Chorizo with butter beans – just 88p per portion

Chorizo with butter beans is a simple dish that can be knocked together from store cupboard staples to make an ideal lunch or a main meal with a few new potatoes. You’ll find this recipe in Justine Pattison’s Without the Calories series of books, which I thoroughly recommend you get your mits on as they’re just as good as the Hairy Dieters’ ones.

Beans are a dieter’s best friend, so it’s worth stocking up on various varieties such as baked, kidney, butter, cannelloni, black eye and black beans as they’re handy to have around, keep for a long time and are cheap to buy. This recipe comes in at a budget-friendly 88p per portion. The serving size (for two people) isn’t massive, but rather than be tempted to help yourself to seconds why not accompany it with a green salad and a healthy dressing for a filling lunch?

This dish is great for using up spare ingredients lurking in your fridge (I’ve always got onions and chorizo left over) and you’ll have a half a tin of chopped tomatoes kicking around if you’ve made Menemen (Turkish Eggs) in the morning. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, TRY MENEMEN!

Recipe: Chorizo with butter beans

Calories: 217 per serving

Serves: 2

Book: Justine Pattison’s Without the Calories – Comfort Food

Prep time: Approx 10 mins

Cooking time: Approx 18 mins

Ingredients: Oil for spraying or brushing, 1 medium onion (halved and cut into very thin slices), 2 garlic cloves (very thinly sliced), 50g cooking chorizo (cut into very thin slices), 200g chopped tomatoes, 300ml cold water, 400g butter beans (drained and rinsed), roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley (to garnish), flaked sea salt, freshly ground black pepper

Cost per portion: Approx £0.88

Method: Spray or brush a large, non-stick frying pan with oil and place it over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly coloured, stirring constantly.

Add the chorizo and cook with the onion for a further 2-3 minutes or until it releases its oil and begins to lightly brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds more, stirring constantly.

Tip the tomatoes into the pan, add the cold water, and butter beans and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce is well reduced, stirring regularly.

Season to taste and scatter with parsley.