Cooking in a student kitchen: five meals, one pan

A student kitchen usually means one burner that works, a pan that has seen better decades, and a fridge shared by six people. You can still eat well. All you need is one large, deep frying pan or sauté pan with a lid, a wooden spoon, a sharp knife and a few staples.

Each recipe below serves two, with leftovers possible if you double it.

The pantry that does the work

Keep these on hand: rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, canned beans or chickpeas, eggs, onions, garlic, oil, soy sauce, a stock cube, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, and one or two spices such as cumin and paprika. Frozen vegetables are cheap, last for months and are just as nutritious as many fresh ones.

1. One-pan tomato pasta

You need: 200 g dry pasta, 1 can (400 ml) crushed tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 500 ml water, oil, salt.

Soften the chopped onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, salt and pasta. Cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the sauce is thick. Add more water if it dries out. Finish with cheese or chilli flakes. Stir often to stop the pasta sticking to the pan.

2. Egg fried rice

You need: 2 cups cooked rice (cold, ideally from yesterday), 3 eggs, a handful of frozen peas or mixed vegetables, 2 green onions, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, oil.

Heat the oil in the pan until hot. Add the vegetables for 2 minutes. Push to the side, scramble the eggs, then stir in the rice and soy sauce for 3 to 4 minutes until hot all the way through. Cold rice fries better than fresh, which turns mushy.

Food safety: cool leftover rice within an hour and refrigerate it. Eat it within a day and reheat it until steaming hot, because rice that sits warm can grow bacteria.

3. Chickpea and spinach curry

You need: 1 can chickpeas (drained), 1 can (400 ml) crushed tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 2 big handfuls of spinach (fresh or frozen), a splash of coconut milk if you have it.

Soften the onion and garlic, stir in the curry powder for a minute, then add the tomatoes and chickpeas. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach until wilted. Serve over rice or with bread. Cheap, filling and vegan.

4. Sausage and bean skillet

You need: 4 sausages (any kind), 1 can white or kidney beans, 1 can crushed tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 teaspoon paprika.

Brown the sausages whole for about 8 minutes, turning, then remove and slice. Cook the onion in the fat, add the paprika, tomatoes and beans, and return the sausage. Simmer for 10 minutes. Make sure the sausages are cooked through, with no pink and an internal temperature of 71 degrees C. Serve with toast or potatoes.

5. Veggie frittata

You need: 5 eggs, whatever vegetables are in the fridge (about 2 cups, chopped), 50 g cheese, salt, pepper, oil.

Cook the vegetables in an ovenproof or lidded pan for 5 minutes. Beat the eggs with seasoning and pour over. Cover and cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the top is set, then sprinkle with cheese. If you have no oven-safe pan, use a lid. Cut into wedges. Eat hot with salad or cold the next day in a sandwich.

Shared-kitchen manners

• Label your food and date it. Leftovers should be eaten or thrown out within three days.
• Wash your pan the same day, before it becomes a science project.
• Do not use someone’s oil, spices or milk without asking.
• Wipe the counter and stove after cooking.
• Separate raw meat from other food in the fridge, on the lowest shelf.
• Keep a cleaning rota. It prevents arguments.

What can go wrong

• Pasta sticks: stir more, add water.
• Everything is bland: add salt, an acid such as lemon or vinegar, and chilli.
• Fire alarm: use the lid, lower the heat and open a window.

Make it a shared meal

Once a week, cook the same dish for the whole flat and split the cost. Cooking for six is cheaper per head than cooking for one, and it turns a kitchen into somewhere people actually want to be.

For more ideas on cooking together, visit our Community section.