Seven dishes that feed four for £10, all cooked in one pot. When calculating the costs we didn’t count common storecupboard ingredients such as salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, stock cubes, bay leaf, mustard, paprika and so on. Prices were based on those from mysupermarket.co.uk but may vary.

Sausage and lentils

£6.43

Lindsey Bareham
Food writer

A hint of chilli and a squeeze of lemon right of the end of cooking give the lentils a hit of excitement.

olive oil 3 tbsp
pork sausages 12
onion 1
garlic 2 cloves
carrots 2
dried chillis, crushed a pinch
puy lentils 300g
water 900ml
chicken stock cube ½
salt
black pepper
flat-leaf parsley 2 tbsp
lemon 1, cut into wedges
Dijon mustard to serve

Heat a tablespoon of the olive oil in a spacious lidded sauté or frying pan, and fry the sauasages until they’re done to your liking. Transfer them to a plate and wash the pan. Peel, halve and finely chop the onion; peel and chop the garlic. Scrape the carrots and dice them into dolly-mixture-size pieces.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan, then stir in the onion and garlic. After 5 minutes add the carrot and continue to cook, stirring often, for a further five minutes. Added the crushed chillis, lentils and water, then crumble in the stock cube. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the stock cube, then reduce the heat. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Leave covered for 5 minutes then season the lentils with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, stir in half the flat-leaf parsley and the final tablespoon of olive oil.

Halve the sausages on the slant, stir them through the hot sloppy lentils and gently reheat, Serve with a lemon wedge to squeeze over the top and the pot of Dijon mustard.

Lindsey Bareham’s One Pot Wonders is out now (Michael Joseph, RRP £18.99). Click here to buy a copy from the Guardian Bookshop for £15.19, with free UK P&P.

Stir-fried flat noodles with omelette, leeks, peas, carrot and chilli

£9.80

Uyen Luu
Food writer

banana shallot 1
leeks 200g
birds eye chilli 1, with or without seeds
ho fun noodles 800g
carrot 1 large
coriander 30g
vegetable, olive or rapeseed oil 2 tbsp
eggs 3 free-range
sugar ½ tsp
salt a pinch
black pepper a pinch
soy sauce 1 tsp
oyster sauce 4 tbsp
frozen peas 100g

So you don’t overcook the ingredients, prepare them all in advance so they are ready for the frying pan.

Slice the shallot into disks and finely slice the leeks into circles approximately 3mm thick. Slice the chilli and tease the noodles apart. Julienne the carrot into thin strips, then roughly chop the coriander.

In a large frying pan gently fry the shallot with a dash of oil over a medium heat until lightly browned, approximately 1 minute.

In a small bowl beat together the eggs, sugar, salt, pepper and soy sauce, pour over the browned shallots, then cook until set. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the frying pan, add the leeks and half of the chilli, fry for 1 minute, stirring to stop them from sticking to the pan and allowing them to cook evenly. Once the leeks have started to wilt, add half the noodles to the pan with 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce.

Stir constantly for 2 minutes. When the noodles have started to soften add the rest of them and a further 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

Add the carrots and the peas and continue to fry for a further minute.

Using a fork mash the omelette until it is in little chunks and add to the pan, then stir well for another minute.

Turn off the heat and add half of the chopped coriander, and stir well. Serve in dishes and garnish with the extra coriander and chilli.

Uyen Luu’s My Vietnamese Kitchen is out now (Ryland Peters & Small, RRP £16.99). Click here to buy a copy from the Guardian Bookshop for £13.59, with free UK P&P.

Moroccan chicken buried in couscous

£9.33

Blanche Vaughn
Food writer

Chicken is braised with spices and hidden in a dome of couscous, decorated with cinnamon, almonds and icing sugar. Placed in the centre of the table, guests delve in to discover juicy, spicy pieces of chicken.

For the chicken
chicken thighs and legs 500g
onions 2 medium, chopped
cinnamon 2 sticks
ground ginger 2 tsp
ground black pepper 1 tsp
turmeric 2 tsp
salt 1 tsp
olive oil 1 tbsp
carrots 2 large, peeled and sliced
unsalted butter 50g, half for frying and half for couscous
fresh coriander 2 tbsp chopped

For the couscous
instant couscous 400g
salt 1 tsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
sultanas 50g, soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes
toasted flaked almonds 4 tbsp
icing sugar 2 tsp

Put the chicken pieces, onion, one of the cinnamon sticks, all the other spices, the salt and oil in a large bowl and mix together well.

Place a large, heavy pot with a lid on a medium heat and melt half the butter. Add the chicken mixture and cook for 5-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Add the carrots, pour over 750ml of water and bring to a simmer. Partially cover with a lid and cook for 40-60 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Put the couscous in a bowl and pour over a cup of slightly salted boiling water. When the water has been absorbed and the couscous has started to swell (after about 5 minutes), fluff up the cooked grains, using a fork to break up any lumps.

Grind the remaining stick of cinnamon to a powder and drain the sultanas. Add the sultanas to the couscous with a teaspoon of the ground cinnamon, the remaining butter and half of the almonds and sugar – reserve the rest for decorating. Toss together gently and cover to keep warm.

When the chicken is tender and cooked, remove it, along with the cinnamon stick, from the sauce. Turn up the heat and boil to reduce the liquid to about 400ml. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. At this point, you can also remove the chicken from the bones if you prefer.

To serve, put one-third of the couscous on the base of a large plate and arrange the chicken and carrots on top. Sprinkle over the coriander. Pour the reduced sauce over the chicken and allow it to soak the couscous. (Any extra sauce can be put into a jug and served at the table). Cover with the remaining couscous in a dome shape.

To decorate, sprinkle strips of icing sugar, cinnamon and toasted almonds in lines leading up from the base of the dome to the peak.

Adapted from In One Pot by Blanche Vaughan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, RRP £18.99). Click here to buy a copy from the Guardian Bookshop for £15.19, with free UK P&P.

An inauthentic lamb curry

£9.50

Stephen Harris
Chef patron, The Sportsman

Although this curry is not authentic, it makes a great cheap midweek meal. It can also be adapted by using different meat or vegetables. Cauliflower can become the central ingredient or just use vegetables that are cheap and in-season .

lamb neck 500g, diced into small cubes (it may be cheaper from your butcher)
mild curry powder 2 tsp
large potato 1
large carrot 1
large courgette 1
large onion 1
coconut milk 400ml
fresh coriander 1 bunch, finely chopped
lime ½

In a large pan fry the lamb and curry powder until it starts to colour. Cut all the vegetables into thin strips using a mandoline and add to the pan.

Pour the coconut milk into the pan, bring to the boil, put the lid on and simmer for 1 hour. Check the meat is tender, then continue to simmer with the lid off until the sauce thickens. Add salt to taste.

When you are happy with the thickness of the sauce, take off the heat and add the coriander and the juice of half a lime, and serve.

Asian-inspired pork belly pot-au-feu

£8.52

Bruno Loubet
Chef patron, Bistrot Bruno Loubet and Grain Store

This is a really easy dish for pork lovers. Leave it simmering for a couple of hours without fear of the meat drying out. The best part is this cut of meat is very cheap so it’s perfect for the start of the year when everyone is more careful with their splurges.

pork belly 600g
chicken stock 1.5l
star anise 2
fresh ginger, chopped 2 tbsp
garlic 4 cloves , sliced
red chilli 1
lemon peel 4 strips
parsnips 4 small, peeled and left whole
carrots 4 small, peeled and left whole
potatoes 4 small, peeled and left whole
strong English mustard 4 tbsp

Place the pork in a pot and cover with water, bring to the boil then empty out the water. In the same pot add the chicken stock and all the ingredients except the mustard. Bring it to the boil and skim any scum from the top.

Simmer slowly for about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. The pork should be very soft – check with a knife blade.

Transfer to a large serving dish and enjoy with the mustard.

Tiella

£4.20

Sam Harris
Chef patron, Zucca

This is a traditional southern Italian dish which has its roots firmly in Puglia. The unusual addition of risotto rice stems from its creation. Apparently, a housewife was looking for some substance to add to a family meal during hard times, and all that was available in the store cupboard was rice. This teamed with mussels makes it a very economical dish that sustains but is also tasty and plentiful. Remember to let the dish rest for some time after cooking – this will help with serving.

large white onion 1, thinly sliced into rings
olive oil 4 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
fresh mussels 200g
medium-sized waxy potatoes 4, thinly sliced
red pepper 1, cut into thin strips
large courgette 1, cut into thin discs
risotto rice 100g
tin of whole tomatoes 1, drained of juice and cut into quarters

Sweat the onion with a pinch of salt in olive oil for 10 mins, then add the garlic and cook for a minute.

Add the mussels and 100ml water, put the lid on and allow the mussels to open up. Remove from the heat, reserve the liquid and take the meat from the shells.

Take a baking dish and in layers place a little of the potatoes at the bottom, then the onions, pepper and courgette. Sprinkle some rice over, add a few pieces of tomatoes, then the mussel meat. Continue doing so until everything is used up.

Pour over the juice the mussels were cooked in, and add 150ml cold water. Cover as tightly as possible and place in an oven heated to 180C/gas mark 4 for 40 mins, until everything is cooked. Rest for 15 minutes and serve.

Pisto with duck egg

£9.66

Nieves Barragán Mohacho
Executive head chef, Barrafina and Fino

small red onion 1, peeled
medium-sized white onion 1, peeled
medium-sized aubergines 2
medium-sized green peppers 2, deseeded
medium-sized red peppers 2, deseeded
medium-sized courgettes 2
tomatoes 4
olive oil 180ml
garlic 4 cloves, peeled and finely sliced
sweet smoked paprika 2 tsp
bay leaves, dry or fresh 3
free-range duck eggs 4
sourdough bread 4 slices, toasted

Dice the onions, aubergines, peppers, courgettes and tomatoes into 2cm cubes.

Heat 60ml of the olive oil in a large casserole or pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook gently until lightly golden. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the aubergines and peppers, cook for two minutes, then add the courgettes and another 20ml of olive oil and cook for a further 3 minutes. Now add the paprika, bay leaves and a further 20ml of olive oil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes and add another 20ml of olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes more, then remove from the heat. Spoon the pisto on to serving plates.

Serve with a fried egg on top, (cooked one at a time in the remaining oil in a small pan) and crusty sourdough bread.

Adapted from Barrafina, A Spanish Cookbook by Nieves Barragán Mohacho and Sam and Eddie Hart (Fig Tree, RRP £25).