Super savers

20budget meal ideas

Tomato soup with tear & share cheesy bread

■ Serves 4 ■ Prep 10 mins

■ Cook 30 mins

25g garlic butter
1 tsp dried oregano
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 x 400g cans plum tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
100g half-fat crème fraîche
pinch of sugar (optional)
tear & share cheesy bread, to serve,
(see below)

1 Heat the garlic butter in a pan until foaming. Add the onion and carrot and cook until softened. Pour in the tomatoes, crumble over the stock cube, add the oregano and simmer for about 20 mins, then stir in the crème fraîche. Blitz using a hand blender and season – it may need a pinch of sugar if it tastes slightly acidic. Add enough boiling water to make a good soup consistency. Serve with some slices of cheesy bread, below.

PER SERVING (including the bread) 786 kcals, fat 46g, saturates 26g, carbs 67g, sugars 12g, fibre 6g, protein 28g, salt 3.8g

Lemon, chilli & anchovy spaghetti

■ Serves 4 ■ Prep 20 mins ■ Cook 10 mins

120ml extra virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves
350g spaghetti, bucatini or linguine
1-2 red chillies (to taste), deseeded
and finely chopped
8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
small bunch of parsley, finely
chopped
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
large handful (about 40g) of finely
grated parmesan

1 Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a low heat and fry the garlic for 2-3 mins. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse in the oil for 15 mins.

2 Meanwhile, cook the pasta following pack instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving 150ml of the cooking water. Remove the garlic from the infused oil, then tip in the cooked spaghetti, along with the chillies, anchovies, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and parmesan. Add 50ml of the reserved water and toss with tongs until combined. Splash in a little more water to loosen, if you like. Season. Divide between four shallow bowls to serve.

PER SERVING 639 kcals, fat 34g, saturates 6g, carbs 66g, sugars 3g, fibre 5g, protein 15g, salt 1g

Roasted courgette, chickpea & lemon salad

■ Serves 2 ■ Prep 10 ■ Cook 15 mins

50g bulgur wheat
200g baby courgettes, thickly sliced
on the diagonal
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp rose harissa paste
400g can chickpeas, well drained
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the bulgur in a bowl and pour over boili