Tuna and Chili Pasta £1.60 / £0.80 per serving

This recipe is quite a no brainer. Nevertheless, it is a quick and fresh weekday meal and you'll have most of the ingredients in your cupboard.

200 g dried spaghetti or linguine
1 tin of tuna in oil, drained
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and black pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to instructions and drain.
2. Place the pasta back in the pan it was cooked in. Add the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir.
3. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Go posh!

If you fancy giving it a bit of extra - garnish with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley or add a few capers to the mix.

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Broccoli and Chili Pasta £1.20 / £0.60 per serving

A delicious and healthy veggie pasta, ready in 10 minutes. Easy to make into a much bigger portion, so you can serve it to all your friends too.

200 g pasta (wholewheat)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 red chili, finely chopped or 1 tsp dried chili flakes
1 broccoli head cut into small florets, boiled or steamed
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and black pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and gently fry the garlic and chili. Be careful that you don't let it burn.
3. Add the broccoli to the pan and give it a quick stir.
4. Mix the pasta and broccoli, chili and garlic mix together.
5. Add the lemon juice. Season to taste.

Make it posh!

If your budget can handle it, add some toasted pine nuts to this recipe.

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Spaghetti Bolognese £2.40 / £1.20 per serving (V)

The name says it all. A real cheap eat favourite and your fussy flatmate will like it too.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp dried herbs
250 g beef mince / 300 g Quorn mince
400 g chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
150 g spaghetti (wholewheat)

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a high heat and add the mince.
2. Cook for 6-7 minutes until golden brown.
3. Turn the heat to medium, add the garlic and onion, then cook for 5 minutes more with the lid on.
4. Add the tomato puree and the chopped tomatoes and cook for 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve with spaghetti, cooked and drained according to the packet instructions.

Spice it up!

Add 2 tbsp of red pesto to your Bolognese sauce.

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Pasta all'Amatriciana £1.60 / £0.80 per serving

A perfectly meaty and spicy pasta, without being too heavy. You will wrap this dish up in 10 minutes. Start with boiling the water for the pasta and make the sauce meanwhile. Perfect for a quick dinner party dish. Serve Bruschetta as a starter and quick Tiramisu as dessert.

150 g spaghetti or linguine (preferably wholewheat)
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
150 g bacon
12 cherry tomatoes
1 tsp chili flakes
black pepper

1. Boil the water for the pasta. Check the cooking instructions for the pasta.
2. While the pasta is cooking, fry the onions, garlic, bacon and chili flakes in a frying pan with 1 tsp olive oil. Fry until the bacon is cooked.
3. When the pasta is ready and the bacon is cooked, add the cherry tomatoes to the frying pan and quickly toss them around.
4. Add the bacon and cherry tomatoes mix to the pasta and season with black pepper.

Add some flavour!

If you want to make it even tastier, grate some Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano.

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