Recently with my son moving away from home I was well arming him with some classic cookery recipes for him to cook for himself. With students out and about all hours and also on a tight budget, alot of his cookery lessons where based on nutritious, fast and easy recipes to cook on a budget.

One recipe which Ed loves and is finding easy to cook, as he put it in the oven and leaves it to cook while he gets himself a shower and returns to a tasty dish of baked courgette and tuna risotto.

You will need: 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil, 200g arborio rice, chicken stock (homemade or cubes), 400g chopped tomatoes, 1 onion finelt chopped, 1 chopped chilli (to add a kick if you like this or obmit this out), 2 x 185g tinned tuna ( you can use fresh which has been steamed or griddled), 3 finely sliced courgettes and basil leaves and grated parmesan to serve but optional. (Ed has also been know to add peas to this recipe too for another option)

Heat your oven to 200 C/ fan 180 C/ gas 6 and heat a large flameproof casserole dish with a lid over a medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion and chilli (if you want a kick) with some sea salt and stir for around 5 minutes until the onions are soft, then add your rice and stir again for another minute. Make up 375ml stock and add to your rice with the chopped tomatoes and bring this to shimmering point. Stir in the tuna and courgettes and season with fresh black pepper. Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until the rice is cooked. To serve scatter basil leaves and sprinkle parmesan over the finished dish and serve with crusty bread.

Don’t forget this will serve 4 so if your appetite is big as is Ed’s plate up half and place in the refridgerator for tomorow or freeze for another day.

Whats your favourite quick recipe? Have you taught certain recipes to your children who are now students cooking away from home, then let us know how they are getting on and what recipes they like!

See my previous blog It may be compact but its easy to use and cheap to run for a great gadget for students to cook with away from home, and Starting from scratch essentials for the kitchen blog or search for my easy recipes like this easy recipe for a italian supper.