a 2 euro meal

We're broke. We have 60 euros to last us the next 10 days. So I've been trying to come up with the cheapest, yet still delicious dishes that I could make. Since I recently had an altercation with our new Italian neighbors, I thought that I should celebrate their arrival in our lives by dedicating a meal to their home country, which proably expelled them for being a bunch of non-bonjour saying, bike-hating, incomprehensible accent-having jerks. I encourage you to join me in celebrating their arrival. To do so accurately, here's what you'll need to get:
a kilo of macaroni for 44 centimes at the discount store, a half of onion, a half of a red pepper, a half of a courgette, and a clove of garlic, a half a can of peeled and pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper, lemon juice, capers, and a can of albacore tuna. Oh, and it helps to have bought a ton of basil at the farmer's market before you realized you've got no money.
Ok, so the first step is boil the macaroni so that they're al dente (yes, even cheap pasta should be well prepared). Rinse it with cold water so it stops cooking while you finish up the sauce.

B. is now my official blog photographer, by the way.

Meanwhile, sautee chopped onion, garlic, courgette (baby zuchinni), and red pepper, in a bit of olive oil. After 5 minutes or so, add tuna and the tuna juice (mmm...), follow that up with the lemon juice to taste, and as many capers as suits your fancy. The stuff in the pan should look like a faded Italian flag: green, red, and light pink.

Looks ok so far.

For the final step, mix in the macaroni. If you like your tomato sauce a bit spicy, add a teaspoon of Sriracha sauce (I always add at least a drop, because it adds a certain tangy taste that I love). Serve with some grated parmesan, fresh basil, and a nice big piece of baguette florentin.


Viva Italia!

I added up how much it cost to make this dish, and it came out to 1.97 euros. I'm three centimes under budget, eat your heart out Rachel Ray (40 dollars a day, my ass)! Of course I didn't count in my arduous labor - you really can't put a price on that.