Oh My God Dinner, 28p

Oh My God Dinner (or, ‘I Was Going To Make Pasta Alla Genovese And Then I Remembered That Sodding Courgette Rolling Around In My Fridge…’) 55p for 2 portions, or just under 28p each.

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Ingredients:*

70g bacon, 11p (£1.09/670g)
1 chilli (free, grows on my window ledge)
80g spaghetti, 6p (39p/500g)
Fistful each parsley, mint, basil (free, grows on my window ledge)
10ml lemon juice, 2p (60p/250ml)
50g green beans, 7p (£1.40/kg, frozen)
20g Brie, 11p (£1.09/200g)
1 garlic clove, 3p (46p for 2 bulbs with average 8 cloves each)
1/2 courgette, 15p (£1.80/kg, 6 in my bag)

How To:

1. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add to the sauté pan with the lemon juice (10ml is 2 teaspoons), diced courgette and chopped chilli. Cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally to turn.

2. In the meantime, break the spaghetti in half and add to a pan of boiling water with the green beans. Leave to boil according to packet instructions, usually 7-10 minutes.

3. Add the herbs to a teacup, bowl or other small receptacle and chop finely with kitchen scissors. Crush the garlic in and stir.

4. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain and tip into the sauté pan with the bacon and courgettes in. Stir the herbs and garlic through, and add chunks of diced Brie. Remove from heat and toss together, the Brie will melt slightly to form an almost-sauce.

Makes enough for two but, er, I ate this all myself….

Jack Monroe. Twitter: @MsJackMonroe

*(Prices calculated at Sainsburys, using the Basics range where available. Costs checked on date of publication against ASDA SmartPrice, Tesco Value, Morrisons Value and Waitrose Essentials. Some variation between major supermarkets but most items widely available at similar price.)

24 Comments »

  1. They’ve got staying power! Have you got any frozen peas, what about getting rid of it in minted pea and courgette soup? Thanks for your recipes really enjoy reading your blog 🙂

    • Mm that sounds good! I haven’t got any peas though but that’s given me a brainwave for a minted green bean and courgette risotto – i’ll throw the last of the bacon in too! Success! Know what tomorrows dinner is now 🙂
      And Thankyou. I love that people are reading them and doing them, it’s very rewarding to know. Makes me feel like I’m doing something useful. 🙂

  2. Bread, bread, bread! You can’t beat zucchini bread…sorry, I’m in the US and that’s the name I know them by 🙂 This recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait for my own garden this summer. Thanks again for your recipes – I look for new posts daily.

    Take care,
    parker

  3. I might have another pop at this. I enjoyed the ribbons and and the sauce was lovely! I am having the rest for my tea on a jacket potato!

  4. Not surprised you ate it all yourself; 80 g of pasta for two people is a bit tight! Sounds delicious though!

  5. You. Are. Amazing. My late mum fed me in a similar manner when she was out of work. She had twice your food budget (£20 per week) back in 1997 and a woman and teenage girl to feed with the use of a microwave and an adapted Breville sandwich toaster to cook food on (boiling water took 1 1/2 hour, although she had a kettle for that. She often began cooking at 9am.) I ate a lot of Value beans, pasta and UHT Orange Juice that year and never went hungry. She did at times, but I didn’t. She died last year from bone cancer at the age of 47 and there is no one I love and respect more than my poor mum.

  6. Firstly, I love your blog, and I think your recipes are really great and creative. However, I agree with one of the other comments- 80g pasta is only just enough for one person, and there isn’t much of the other ingredients. There’s no way this feeds two people- unless your feeding two Kate moss’s or something!!

  7. I shall be making this tonight. The only veg I have are some peppers and courgettes, and the only herbs I have are half a pot of quite sorry looking dried ones. But, I’ll give it my best. And I agree, 40g of pasta is a bit on the mean side! I usually go for about 100g per person, but then again I am 6’1″, about 180lb, and very active.

  8. I just read the NY Times article about you. I love your attitude about your son and your life. You are not alone in struggling and you are an inspiration to many. I am going to try the eggplant (courgette) recipe. It sounds really good, and inexpensive. Best of luck to you. Anne
    Oregon, USA (A former Londoner )

  9. Made this today and it is fantastic, never thought of melting brie for a pasta sauce a definite stroke of genius!
    Cheers

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