Tomato And Haricot Soup, 15p.

Always challenging myself to ‘cook it cheaper’ without compromising on taste or nutrition, I’ve had a fidget with my tomato and white bean soup recipe today, and come up with this one at less than 15p per portion… Allow to cool before freezing in portions, and this recipe makes 4-6 portions, depending on how mad you go with your bowl sizes.

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped, 6p (46p for 2 bulbs, approx 8 cloves per bulb, Sainsburys Basics)

1 carrot, peeled and chopped, 5p (20pc vegetable pack, £1, Sainsburys Basics)

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped, 5p. (20pc vegetable pack, £1, Sainsburys Basics)

Handful of thyme, free (kitchen windowsill)

A tin of chopped tomatoes, 31p (31p each, Sainsburys Basics)

A tin of cannelloni, haricot or butter beans, drained and rinsed, 40p (5 for £2, Sainsburys)

500ml beef stock, 1p (10p for 6 cubes, Sainsburys Basics)

How to:

1. Add the chopped onion, carrot and garlic to a saucepan, with the beef stock to cover.

2. Throw in the chopped tomatoes and drained, rinsed beans and simmer for 30 minutes until the veg is soft.

3. This can be served chunky, by removing half, pulsing the remaining half in a blender, and adding the ‘chunks’ back in, or smooth, by pulsing the lot.

Variations, suggestions and ideas:

Serve with crusty bread and stir in balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar for an extra special lunch.

Add tomato purée to thicken and give more of a tomato taste, if required.

Add the grated zest of a lemon, and use chicken stock in place of the beef, for a lighter, summer soup.

Use less stock and pulse for a thicker soup mixture, which can be frozen in ice cube moulds and used as a delicious pasta sauce.

Prices amended on 23/01/2013 in line with Sainsburys price rises.