ArchiveSeptember 1, 2024

Cooking for College

This week a column for students heading off to college with a limited budget and even more limited batterie de cuisine or ‘kitchen kit’.
First a list of basic essentials if you’re to rustle up anything at all in your kitchen. Hopefully you’ll have an oven but I’m not taking this for granted, but I am assuming that you’ll have some sort of hob or a couple of gas jets. I’m also assuming that you’ll have basic cutlery and crockery.
So here we go…
a frying pan and egg slice
a wok
a 22.5cm saucepan and/or a casserole with lid
a nest of three Pyrex or stainless steel bowls
a coil whisk
a couple of wooden spoons, one with a round and the other straight ended
A few 20.5 or 23cm pasta bowls that can also be used for breakfast cereal, soup, stew, risotto or pudding…
I’m not a fan of the Instant pot. But many people are so I’ll leave that up to you but be very wary of the Teflon lined versions which are causing considerable anxiety in some areas. Check it out yourself.
With the few basics I’ve listed above you could make a myriad of dishes in a very short time. If your parents cook, badger them into giving you a couple of lessons before you leave for college and down a few of your favourite family recipes.
A few basics like tomato fondue – a gem, easy peasy to make, an all-rounder as a sauce, a topping for pizza or flatbread, a basis for all kinds of additions like mince, a fillet of fresh fish, a few mussels, a chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for several days or can be popped into the freezer at the top of your fridge.
Collect some recyclable containers and tubs to take with you.
Plain boiled rice or pilaf rice can of course be an accompaniment to something else but also a base for lots of tasty bits and bobs. A few little cubes of chorizo deliver so much bang for your buck in flavour terms, always worth having in your fridge to jizz up dishes from scrambled egg to a 30 second French omelette, a frittata or even a dish of pasta. Look out for Gubbeen chorizo, made by Fingal Ferguson in West Cork.
Another brilliant standby is a piece of nice fat streaky bacon which can be used in a similar way and also cut into skinny lardons to crisp up and sprinkle over a salad with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.
Try to always have a few fresh eggs, a brilliant and inexpensive source of protein and it’s so easy to whip up a myriad of satisfying dishes, I could write a whole book on egg dishes alone.
Make friends with a local butcher and ask to buy scraps of inexpensive meat. Learn how to make one basic stew with lots of added root vegetables and a layer of potatoes on top so you’ll have a fine nourishing pot of comforting goodness.
A slow cooker would be another brilliant bit of kitchen kit, perhaps your grandparents might like to gift one to you before you leave for college. Then you could have a stew bubbling and ready to eat when you arrive back to your digs in the evening.
I don’t care how tired or stressed you are, try not to ever buy any ultra processed food and definitely avoid anything that is labelled low-fat, light or healthy, it usually means it isn’t…
Make it a priority to look after your tummy, there’s tons of research now to highlight the importance of a healthy gut biome which hugely affects both our physical and mental health. In other words, our energy level and ability to concentrate and achieve.

Tomato Fondue

Tomato fondue is one of our great convertibles, it has a number of uses, we serve it as a vegetable or a sauce for pasta, filling for omelettes, topping for pizza…It will keep for four or five days in the fridge and freezes perfectly.

Serves 6 approx.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

110g sliced onions

1 clove of garlic, crushed

900g very ripe tomatoes in summer, or 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes in winter, but peel before using

salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar to taste

1 tbsp of any of the following;

freshly chopped mint, thyme, parsley, lemon balm, marjoram or torn basil

Heat the oil in a stainless steel sauté pan or casserole.  Add the sliced onions and garlic toss until coated, cover and sweat on a gentle heat until soft but not coloured – about 10 minutes. It is vital for the success of this dish that the onions are completely soft before the tomatoes are added.  Slice the peeled fresh tomatoes or chopped tinned tomatoes and add with all the juice to the onions.  Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar (tinned tomatoes need lots of sugar because of their high acidity).  Add a generous sprinkling of herbs. Cover and cook for just 10-20 minutes more, or until the tomato softens, uncover and reduce a little.  Cook fresh tomatoes for a shorter time to preserve the lively fresh flavour. 

Tinned tomatoes need to be cooked for longer depending on whether one wants to use the fondue as a vegetable, sauce or filling.

Variations

Tomato Fondue with Chilli

Add 1-2 chopped fresh chillies to the onions when sweating.

Penne with Tomato Fondue

Toss 450g of cooked penne or spaghetti with Tomato and Chilli Fondue.

Tomato and Chorizo Fondue 

Add ½-1 sliced or diced chorizo to the tomato fondue five minutes before the end of cooking, great with pasta.

Tomato, Bean and Rosemary Stew

Add 1 x 400g can of haricot beans or black-eyed beans and 1 tablespoon of chopped rosemary to the above.

Tomato Fondue with Aubergines

Cut 450g Slim Jim aubergines into 7mm slices, sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.  Dab dry with kitchen paper. 

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan on a high heat, toss the aubergines in batches and cook until golden on both sides, transfer to a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of chopped marjoram.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.  Add to the tomato fondue, taste and correct the seasoning. 

Tomato Fondue with Courgettes

Cut 450g courgettes into 1cm dice.

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan on a high heat, toss the courgettes in batches and cook until golden, transfer to a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of chopped marjoram.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.  Add to the tomato fondue, taste and correct the seasoning. 

Pilaf Rice

Although a risotto can be made in 20 minutes, it entails 20 minutes of pretty constant stirring which makes it feel rather laboursome. A pilaf on the other hand looks after itself once the initial cooking is underway. The pilaf is versatile – serve it as a staple or add whatever tasty bits you have to hand but don’t be tempted to use it as a dustbin…!

Leftovers will keep in a covered box in the fridge for several days

Serves 4

15g butter

1 tbsp finely chopped onion or shallot

200g long-grain rice (preferably Basmati)

475ml homemade chicken stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp freshly chopped herbs e.g. parsley, thyme, chives: optional

Melt the butter in a casserole, add the finely chopped onion and sweat for 4-5 minutes. Add the rice and toss for a minute or two, just long enough for the grains to change colour. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, add the chicken stock, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a minimum and then simmer on top of the stove or in the oven 160°C/Gas Mark 3 for 10 minutes approx. By then the rice should be just cooked and all the water absorbed. Just before serving stir in the fresh herbs if using.

Note

Basmati rice cooks quite quickly; other types of rice may take up to 15 minutes.

Other good things to add to pilaf

Fresh spices, cubes of cooked chorizo, ham or bacon, freshly cooked chicken, sautéed mushrooms, tomato fondue, Parmesan and basil leaves, red and yellow pepper. 

Lamb or Beef Stew with Bacon, Onions and Garden Herbs

Chicken can be substituted for lamb or beef if desired, use brown meat preferably (legs/thighs).

Serves 4

175g green streaky bacon

900g should of lamb chops not less than 2.5cm in thickness, or stewing beef from the shin

seasoned white flour, preferably unbleached

a little butter or oil for sautéing

225g onions

175g carrot, peeled and thickly sliced

375ml approx. lamb or beef stock or water

4-6 ‘old’ potatoes (optional)

sprig of thyme

freshly chopped parsley

Cut the rind off bacon and cut into approx. 1cm cubes.

Cut the meat into large cubes and roll in flour well-seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and sauté the bacon until crisp, remove and put in a casserole. Add the meat to the pan and sauté until golden then add to the bacon in the casserole. Heat control is crucial here, the pan mustn’t burn yet it must be hot enough to sauté the meat. If it is cool the meat will stew rather than sauté and as a result the meat may be tough. Then quickly sauté the onions and carrots, adding a little butter if necessary, and put them into the casserole. Degrease the sauté pan and deglaze with the stock, bring to the boil and pour over the meat.

Cover the top of the stew with peeled potatoes (if using) and season well. Add a sprig of thyme and bring to simmering point on top of the stove, cover the pot and then put into the oven for 45-60 minutes, 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Cooking time depends on how long the meat was sautéed for.

When the casserole is just cooked, strain off the cooking liquid, degrease and return degreased liquid to the casserole and bring to the boil. Add back in the meat, carrots, onions and potatoes, bring back to the boil.

The stew is very good served at this point. Serve bubbling hot sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Variations

Lamb or Beef Stew with Haricot Beans

Add 225g of precooked haricot beans to the stew about two-thirds of the way through cooking, omit the potatoes.

Lamb or Beef Stew with Haricot Beans and Tomatoes

Add 225g of precooked haricot beans to the stew about two-thirds of the way through cooking, omit the potatoes. Make x 1 recipe of Tomato Fondue and fold half of it into the stew just before serving, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. You will have quite a different but equally delicious stew.

Lamb or Beef Stew with Spices

Add 1 teaspoon each of freshly roasted cumin and coriander seeds in with the carrots and onions and proceed as in the master recipe.

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