packet. We would use about 1/4 of this which is £0.20. If you want to save even more money, consider growing your own basil or purchasing a basil plant.

All together this adds up to 79p

'Cheezy' Tagliatelle with Spinach

This recipe is creamy and full of flavour. It's perfect if you're missing cheese or fancy making something inexpensive and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 50g tagliatelle
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp vegan margarine
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sun dried tomato paste
• 25g fresh spinach
• 100g soy/almond milk
• the juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

1. In a frying pan, stir together the margarine and flour until it creates a yellow paste. Stir in a quarter of the soy/almond milk, slowly. Add in the lemon juice and season with pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle according to packet instructions
3. Stir in the sun dried tomato paste to the 'cheese' mixture and continue to add the rest of the milk slowly. Stir constantly.
4. When the tagliatelle is cooked, drain and set aside.
5. Add the spinach to the cheese mixture and cook for 1 minute.
6. Mix together the tagliatelle to the cheese mixture and remove from the heat/ Mix until well combined then serve.

How I did the maths:

• 500g tagliatelle costs 85p in Sainsburys. We're using 10% of this, so this is 8.5p. Rounded up to 9p.
• flour + margarine + pepper = roughly 5p
• sun dried tomato paste costs £1.50 for 90g. We're using roughly 5g. This is 1/20 so this costs roughly 8p.
• 100g fresh spinach costs £1 in sainsburys. We're using 1 quarter. = 25p
• Almond milk costs £1.70 for 1l. We are using 1/10 so this is 17p.
• 1 lemon costs 35p.

All together this recipe costs 99p

Rice Noodles with Spicy Garlicky Kale

Not only is this recipe super healthy, it's cheap, easy to make and delicious! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 40g kale
• 100g rice noodles
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, chopped
• 1 tsbp of olive oil
• 1 tsbp of soy sauce

1. In a frying pan, pour in the olive oil and sauté the garlic and chilli for 1 minute.
2. Add in the kale and sauté for 5 minutes
3. Add the noodles and the soy sauce
4. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly
5. Serve

How I did the Maths:

• 200g of kale from Sainsburys cost £1. we are using 40g and that is £0.20
• Sainsbury's rice noodles cost £1.40 for 300g. We are using a third. This is £0.47
• 1 clove of garlic costs £0.03
• Sainsbury's Scotch bonnet chillis cost £0.80 for roughly 8. We are using 1. This will cost £0.10
• 100ml of olive oil cost £0.32. Tbsp converted into ml is 17ml per tbsp = £0.06
• The average soy sauce is £1.20 for 150ml. 1 tbsp is 17ml. This is 13p.

Altogether this recipe costs: £0.99

'Cheesy' Spinach and Garlic Risotto

Risotto is one of those things you imagine to be really luxurious, but it isn't at all. It's easy and cheap to make, it's even made it on to my recipes for under £1 series!

Ingredients:

• 100g of Sainsbury's Frozen Baby spinach
• 175g of risotto rice
• 200ml of vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp of vegan butter
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 30g cheezly mozzarella

1. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and add in the garlic and risotto rice. Stir until everything is coated with butter.
2. Pour in a portion of the stock until it is absorbed. Continue doing this until all of the stock is gone and the rice is cooked.
3. Add in the blocks of spinach and stir them in till they are cooked.
4. Grate the 'cheese' into the risotto. The consistency should change at this point to a creamy mixture.
5. Serve! I hope you enjoy!

How I did the maths:

• Sainsbury's Baby Whole Leaf Spinach 1 kg = £1.40. We're using 100g, so that's £0.14
• Sainsbury's Arborio Risotto Rice 500g = £1.10. We're using 175g, so that's £0.38
• Marigold Swiss vegetable Bouillon is £2.00 for 150g. We're using 1 tsp, so that is 5g. This is £0.06
• Vitalite Dairy Free Spread is £1.20 for 500g. 2 tbsp is 30g. This is £0.07
• 1 garlic is £0.30, 1 clove is £0.03
• Cheezly mozzarella is usually around £2 in Morrisons or Holland and Barrett. It is 190g, and we will use 30g. This is £0.31p

All together this recipe costs £0.99

Thank you mum for helping me with the maths c:

Vermicelli with Tomatoes, Garlic and Parsley

This is a part of my new series of recipes which will be 'Eating Vegan for Under £1' as I know some people struggle with the idea that vegan food can be inexpensive and delicious.

As well as teaching you the recipe, I'll teach you where to find the ingredients (they'll usually be from your local supermarket) and how I calculated the full price of the meal. The pots, pans and kitchen equipment I use will not be included in the price of the recipe, but every ingredient will.

Another thing about this series is every meal will be easy to cook and no complicated, expensive equipment will be required. I hope you enjoy this series!

(Serves 1. Takes 35 minutes)

Ingredients

• 100g Sainsbury's Italian Vermicelli
• 200g Sainsbury's Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• Dried Parsley, salt and pepper to season
• 2 tbsp of olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200c or gas mark 6.
2. In an oven-proof dish place the tomatoes face up, drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 30 minutes.
3. Add the garlic to the dish after 20 minutes.
4. In a large pan, add the vermicelli to boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Drain the vermicelli.
6. Take the tomatoes and garlic out of the oven.
7. Add the vermicelli to the garlic and tomatoes and combine.
8. Season with parsley.

How I Did The Maths:

• Sainsburys Italian Vermicelli cost £0.65 for 500g, and we will use 1/5 of the pack. So this costs £0.13
• Sainsburys Cherry Tomatoes cost £1.90 for 650g. We will use 200g. So that is £0.58
• 1 Garlic costs £0.30, and the average garlic has 10-11 cloves. So this is £0.03 for a clove.
• We would use less than 1% of the dried parsley, salt and pepper. But to round them up it would be £0.01 each.
• 100ml of olive oil cost £0.32. Tbsp converted into ml is 17ml per tbsp. 2 tbsp is 34ml. = £0.11

All together this recipe costs £0.88

(Thank you to my housemates, Emma and Emily, and my mum for helping me with the maths c:)