Learning to Cook in time for Uni (Part 2)

This is part 2 of a blog post covering different meals that I think every student should know how to make. These dishes are slightly more complicated than those in part 1 but still very achievable after some time in the kitchen!

Develop your skills…

Now for some meals that require a bit more work but are worth it (in my opinion).

Tomato sauce – you can buy this in a jar but making your own not only tastes better, but is cheaper and healthier too! A recipe can be found here

Curry – having just said homemade is better than a jar, curry sauce is where I make an exception (homemade is still better but I can’t be bothered to make it). Most jars have a simple recipe on the back of the jar that you can follow – I normally cook some onions, once they’re soft add the meat and spices (if applicable), when the meat is cooked add the sauce along with some mushrooms and other veg (like peas or chopped carrots). Whilst the sauce is heating through and the mushrooms are cooking, put the rice on and serve when cooked.

Bolognaise – bolognaise is a step up in complexity (a lot more steps) but not too difficult. A good recipe can be found here.

Getting fancy

Mastered all those dishes? Fancy flaunting your cooking skills in the kitchen? Here are a few ideas that many find daunting but aren’t actually a very big step up in cooking skills.

Sesame Chicken with Sticky Asian Sauce – if you fancy a take-away but want to save some money, this is a great alternative to a classic (recipe can be found here).

Cobbler – cobbler is a mince mix (you could use the bolognaise) with a suet dumpling topping. A recipe can be found here.

Lasagne – all you need is a portion of bolognaise, some ready-made lasagne sheets and some white sauce (recipe here). Layer each element (bolognaise, lasagne, white sauce, repeat) until nothing left, top with cheese and pop in the oven for at least 15 minutes (but I prefer to leave it for closer to 40).

Roast Dinner – the hardest thing about roast dinner is timing it so that everything is ready at once. I don’t recommend making roast dinner just for yourself (but you can if you want to) – this meal is best enjoyed as a group (especially near Christmas). If cooking a whole roast dinner seems like a bit of a leap, practice cooking the individual elements on their own before trying to cook the whole meal.

And that’s it – these are some of the dishes I’ve survived on at Uni. Hopefully learning how to cook these will stop you going hungry and give you the confidence to find recipes for other meals you want to eat.

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Cover photo by Alyson McPhee on Unsplash