Three delicious posh pasta meals that will feed the family for less than £1
HE is the chef responsible for the #OnePoundMeals social media phenomenon, he has written a series of One Pound Meal cookbooks – and today Miguel Barclay joins the Sun on Sunday to share his budget recipes.
He says: “I’m so happy to be sharing my ideas with you all to help keep your costs down in the kitchen.”
Miguel, from Camden, North West London, believes no one should be spending more than £1 per head on a meal and has created recipes that are perfect for thrifty cooks, super-easy to make and filling.
Today, he shares some of his favourite pasta dishes . . .
Garlic Portobello Pappardelle
MIGUEL says: “Pasta sauces don’t get much simpler than olive oil and garlic, and it’s an all-time classic combination that goes so well with mushrooms.
“The trick with this dish is to first cook the mushrooms over a high heat, to intensify the depth of flavour and extract all the water before adding the garlic (other-wise the garlic will burn).
“Using lasagne sheets, you can cut your own extra-wide pasta strips to create this elegant but simple Garlic Portobello Pappardelle.”
TO MAKE ONE PORTION:
- 1 portobello mushroom, sliced
- 3 dried lasagne sheets
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- Pinch of dried (or chopped fresh) parsley
- Grating of Parmesan
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
TO COOK: Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.
Meanwhile, season and pan-fry the sliced mushroom in a big glug of olive oil over a medium-high heat for eight to ten minutes until it looks dark brown.
Cook the lasagne sheets in the boiling water until al dente, then drain and cut them into wide strips.
Add more olive oil to the mushroom, add the garlic and fry until the garlic just starts to colour.
Now, add the pasta and fry for a further 30 seconds.
Remove from the heat and garnish with the parsley and a generous grating of Parmesan.
Bacon & Asparagus Tagliatelle
MIGUEL says: “A lot of pasta sauces follow similar formats, but this asparagus and bacon pasta dish uses the asparagus stalks creatively to make the sauce, giving it a powerful asparagus flavour, balanced with lovely smoky and salty bacon.”
TO MAKE ONE PORTION:
- A few asparagus spears
- A few rashers of smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
- Handful of dried tagliatelle
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
TO COOK: Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.
Cut the top 4cm off each asparagus spear, set the tops to one side, and finely dice the rest.
Pan-fry the diced asparagus and bacon in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat with a pinch of salt and pepper for about five minutes, until the asparagus has softened.
Roughly mash the asparagus in the pan with the back of a fork, add the asparagus tips and continue to fry for a few more minutes until the bacon is nicely coloured, adding a splash more olive oil.
Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle in the salted boiling water until al dente.
Add the cooked tagliatelle straight from the boiling water into the pan with the asparagus and bacon using tongs, adding a splash of the starchy pasta cooking water to create the sauce.
Give it a little stir, and serve.
Pea Cannelloni
MIGUEL says: “Frozen peas are such a versatile ingredient, and a great way of eating economically.
“With zero waste, they are ready at a minute’s notice, straight from the freezer.
“But, instead of using them as a side dish, make them the star of the show with my take on an Italian classic – a fresh and vibrant Pea Cannelloni with a tangy feta cheese topping.”
TO MAKE ONE PORTION:
- 2 big handfuls of frozen peas
- Small handful of crumbled feta cheese
- 3 dried lasagne sheets
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
TO COOK: Preheat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.
Add the peas and the lasagne sheets to the boiling water and bring back to the boil.
As soon as the water starts to boil (and the lasagne sheets are floppy), drain the peas, remove the part-cooked lasagne sheets and set them aside.
Put the peas in a bowl, pop them all with the back of a tablespoon to break their skins, then add a generous glug of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place a few spoonfuls of peas on each lasagne sheet and roll them into tubes.
Lay the filled tubes in a small ovenproof dish and scatter over the crumbled feta, adding a glug of olive oil and sprinkling over some cracked black pepper.
Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown.
Remove from the oven then tuck in.