Great tasting meals (including curries and roasts) for just £1? Absolutely - thanks to Miguel Barclay and his new book, One Pound Meals. His goal is simple: to make delicious meals for one pound per person. A big advocate of meal planning and limiting waste, his recipes focus on using the same staples and cupboard essentials to save money without sacrificing on quality or taste. Here are some of our favourites...
"I've always loved cooking, but I'm not a fan of needlessly over-complicated recipes that waste time and money. So I've created my own style of cooking: simple ingredients, straightforward recipes and mouthwatering meals, all on a budget."
Balsamic sausage casserole
Sometimes stews and casseroles can be a bit too predictable. So, why not change it up for once? This exciting, zingy modern twist on a classic casserole has interesting and uplifting flavours. By using sausages instead of the usual cuts of meat, you now have pockets of deeper and more interesting flavours that can handle a generous glug of balsamic vinegar.
Ingredients (makes one portion)
2 sausages
½ red onion, sliced
½ yellow pepper, sliced
1 tsp plain flour
200g chopped tomatoes (from a 400g tin)
1 beef stock cube
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
Grab a casserole dish or a saucepan, and fry the sausages in a splash of oil over a medium heat until cooked through and nicely browned on the outside.
Remove the sausages from the pan, cut them into chunks, then return them to the pan along with the onion, yellow pepper and a splash of olive oil. Season well and fry for a few minutes until the onions are soft and starting to colour.
Add the flour and stir for 30 seconds, then add the chopped tomatoes, crumble in the stock cube, add the balsamic vinegar and just enough water to cover the ingredients. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is nice and thick, then remove from the heat and serve.
Ultimate £1 roast
You will have to work a little to turn these inexpensive ingredients into the ultimate roast, but it’s Sunday and you’ve got all day, so why not have a little fun?
Ingredients (makes one portion)
3 tbsp dry stuffing mix
Approx. 20ml water
1 chicken leg, bone in and skin on
1 large potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
A few Savoy cabbage leaves, cut into thin strips
1 tsp gravy granules
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
First, combine the stuffing mix with the water. Squash everything together using your fingers, then roll the stuffing into a cylindrical shape.
Next, debone the chicken leg, keeping the skin on, and season the inside well.
Lay the chicken leg skin-side down on a sheet of tin foil and place the stuffing in the middle.
Wrap it tightly into a neat cylinder and twist each end of the foil to make it extra tight. Poach in boiling water for 25 minutes, then cool under cold running water and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes (you can do this the night before).
When you are ready to cook your ultimate £1 roast, preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5.
Rinse the potato chunks under cold running water, place in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for roughly 10 minutes until they soften slightly (so you can pierce them with a fork but they do not break). Drain, then return them to the saucepan and drench them in a few very generous glugs of olive oil. Tip into a baking tray and roast for about 35 minutes, turning a couple of times, until golden and crispy.
While the potato cooks, peel the foil off the chicken and pan-fry it gently in a splash of olive oil over a low–medium heat for about 20 minutes. Keep turning the chicken with tongs to evenly brown the skin (make sure the chicken is hot throughout).
Just before serving, season and pan-fry the cabbage over a high heat for a couple of minutes in a splash of olive oil.
Mix the gravy granules with boiling water (according to the packet instructions) and enjoy your ultimate £1 roast.
Chicken tikka masala
By griddling marinated chicken thighs you can achieve a charred tandoor tikka effect. Then, by reducing tinned tomatoes and enriching them with cream, the sauce will get that local takeaway authenticity that a ready-meal just can’t provide.
Ingredients (makes one portion)
½ mug of basmati rice
1 mug of water
1 chicken thigh, de-boned
3 tsp tandoori curry powder
¼ onion, sliced
200g chopped tomatoes (from a 400g tin)
50ml single cream
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
Put the rice and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer gently, with the lid on, for about 7 minutes. When all the water has been absorbed, remove from the heat and set aside until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, coat the chicken in 1 teaspoon of the tandoori curry powder and a splash of oil. Preheat a griddle pan (or frying pan) until hot, then chargrill your chicken skin-side down for 7 minutes, then a further 7 minutes on the other side, until cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, gently fry the onion in a separate pan with a splash of oil over a medium heat. When softened, add the tomatoes and the remaining curry powder and simmer for 5 minutes until reduced a little. Next, add the cream and continue to simmer for a few minutes until you reach the desired takeaway masala sauce consistency.
Cut your griddled chicken into cubes and stir them into the sauce to create your chicken tikka masala. Serve with the rice!
Instagram chef sensation Miguel Barclay is taking the world by storm with his delicious meals that cost less than £1 per person - you can buy One Pound Meals here.