I’m going to let you into a little secret ingredient of mine. It’s something I share with very few people, judgmental as they can be, but what they don’t know won’t hurt them, particularly the anti-vegetarian ex-hubby.
In some of my darkest days, this little beast, (soya that is, if you hadn’t guessed already) has more than once saved my bacon, or bolognese as it really is.
Yes, when financially strapped you can eat beans on toast for a week or two, as a single person or student, but as a family it is a big ask. An ask too big for me. An ask too big for my kids.
It wasn’t a bird, or a plane, it was soya mince, nestled far away at the back of Tesco’s supermarket, which came to my rescue. This magical little creature can transform one portion of mince into two, one days dinners into two, one week’s food diary into two, one month’s food into….I’m sure you get the drift. You can take it from me that I love this stuff. Period. 
So, what the hell does it do that’s so great? It expands, it takes on flavours and it hides. Hides in bolognese, lasagna, chilli, shepherd’s pie, pasties – ad infinitum. It takes your cheapest meat and makes it cheaper, much cheaper. Great for anybody on a money stretching mission.
And luckily for you I used it today, so let me lead you through my interesting afternoon of money saving magic.
Bolognese for 5000 (o.k. I reckon you could get at least 15 portions, possibly more)
500g Mince; Dried onions; 2 Tins of Tomatoes; 2 Stock cubes; Tomato Puree; Garlic Puree;
Basil; Salt; Pepper; Oil;
And of course Soya Mince!
Starting as usual, fry off your mince in a little oil, I always leave it until it sticks as it add flavour, but whatever works for you. You may have something which looks a little like this.
I always do this in the bottom of a large metal bottomed pan, so that I can add lots to it without making more washing up – I’m a one pot girl all the way.
Add your onion or any veg which your heart desires, and when fried off add your two tins of tomatoes. Now, for what it’s worth I’m gonna make a pit stop here and run through the toms. We’re poor, in case you missed it, so in my house it’s always value/basics/scrimpers toms, BUT I always use whole tomatoes – why? Better value and better flavour. Pre-chopped tomatoes have two things against them liquid and ends, which I find tins of chopped tomatoes contain a lot more of. So for value and flavour whole tomatoes are the better option, with more bang for your buck, and it takes a second or two to slice and dice in the tin. Right then, that said I’ll pack the soap box away and we can move on….
Following the addition of the tomatoes, add about half the tomato puree, a squidge of garlic, a generous shake of basil and pepper and a dusting of salt. Stir. Then, crumble in your stock cubes (I use Bovril for flavour) adding about ½ pint of hot water. Do not panic. Yes, it looks watery. Yes, you are on the right track as it is here that you add your soya. Add between 30/50 grams of soya mince, where upon it will swell taking on the wonderful tasting liquid for flavour, the fantastic red colour to be visually appetising and will double your portion size making your purse sigh with relief.
Leave to simmer slowly for a couple of hours then enjoy – it’s delish and far tastier than beans on toast will ever be.
Costings(all done on mysupermarket.com on the day of posting)
Mince Value £1.25 per 500g
Tomatoes Tinned £0.62 x 2 @ £0.31 each
Whitworths Dried Onions £0.49 = 10g @ 49p per 100g
Tomato Puree £0.19 = ½ tube @ 39p
Garlic Puree £0.07 = 10g @ 74p per 100g
Basil £0.02 = 3g @74p per 19g
Pepper £0.007. I’m not going into the maths here.
Stock cube £0.15 = 2 cubes @ 92p per 12
Soya Mince £0.23 = 50g @ £1.75 per 350g
Total costing: £3.03 pence. Bargain.
And there you have it, bloody brilliant bolognese for pennies. But it doesn’t stop there, of course as mentioned earlier; you can do this with almost any mince dish at all, making soya not only a flexible buy, but a budget loving one too.
Bon Appetit!
Supper Scrimpers 