by Miriam Baker

Created on: February 24, 2010

Eating cheaply doesn’t have to mean endless baked beans on toast (although that’s a perfectly acceptable meal, now and again!) The trick to cooking on a budget is to buy only what you need, and to cook using fresh ingredients as often as you can. It sounds expensive, but in most cases it isn’t. A shop-bought jar of tomato sauce can be replaced with a simple, homemade tomato sauce of canned tomatoes, olive oil and garlic, for less than a third of the price. Buy supermarket own-brand products rather than commercial-brand ones, and look out for deals on store cupboard goods such as tuna fish and pasta which you can stock up. If you can find one, shopping in a market is even better, with fresh fruit and vegetables sold at well below supermarket prices.

Reducing the amount of meat you eat can make your food shop dramatically cheaper. Vegetable and spicy chickpea curries, winter hotpots and soups are all cheap and delicious substitutes for meat, two or three times a week. Alternatively, you could try going all the way and becoming vegetarian. The following recipes are suitable for vegetarians, but bacon can be added to both at a relatively small extra cost.

Chunky Leek, Potato and Lentil Soup

This recipe can use up any root vegetables you have in the fridge, and the quantities can be altered depending on how much you have. The only limit is the brim of the saucepan! Cooking time + preparation 30-40 mins.

(serves 3)

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2/3 carrots, diced

A stick of celery, chopped small

1 leek, sliced in half lengthways and then chopped finely

3 medium/large potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite size chunks

3 large handfuls of red lentils

1 vegetable stock cube

Salt and pepper to taste

Diced bacon (optional)

- Fill the kettle and boil enough water to fill the pan.

- Drizzle some olive oil or a blob of butter in a medium, heavy pan and add the diced onions, celery and leek, carrots, and bacon if you are using it. Cook on a low heat until the onion is soft and beginning to turn clear.

- Add the potato cubes and the red lentils and stir.

- Carefully pour the boiling water into the pan, covering the vegetables. Crumble in the stock cube and stir.

- Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat a little and simmer for half an hour, or until all the vegetables are tender and cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.

- Serve in bowls with large slices of bread and butter and chunks of cheese.

Aloo Saag (Potato and Spinach Curry)

(serves 1 hungry person) Cooking time + preparation 15-20 minutes.

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite-size chunks

2 handfuls of red lentils

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

Assortment of curry spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, or all-in-one spice mix such as garam masala) - several pinches

1 small tin of tomato puree paste, or 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped roughly

3 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves

- Boil the potatoes and lentils in salted water until the potatoes are just tender (the point of a knife cuts them easily)

- Meanwhile, in a frying pan, drizzle some olive oil or a blob of butter and fry the onion and spices until the onion is soft and beginning to turn clear. Add the tomato paste or fresh chopped tomatoes and stir until cooked. (If you are using concentrated tomato paste, you will need to carefully add a few spoonfuls of water to the pan to thin the sauce)

- Drain the cooked potatoes and lentils, and add them to the frying pan. Stir gently so the potatoes are covered in the sauce but do not break apart.

- Add the fresh spinach straight to the pan and stir it in gently until cooked.

- Sprinkle with chopped coriander (optional) and serve with naan bread or rice, or by itself for a tasty and cheap dinner.

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