WITH prices rocketing, it is no wonder families are worried about how they can eat well without breaking the bank.
But TV chef Miguel Barclay – the man behind the best-selling One Pound Meals books – insists you never have to spend more than £1 per person on your dinners.
By shopping around for the best prices and cutting out some “unnecessary” ingredients, Miguel challenged himself to cook meals for a quid a diner.
While most ingredients are sold in packs larger than needed for just one portion, Miguel’s £1 promise is based on the cost of exactly what goes in to each recipe – and he opts for everyday ingredients that can go in plenty of other meals, too.
As part of our Sun Squeeze Team mission to save you money, here are some of his favourite recipes that cost just £1 per head.
If you are feeding more than one, just multiply the ingredients by the appropriate amount.
- Miguel Barclay partnered with SEGA and Two Point Studios to celebrate the launch of Two Point Campus (twopointcampus.com).
READ MORE ON MONEY SAVING TIPS
CHEESE AND POTATO HOTPOT
I’M using Cheddar here but you can totally throw in any other interesting cheeses that you have got lurking in the fridge.
This dish is a great template for using up other leftovers, too.
Imagine adding some layers of Sunday’s roast chicken or a few slices of ham like I have here.
Most read in The Sun
To make one portion
YOU NEED:
- 2 potatoes, very thinly sliced
- 1 onion, very thinly sliced
- A couple of slices of cooked ham, torn into chunks
- Big handful of Cheddar cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Olive oil
METHOD: Preheat oven to 190C/170 fan/gas 5.
Grab an ovenproof dish and start by adding a layer of potato slices, then onion slices and ham, then cheese, with a little salt and pepper and a pinch of oregano.
Repeat four or five times until the dish is full to the top and finish with a layer of potatoes.
Drizzle over a little olive oil and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the top layer is golden brown and all the potatoes are cooked.
ONE-PAN LASAGNE
I LOVE lasagne, but there are so many time-consuming steps that it is not really a very viable week-night option.
So, I decided to create a one-pan lasagne that cut out all the hassle.
This dish might only have one layer.
But the top layer of a lasagne is the best of the lot, and this is ALL top layer!
To make one portion
YOU NEED:
- ½ onion, sliced
- Splash of olive oil
- 125g minced beef
- Salt and pepper
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 200g chopped tomatoes (from a 400g tin)
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 3 dried lasagne sheets
- 3 tbsp crème fraiche
- Handful of grated Cheddar cheese
METHOD: Preheat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
Fry the onion in an ovenproof pan* in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat for a few minutes, until softened.
Add the minced beef, season with salt and pepper and fry for about ten minutes until the meat starts to brown.
Add the garlic and fry until it also starts to brown, then add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for about ten minutes to reduce the sauce a little.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the oregano.
Lay the lasagne sheets on top in a single layer, snapping off the corners and edges so they fit snugly in the pan.
Spread the crème fraiche on top and sprinkle over the cheese.
Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes until the cheese is nicely melted, then serve.
- If you don’t have a pan with an ovenproof handle, then just use your normal pan and transfer the minced beef and tomato mixture to an ovenproof dish before adding the lasagne sheets, crème fraiche and cheese.
PRAWN FRIED RICE
THE secret to this dish is the sesame oil, which replicates the authentic Chinese flavour that home-cooked dishes often lack.
So, why not buy yourself a bottle, transform your cooking, stop ordering take-aways and save yourself a fortune?
To make one portion
YOU NEED:
- 1 mug of water
- ½ mug of long-grain rice
- Sesame oil
- Handful of cooked and peeled prawns
- 1 egg
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- Soy sauce
METHOD: In a saucepan, bring the water and rice to the boil, cover and simmer gently.
When the rice is cooked and has absorbed all the water, tip it into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature (or refrigerate).
When the rice is cold, heat a wok (or large saucepan) over a high heat and add a splash of sesame oil along with the rice.
As the rice starts to fry – keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn at the bottom – add the prawns.
Scoop everything to one side of the pan and crack the egg into the empty side.
Start to fry the egg and, once it is half-cooked, scramble it with a wooden spoon and mix it in with the rice.
Add the chopped spring onions and a final splash of sesame oil.
Then mix it all together over the heat and serve in a bowl with a splash of soy sauce.
RAGU DI PORCO
A SLOW-COOKED meat ragu with plenty of parmesan is one of my all-time favourite meals.
Using a whole piece of meat instead of mince results in a much more luxurious dish than a standard spag bol.
To make one portion
YOU NEED:
- ½ onion, sliced
- Splash of olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- Salt and pepper
- 200g chopped tomatoes (from a 400g tin)
- 1 pork shoulder steak
- ½ beef stock cube
- 100ml water
- 3 dried lasagne sheets
- Small handful of grated parmesan
METHOD: Grab a saucepan or a casserole dish with a lid. Fry the onion in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat until softened.
Then add the garlic and continue to fry until the garlic starts to brown.
Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, add the pork, crumble in the stock cube and pour in the water.
Cover and simmer over a low heat for three hours, adding a splash more water if required.
In the last five minutes of cooking, flake the meat apart using a fork and throw the lasagne sheets into the dish to cook with the ragu.
Once the lasagne sheets are cooked, serve sprinkled with the parmesan.
MUSHROOM STROGANOFF
HERE’S a super-speedy vegan mushroom stroganoff for you to try.
All the classic flavours are there, such as garlic and paprika, but in this dish the creaminess comes from oat milk and flour.
To make one portion
YOU NEED:
- ½ mug of brown rice
- 1 mug of water
- 1 portobello mushroom, cut into 1cm-thick slices
- Splash of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp plain flour
- 150ml oat milk (or any milk substitute)
- Small handful of spinach
METHOD: Put the rice and water in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat with the lid on for about 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.
Meanwhile, pan-fry the sliced mushroom in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat for a few minutes.
When the mushroom is almost cooked, season with salt and pepper and add the garlic, along with a splash more olive oil and continue to fry until the garlic starts to brown.
Add the paprika and flour to the pan then stir for another minute, then gradually pour in the milk, stirring constantly. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
Add the spinach and allow it to wilt, then remove from the heat.
Season to taste and serve with rice.
PULLED CHICKEN & BLACK BEAN CHILLI
REPLACING beef with chicken is a small step in the right direction when it comes to reducing your impact on the environment.
Why not make a few small changes and get going in the right direction?
This tasty chilli is great for a midweek meal.
To make one portion
YOU NEED:
- 1 chicken leg
- Splash of olive oil
- ½ red onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 200g chopped tomatoes (from a 400g tin)
- 1 veg, chicken or beef stock cube
- 200g black beans (from a 400g tin), drained
- Dollop of crème fraiche
- A few coriander leaves (optional)
- A few slices of red chilli (optional)
- Salt and pepper
METHOD: Season the chicken leg and place it in a saucepan or casserole dish with a splash of olive oil over a medium heat.
Add the onion and cook for about ten minutes until the chicken is coloured on all sides.
Next add the garlic, paprika and cumin, and continue to fry for a couple more minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes and the stock cube.
Stir to combine, then cover with a lid and simmer for about 25 minutes, adding a splash of water if required.
Remove the chicken from the sauce and place on a plate.
Use a fork to shred the meat. Discard the bone and return the meat to the saucepan.
Add the black beans to the pan and simmer for another couple of minutes.
Season to taste and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche – and a few coriander leaves and slices of chilli to garnish.
MAKE IT VEGGIE: Just leave out the chicken and chuck in some extra veg or more black beans.
…AND MY FOOD SAVINGS TIPS
COOK FROM SCRATCH: Although it’s very easy to opt for convenience when you’re in the supermarket, Miguel says the most important thing for saving the pennies is to cook from scratch.
“Your receipt should read like an ingredients list, and not a menu,” he says.
“It needs to say ‘onion, tomato, garlic’, and not ‘pasta sauce’.
“Even things like carrot batons – you shouldn’t have the word ‘batons’ there.”
BUY THE BASICS: Opt to buy the food items that everyone wants.
For example, Miguel says: “If you’re going to buy cheese, buy Cheddar rather than Manchego, because the supermarkets are fighting over making it as cheap as possible.”
COOK IN BULK: Although Miguel loves to mix it up in the kitchen, bulk cooking is a great way of saving.
“You can do a meal that will feed ten and then put it in the fridge, and then you can have the same meal again tomorrow,” he says.
His pork ragu dish (Ragu di Porco), is his favourite to bulk cook – and he says it tastes even better once it’s been in the freezer and defrosted.
“I’ve probably got a couple of kilograms of it in my freezer right now,” he adds.
COOK WITH LESS MEAT: Meat is expensive so dishes that require less of it are always cheaper.
If you still want to eat meat, Miguel recommends chicken tacos.
“They only require a tiny bit of chicken in them, as opposed to a chicken roast,” he explains.
Read More on The Sun
BUY IN BULK: “You can go to the world foods aisle and buy the biggest bag of rice and the biggest bag of pasta possible,” he says.
And if storage is an issue, Miguel says it is best to buy spaghetti rather than any other type of pasta, as large amounts takes up less space.
