When you get back from uni late and have no time to cook up anything fancy and forgot to batch cook last weekend again, what you need is something quick you can throw together from scratch, that will fill you up and taste great. In this article there are two recipes ideal for just that – ones that every student should know: jacket potato and spaghetti bolognaise.
Microwave Jacket Potato (serves 1)
Probably the easiest meal to make, so much so it’s more of a guide than a recipe, but it always makes a satisfying dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 potato
- Topping and accompaniment of your choice
Method
- Using a fork, prick all around the potato and then dry with a tea towel or paper cloth.
- Put the potato in the microwave at full heat for 4 minutes (time may vary slightly depending on your microwave and size of potato).
- Again, dry the potato and return the microwave upside down for another 4 minutes.
- Use this time to prepare whatever you want to go with your jacket potato: grate some cheese, heat up some beans, prepare a salad, whatever you like!
- You can then put the potato under the grill to crisp up the skin a bit more, however this is optional. Then serve!
Spaghetti Bolognaise (serves 2)
The great thing about this dish is that it takes no extra time to batch cook, so in 15-20 minutes you can easily have a number of portions simply by scaling up the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 250g mince
- 250g tomato passata
- Pinch of mixed herbs
- Choice of vegetables, diced
- 160g spaghetti
- Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Method
- Finely chop up your onion and garlic and then fry with the mince in a saucepan, until the mince is fully cooked.
- Add the passata, herbs and your choice of vegetables. I usually use sweetcorn and green pepper as that is what I usually have left over in my fridge, but you can also use mushrooms, carrot, aubergine… whatever you fancy.
- Whilst the sauce is cooking, cook your spaghetti in boiling water until soft.
- Serve with a sprinkling of cheese! Allow the rest of your sauce to cool before portioning up and freezing.
Josh Caldicott
Images: Josh Caldicott
Featured image courtesy of ‘Damian Siwiaszczyk’ via Flickr.
