Easy recipes

When you’re young and don’t have much money, it’s normal to want to cook something quickly and cheaply. That’s why Youthful have put together a few recipes to help you, and we encourage you to expand on them with your own desires and know-how. You’ll also find some recommendations of highly-inspiring cookbooks and Instagram accounts at the end of the page!

Vegetable fried rice 

Ingredients:

• Rice (already cooked or to be cooked)
• Vegetables of your choice (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• Garlic, onion, oil, soy sauce (optional)

Instructions:

1. Sauté the garlic, onion, and vegetables.
2. Add the rice and mix well.
3. Season with whatever you have—salt, pepper, spices, or soy sauce.

Hearty salad 

Ingredients:

• Raw vegetables (tomato, carrot, cucumber…)
• A base: rice, pasta, or lentils
• A protein: hard-boiled egg, tuna, chickpeas

Instructions:

1. Chop everything and mix it all together.
2. Add a simple dressing: oil, vinegar, salt, pepper—and mustard if you like.

Baked (or Pan-Fried) croque-monsieur 

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread
• Cheese (grated or sliced)
• Ham, tuna, or even leftovers
• A bit of milk or butter (optional)

Instructions:

1. Assemble your croque with cheese and whatever filling you have on hand.
2. You can dip it lightly in milk or butter the outside to make it crispy.
3. Cook it in the oven or in a pan for a few minutes until golden and melting.

Ratatouille 

Ingredients:

• 350g aubergines
• 350g courgettes
• 350g bell peppers
• 350g onions
• 500g tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Aromatic herbs: thyme, bay leaf, pepper, salt
• Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Cut the peeled tomatoes into quarters and slice the aubergines and courgette.
2. Cut the peppers into thin strips and the onions into round slices.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and soften the onions and peppers.
4. Once tender, add the tomatoes, chopped garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper and let it simmer gently, with a lid on, for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the aubergines and courgettes.
6. Cook them separately or together in olive oil for about 15 minutes.
7. Check if they’re cooked—the vegetables should no longer be firm.
8. Add them to the tomato mixture and continue cooking over a very low heat for 10 minutes. Add salt or pepper if needed.

Spicy Italian pasta with aubergine 

Ingredients:

• Onions
• Garlic
• One or two aubergines
• One chili pepper
• Passata 
• Pasta 

Instructions:

1. Dice the chili pepper and garlic.
2. Sauté them in a pan with olive oil over a medium heat.
3. Slice the onions finely and add them to the pan.
4. Once the onions are nicely softened, add the diced aubergine and salt it to help release moisture.
5. When the aubergine is tender, pour in the passata.
6. In a separate pot, cook the pasta in boiling water.
7. For an extra Italian touch, ladle a bit of pasta water into the pan with the aubergine sauce and let it evaporate.
8. Once the pasta is cooked, mix it into the sauce. And voilà—ready to serve!

Finally, here’s a small selection of cookbooks and Instagram accounts to inspire you:

BOOKS:

• The cookbooks of Ottolenghi, a great top chef, include vegetable, fish, and meat recipes, all easy and very tasty! 
• The two Whoogy’s cookbooks

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS:

• Pasta Queen is an Italian influencer who offers all her best traditional recipes on Instagram. @the_pastaqueen
• The instagram account of @whoogys
• The instagram account of @chey__nese

Header photo : Stéphane Pachot