We may not all love to cook, but we all love to eat. And that’s a problem, it’s time to get down to work and prepare the food.

A Tupperware from mum or grandma can save us from a one-off meal, as can ordering food to be delivered to your home. That’s fine, but once, don’t overdo it. The time has come to take your first steps in the kitchen with dishes that are quick to make, simple and tasty.

So that there is no problem, we have divided them according to whether you fancy a bit of vegetables, or meat, maybe you have a fish day or it is raining outside and you want something warm. There’s something for everyone and everything is delicious.

Quick and Easy Recipes for Students

Vegetable recipes

Make your mother happy by telling her you’re eating vegetables, but we’re also going to make it true. Here are a couple of vegetable recipes that are easy, quick to make and much tastier than you might think.

Courgette cream soup

Ingredients for 4 people and preparation of the courgette soup

2 Courgettes
1 potato
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
30 ml liquid cream
500 ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil

If you’ve ever been on a diet or set out to lose a few pounds, this is a dinnertime classic. And it’s not until then that you try it and say, but this is delicious. Well, let’s show you how to make this dish.

Cut the onion into julienne strips. First panic eyes. Don’t worry, the julienne cut is one of the most common and easiest, so get used to it. This cut is to cut the onion into elongated strips. It is done by cutting the onion in half, leaving the ends as they are, and removing the dry outer layers.

Cut the onion into thin slices, parallel to the line that would join the two ends. These slices should be joined at the central knot. Then just pull them apart and, ready, julienne them.

Fry the sliced onion in a pan with a little hot oil, although the heat should be low or medium. Sautéing is simply doing what we have just explained. A clove of garlic in the oil will add a fantastic touch to the final result.

While the onion is frying, getting softer, chop the unpeeled courgettes and cut the potatoes into irregular pieces, in different shapes but of small size. Is the onion already fried? Add the courgette and potatoes to the pan.

Let the olive oil work its magic for about ten minutes. Then add the vegetable stock and simmer for another twenty minutes. When this time has passed, pour everything into a bowl and pass it through the blender.

Once you have the new texture, return it to the pan. Add salt to taste and cream to get a smoother, creamier texture. Leave it to simmer for another five minutes and enjoy it. How can something so simple be so tasty?

Broccoli with yoghurt and mustard

If you are one of those who can’t stand broccoli or its smell and you are about to discard this recipe, think twice, because this preparation and its result will surprise you.

Ingredients for 4 people and preparation of Broccoli with Yoghurt and Mustard

2 broccoli
150g plain Greek yoghurt
20ml Dijon mustard
15ml Extra virgin olive oil
Ground curry
Ground cumin
Ground turmeric
Sweet paprika
Hot paprika
Ground black pepper
Salt
Nigella or wormwood seeds and almonds

Separate the stems of the broccoli and peel them, but not too small. Cut off the thickest part of the stems, and the florets from the branches. Wash the broccoli, taking care not to let it fall apart.

Boil them in boiling water for about three minutes, then remove and dry them as they cool. Meanwhile, mix the olive oil, mustard, yoghurt, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix well, then add the dried broccoli.

Heat a frying pan or griddle with a little oil, always olive oil, and place the broccoli soaked in your new favourite sauce. Set the heat to medium or high, no low heat now, and stir until done. It will take less than ten minutes.

The almonds and seeds are to be added to the final result, in case you want some crunch.

Legume recipes

Since you stopped being forced to eat pulses at home, how has your relationship with them been? Let’s improve it right now with this easy recipe.

Chickpeas cooked in the oven Greek style

Ingredients for 4 people and preparation of Greek-style baked chickpeas

400g Dried but fresh quality chickpeas
50ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
Fresh thyme
2 white onions
1 lemon
Sweet or hot paprika
Vegetable stock or water
Ground black pepper
Salt

Do that thing you’ve seen so much done at home; soak the chickpeas in cold water the night before you start cooking. Although they are already sold in jars ready to start cooking, why do you do this? The longer they soak in water, the easier and quicker they will cook later.

Preheat the oven to 175º C, and while it is heating up, prepare a casserole dish in which you are going to add the chopped onion and the chopped garlic cloves. Then put the chickpeas in a bowl with the thyme, bay leaf, black pepper and a little paprika, as well as the olive oil and mix it all together. Then pour in the water, or vegetable stock, whichever you prefer, until it covers a finger’s depth in the dish.

With it all together, add the onions and garlic that you have already browned from the pot or pan, plus the juice of one lemon. Cover and place in the oven, which by now should be at the perfect temperature. As the water evaporates, top it up until everything is cooked and ready to eat. This can take anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours, depending on how well the chickpeas absorb the liquid and heat.

Pasta and Rice

There is life beyond macaroni and tomato. Give your pasta a twist by turning it into a real gourmet dish in just a few minutes. Plus, here’s a simple recipe for making delicious rice. It’s not like your grandmother used to make, but it’s a perfect rice for beginners.

Spaghetti with creamy mushroom garlic sauce

Ingredients for 4 people and preparation of spaghetti with creamy mushroom and garlic sauce

500g Mushrooms
400g Spaghetti
100ml Liquid cooking cream
6 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper

You can buy the mushrooms already cut and ready to cook or prepare them yourself. Although we imagine what you are going to do, in case you change your mind and want to prepare them yourself, all you will have to do is cut the base of each mushroom to clean the mushroom, wipe them with a damp cloth, and separate them from their feet.

Cut the mushrooms into equal sized pieces and then peel all the garlic cloves and chop them as finely as you can. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic, as soon as it turns a little brown, and before it browns completely, add the mushrooms over a medium heat for about ten minutes.

Add salt and pepper, or rather, salt and pepper, you should be getting the vocabulary down, and add the cream and let it all mix together. Then boil the spaghetti and once it is ready, mix it with the cream, just the cream. Once ready, place on a plate and add the mushrooms on top or serve on the side.

Curried fish and rice

Ingredients for 2 people and preparation of curried fish and rice

250g Hake
Long grain rice
Fish stock
1 onion
1 ripe tomato
Ground black pepper
Ground ginger
Ground curry
1 lemon
Salt

Chop the tomatoes and onion. Prepare a frying pan with a little oil, once hot add the onion first, and a couple of minutes later the tomato. Stir it from time to time for at least another couple of minutes. Then add the rice, add salt to taste and continue stirring.

Pour in the stock until the rice is covered, when it comes to temperature, add two grams of ginger, curry and let the low heat work its magic for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the hake by cutting it into medium-sized pieces, add curry and salt and pepper. As soon as the ten minutes are up, it is time to transfer the fish to the pan with the rice, adding the juice of a squeezed lemon. Once the rice has absorbed all the stock, it is ready to eat.

Tortillas and eggs

Make way, because here comes one of the queen sections of all Spanish cuisine, and you are now going to be one of the privileged ones who are going to learn how to cook delicacies as Spanish as they are delicious.

Potato omelette with onion (Spanish Omelette)

Ingredients for 4 people and preparation of the potato omelette with onions

700g Potatoes
300g Onion
6 eggs
Salt
Olive oil

Cut the onion into julienne strips, which you already know from the courgette cream recipe. Let’s caramelise the onion. Put it in a frying pan with oil over a low heat, stirring it from time to time.

While the onion is cooking, a process that can take quite a while, a little over twenty minutes, start peeling potatoes, I hope you have heated the doll, wash them and then cut them into small pieces, they can be irregular.

Place another frying pan with plenty of oil on the heat, and before it gets hot, add the potatoes and let them cook over a medium heat. After about ten minutes, you can turn up the heat on the potatoes, although this medium temperature is perfect.

A few minutes later, once the potatoes are golden brown and the onion is poached, remove the potatoes, draining the excess oil, and place them in a bowl. Next, add the onion on top and beat the eggs in a bowl, then add them to the potatoes and onion.

Let it all mix together and throw it into the frying pan with just a tablespoon of oil in it. Let it all cook for about three minutes, depending on whether you like it more or less done, and then comes the magic moment; flip it over and do it on the other side. We recommend that you use a plate and place it on top of the pan. Leave the flipping for a little later. Once the second side is also cooked, that’s it, you’re done.

Potato, feta and pesto frittata

Ingredients for 6 persons and preparation of the potato, feta and pesto frittata

600g Potatoes
1 clove of garlic
8 eggs
Extra virgin olive oil
200g Feta cheese
50g Basil pesto
Salt
Ground black pepper

Peel and slice the potatoes and put them in boiling water in a pot with salt. Let them cook for five minutes, or when they are soft when pierced. Once they are ready, take them out, dry the water with napkins and leave them outside to come to room temperature.

What can you do in the meantime? Preheat the oven to 200ºC and beat the eggs in a bowl and add the finely chopped garlic. Then add the potatoes and 150 g of chopped feta cheese, i.e. leave some out for later. Add salt and pepper, a little more than you would. Pour everything into a frying pan with a little oil over a low heat for about five minutes.

Add the contents of the pan into a bowl and place it in the hot oven for about ten to fifteen minutes. When you take it out, spread the leftover feta cheese on top of this delicious dish and let it melt.

Meat recipes

Chicken au gratin with Provolone

Ingredients for 1 person and preparation of chicken au gratin au Provolone

1 chicken breast
100g Provolone cheese
40g Green pepper
Butter
Provencal herbs
Salt
Ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, while you cut the chicken breast into two parts, remember to remove all those white strips of fat, or at least as much as you can. Once you have it like this, open like a book, add the salt, pepper and Provencal herbs.

Slice the cheese and julienne the pepper and place it all over the chicken. Now, place the chicken on a tray that has been greased with butter, and put it in the oven for half an hour. Check that the chicken does not dry out before it is done, if necessary, you can add small cubes of butter like the ones you used for the baking tray.

Pork tenderloin with broad beans

Ingredients for 2 persons and preparation of pork tenderloin with broad beans

1 pork tenderloin cut into medallions
500g Fresh broad beans
Salt

Take the fresh broad beans, and cook the inside of the beans with salt for about eight minutes, then get rid of the skin and keep the sweet, tender heart. Then sauté them in a frying pan with a little oil for a couple of minutes. Beans ready.

Our medallions, about a centimetre thick, are going to go through the griddle to mark each side, that is to say, with the high heat you are going to put them on for just a few minutes, so that they brown, and add salt. Just one minute per side.

Then lower the heat and on the same griddle or frying pan where you marked the sirloin, add the beans and let the flavours mix over a low heat.

Fish and seafood recipes

Baked hake with lemon

Ingredients for 4 people and preparation of hake baked in the oven with lemon

1kg Hake in medallions
600g Potato
1 red pepper
1 small onion
4 cloves of garlic
20ml Lemon juice
80ml extra virgin olive oil
1 Cayenne pepper
Salt
Fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. While it is heating up, chop the onion into slices, the red pepper into chunks and the potatoes into thin sticks.

Put the potatoes and peppers in a baking dish with plenty of oil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, then place the fish on top, seasoned to taste, and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

What can you do in the meantime? Don’t worry, the garlic and cayenne are waiting for you to fry them in a pan with a little oil until golden brown. Once out of the pan, add the lemon juice and stir until it becomes a sauce.

The fish is ready just in time to take it out of the oven and pour our new, freshly made sauce over it. It should be eaten hot, freshly cooked, it does not need to rest.

Baked sea bream with potatoes

Ingredients for 2 people and preparation of baked sea bream with potatoes

500g Sea bream
2 potatoes
10 French onions
1 clove of garlic
Lemon juice
Chilli
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Prepare a frying pan with plenty of oil, while it is heating, peel some potatoes and then cut them into slices. Put them in the hot oil and as soon as they fry a little, take them out. Don’t wait for them to brown. We recommend that you place them on absorbent paper to remove the excess oil.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180ºC and take the French onions, we have chosen them for their small size but you can use others if you can’t find them, the smaller the better, to put them in the frying pan where we fried the potatoes but now the heat is very low. Leave them there for a quarter of an hour.

When they are ready, do the same as with the potatoes, remove them to a plate with absorbent paper. The oven is now ready, so place a bed of potatoes in a baking dish, the onions on top and the open sea bream with the salt and a touch of oil on top.

Leave in the oven for about twenty minutes. While the oven does its work, you should brown a clove of garlic cut into thin slices with the chilli. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and all the elements are ready.

Take it out of the oven, pour the lemon juice with the garlic and chilli, and eat.

Dessert

And after all you’ve learned, after all you’ve done, don’t you deserve a prize? Of course you do, but you’ll have to make it yourself, although the result will be well worth it.

Croissants with chocolate

Ingredients for chocolate croissants and how to prepare them

1 rectangular sheet of puff pastry
1 tablet of dark or milk chocolate in tablet form
1 egg
Sugar

Preheat the oven to 210ºC and while it is getting ready, cut the puff pastry into six equal squares, then divide each square into two triangles. Although it may look like a geometry problem, this is pure and simple pastry making.

Place an ounce of chocolate of your choice inside each triangle and cover it to form a small sack or roll, pressing the edges together and curving them to give a croissant effect.

Beat the egg and with a pastry brush, or the closest thing you have at home, cover them with a thin layer of the egg and sprinkle sugar over each one. Then place this croissant project on a baking tray, lined with baking paper so that nothing sticks to it.

Place the tray in the lower part of the hot oven for about ten minutes, until they start to brown, and you’ll see how good the kitchen smells.