Marielle Vensora

Butter beans simmer in a tomato sauce flavoured with cinnamon, lemon and basil. This version is cooked on the hob. Serves 4 Ingredients 100g dried butter beans 1 carton chopped tomatoes 1 onion 1 garlic clove A pinch of ground cinnamon A splash of lemon juice 1 vegetable stock cube Basil, plus extra to finish … Read more

Black beans are combined with carrot, tomatoes, red wine and dark chocolate. The soup can be left chunky or blended after cooking. Serves 2 Ingredients 100g dried black beans 1 onion 1 garlic clove 1 small red chilli or a pinch of chilli flakes A shake of paprika A generous shake of ground cumin A … Read more

Kidney beans and rinsed baked beans are heated in a paprika and tomato sauce. A small amount of yeast extract adds savoury flavour. Serves 4–6 Ingredients 1 × 400g tin red kidney beans 1 × 400g tin baked beans, or plain borlotti or cannellini beans 1 onion 1 large garlic clove 4 tbsp oil 3 … Read more

Aubergine, breadcrumbs and herbs form these meat-free balls. Lemon and optional black olives season the mixture before it is shaped and fried. Serves 2 Ingredients 1 aubergine 1 onion, red or white 1 large garlic clove 1 red chilli or a pinch of dried chilli 1 tbsp finely chopped black olives, optional 3 tbsp oil … Read more

These savoury muffins use plain flour and mashed sweetcorn, with onion, herbs and a little chilli. The same mixture can be baked as a loaf. Makes 8 muffins or 1 loaf Ingredients 250g plain flour ½ tsp salt 10g baking powder, approximately 2 tsp 50g sugar ¼ tsp chilli flakes or 2 pinches cayenne pepper … Read more

This recipe came about after seeing the tins of soup in the supermarket and thinking, ‘I can do better than that.’ So rather than stocking up on thin tomato soup (with suspiciously few tomatoes) I thought I’d treat myself to some cheap, versatile, protein-packed spicy goodness instead. The quantities here make four generous portions. Serves … Read more

This tomato sauce is exactly what its name says – a wonderfully versatile sauce for all occasions. It was inspired by a basic tomato sauce in Economy Gastronomy by Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merrett – which is a brilliant guide to cooking fantastic food on a budget. With mine, I make a batch, eat some, … Read more