Between lectures and exams, healthy eating often takes a back seat during university life. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Here’s some inspiration.
Lectures, assignments, exams—university life is packed. Finding time to cook can be challenging. On top of that, many students have to prepare their own meals for the first time after moving out of their parents’ house. It may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The cookbook Vegetarian Student Food by Dr. Oetker (published by ZS Verlag, available from February 5) offers simple, quick, and vegetarian recipes. Here are three of them.
Halloumi Wraps
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 100 g couscous
- 125 ml boiling water
- 6 tbsp pepper sauce (e.g., mild ajvar)
- Salt, ground pepper
- 1 small cucumber
- ½ head of lettuce
- 2 tomatoes
- 200 g halloumi
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tortilla wraps
Preparation:
Place the couscous in a heatproof container, pour in 125 ml of boiling water, and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork and mix in the pepper sauce. Season with salt and pepper and let it cool.
Rinse the cucumber, pat it dry, trim the ends, peel if desired, quarter lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the flesh into thin, long strips.
Rinse the lettuce, spin it dry, and tear it into pieces. Rinse the tomatoes, dry them, halve them, and remove the stem bases. Slice the tomatoes into thin strips and let them drain on a paper towel.
If necessary, pat the halloumi dry with a paper towel and cut it into thin strips. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the halloumi over medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally.
Meanwhile, warm the tortilla wraps in a dry pan for about 1 minute per side.
Spread a quarter of the couscous mixture on each wrap. Top with halloumi, lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes. Fold the sides over the filling and roll up the wraps tightly. Slice in half if desired and serve.
Vegetable Piccata with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients for 6-8 servings:
- 1 celery root (about 300 g)
- 1 kohlrabi (about 250 g)
- 1 beetroot (about 250 g)
- Salt
- 3 eggs (size M)
- 100 g grated hard cheese
- 60 g wheat flour (type 405)
- Ground pepper
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the tomato sauce:
- 3 beef tomatoes
- 1 small onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp green peppercorns
- A pinch of dried thyme
Preparation:
For the vegetable piccata, clean, peel, rinse, and pat dry the celery root and kohlrabi, then slice them into approximately ½ cm thick pieces. Thoroughly wash, peel, rinse, and pat dry the beetroot, then slice it into thin rounds.
Boil each type of vegetable separately in salted water for 5-10 minutes, depending on the variety. Drain in a colander, rinse with cold water, and let them drain.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and mix in the grated hard cheese. Pour the flour into a deep plate. Season the vegetable slices with salt and pepper. First, coat each slice in flour, then dip it into the egg-cheese mixture, letting the excess drip off.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the vegetable slices over low heat for about 10 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Meanwhile, for the sauce, score the tomatoes with a cross and pour boiling water over them. After 1-2 minutes, remove them, rinse with cold water, peel, halve, and remove the seeds and stem bases. Dice the tomato flesh. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a pot. Sauté the onion and garlic, then stir in the diced tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, green peppercorns, and thyme. Bring the sauce to a boil while stirring. Serve the vegetable piccata with the tomato sauce.
Pink Pasta
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 5 level tsp salt
- 500 g rigatoni (or penne)
- 2 small onions
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g pre-cooked beetroot (vacuum-packed)
- 200 g feta cheese
- 4 garlic cloves
- 8 basil leaves
- ½ lemon
- Salt, ground pepper
- Optional: Italian hard cheese
Preparation:
Bring 5 liters of water to a boil in a large pot with the lid on. Add salt and rigatoni. Cook the pasta uncovered over medium heat according to the package instructions until al dente, stirring occasionally. Towards the end of the cooking time, carefully scoop out 100 ml of pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta in a colander.
Peel and dice the onions. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion cubes for 3-4 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
Place the beetroot and feta in a bowl. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the bowl along with the onions, basil, and reserved pasta water. Squeeze the lemon and add the juice.
Use an immersion blender to purée everything into a smooth sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Return the hot pasta to the pot and mix it well with the sauce. Divide the pasta among four plates and, if desired, sprinkle with hard cheese.
