Student Meals 2.0

Hey guys! Now that I have settled into my second year of uni, and that I no longer have to worry about halls of residence and general hygiene,  I have rekindled my love for cooking. Here are some of my go-to recipes.

Prawn Stir Fry

Perfect for left overs, this stir fry dish is so easy to make after a long day at uni. To standard egg noodles, I added coriander and pre-cooked chilli prawns, mushrooms and grated carrot to add texture. Followed off by soy sauce, salt, pepper, chilli flakes and lime juice, and the meal is complete. The best thing about a stir fry is that you can add anything to it.

Chicken and Chorizo Pasta

Pasta has always been a fool-proof student meal, as it is quick, cheap and will easily fill anyone up. My dish is a combination of Fusilli pasta, chicken breast, chorizo and salami. I then added cheese in the frying pan with all the other ingredients to add extra flavour. Topped with salt, pepper and chilli flakes and the meal is complete.

Chicken in Parma Ham & Veg

Another simple dish to make, chicken in Parma ham with baby potatoes and veg is the perfect balanced meal after a long day. For best results, after wrapping the chicken in Parma ham (I suggest using mini fillets instead of a full breast to ensure it is properly cooked), shallow fry it, but do not turn it over until half way through cooking, to ensure the ham does not fall off. After boiling the potatoes, coat them in butter and parsley for additional flavour. Simply fry the baby sweetcorn and sugar snap peas in butter to warm them through.

Hoisin Duck Noodles

If you want a cheat day I highly recommend going for an M&S Ready Meal. For only £4 you have a convenient, flavoursome meal without the regret of getting a takeaway. This time I opted for Hoisin Duck Noodles, and just added some more soy sauce, sugar snap peas and baby sweetcorn to taste. Combined in a frying pan, this meal packs so much flavour and is so easy to do.

Pork Belly & Veg

For days when you are fancying something on the higher end, and there is more than one person to feed, pork belly is the way forward. A recipe from Gordon Ramsay, this meal does take a long while to make but is definitely worth it. Firstly start by cutting up your veg (we used carrot, onions and potato but you can add anything you wish) and 4 cloves of garlic and mix it in a roasting tin, adding rosemary, thyme, fennel seeds and coriander seeds. Next score your meat into diamonds, rubbing in salt into the skin – that will form the crackling. After that, sear the meat by putting in skin down into the pan and leaving it to warm up. After putting the meat in the pan the right way up, fill with stock, right up to the meat ends and the skin starts. Then put in the oven for 2.5 hours at 180 degrees. And there we have it!