Dried pasta/spaghetti - around 40p
1 x Tin of tomatoes - around 20p
1 x tin of Tuna - around 50p
1 x tin of anchovies - around 80p - Use only half the tin first, then add more dependent on fishiness!
(optional) 1 x tin of olives - 38p from Asda (alternatively use jarred olives and slice them)
(really optional) 1 x tin of capers - around 80p
pinch of salt (don't add if you are using anchovies in the recipe: ample saltiness already!)
pinch of pepper
half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (more or less depending on heat)
1tbsp garlic powder
1tbsp dried basil
splash of balsamic vinegar to taste
Since we're not frying off fresh garlic, add the olives, anchovies, tuna, capers etc to a pan while the pasta is boiling.
[Tip: use the oil from the anchovies (or tuna) as the cooking oil, it gives it great flavour and is about the right amount of oil)
Once softened a little bit, add the tin of tomatoes: if you didn't get chopped, just mush any tomatoes lumps up with a spoon in the pan. Then add the seasoning. You can add water here (best to do it by filling up the tomato tin half way and pouring it in) depending on how runny you like your sauce.
Let it simmer until it's reduced a bit, and the anchovies have pretty much dissolved. Drain off the pasta, add the sauce to it and stir it up. Top with that horrible parmesan shaker cheese!
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In the fresh version, I sometimes add an onion, and one or two cloves of fresh garlic instead; and I would top it with fresh cheese instead of the nasty foot-smelling shaker stuff.
It works out at about £2-3 for everything, and it'll probably feed about 2-4 people depending on how much pasta you cook and how much you thin the sauce out with water. In a non prep scenario just cook less pasta and freeze it up.
It's good to mix up the spices first and put them in a little sealy bag and store in the cupboard — great prep, and a really quick and lazy way of jazzing up a tin of tomatoes into a sauce.
