Simple Mediterranean recipes for broke students

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Whether you’re cooking dinner for your new flatmates or about to head off to lectures, these recipes from Ramona’s Kitchen are perfect for creating quick and healthy student meals.

Each of our recipes can be recreated on a low budget, with ingredients that can easily be bulk-bought, keeping students fed for days.

These recipes really are minimal effort for maximum results.

Aubergines are high in fibre and low in calories and can be bought for under £1 – a perfect staple for any student meal.

Serves: 2 (equivalent to lunch and dinner)

Ingredients:

2 aubergines (£1.40)

1 punnet of baby mixed peppers (£1.50)

220g feta cheese (£1.60)

250g Ramona’s Original Heavenly Houmous (£2.69 for 500g)

Fresh herbs (£1)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Cut the aubergines in half, lengthways. Scoop out some of the flesh from each half (not too much otherwise the aubergine will lose its shape) and place it on a lined baking tray.

3. Chop baby peppers into slices and add to a separate oven-ready baking tray.

4. Brush the aubergines with good quality olive oil and then liberally coat the peppers with the same oil. Season both trays with salt and pepper.

5. Place the trays in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until done. Toss the peppers halfway through to ensure the veg is coated.

6. Once cooked remove from the oven and add the aubergines to a serving plate.

7. Fill each half with a generous helping of houmous and top with the oven roasted veggies. Crumble creamy feta cheese over the top and finish off with some fresh herbs.

8. We added some feta stuffed peppers to the plate to add extra colour and decoration and served the dish up as part of a party mezze.

This recipe contains 3 cloves of garlic which has been shown to combat sickness, including the common cold – perfect for fending off freshers’ flu.

Serves: 2 (equivalent to lunch and dinner)

Ingredients:

1 aubergine (70p)

1 pepper, any colour (45p)

10 cherry tomatoes (90p)

1 pot Ramona’s Original Houmous (£2.69 for 500g)

6 x Ramona’s Original Falafel (£3.25 for 500g)

1 red onion (21p)

3 garlic cloves (25p)

400g tomato passata (32p)

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cumin seeds

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

To serve: sesame seeds, chopped fresh coriander, chilli flakes

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 fan/180C and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Chop the aubergine and pepper into 1cm cubes and lay on the tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Roast for 30-35 minutes until tender, adding the tomatoes for the final 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, peel and finely dice the red onion and slice the garlic cloves. Add to a frying pan with some olive oil and fry for 5-10 minutes until soft. Add in the paprika, cumin seeds, some salt and black pepper and fry for 1 minute. Pour in the tomato passata and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Stir through the aubergine and red pepper into the tomato sauce, saving the roasted tomatoes.

5. Smear the houmous onto two plates or bowls, alongside the shakshuka. Top with the falafels, roasted tomatoes and the sesame seeds, chopped fresh coriander and chilli flakes.

Cook our falafel straight from frozen in a few minutes to make your lunch more filling, ideal to quickly make before heading off to lectures.

Serves: 5 (equivalent to 5 lunches)

Ingredients:

5 tortilla wraps (65p for 8)

500g Ramona’s Jalapeno Heavenly Houmous (£2.69)

200g rocket (£1.77)

1 yellow pepper (45p)

1 red pepper (45p)

200g feta cheese (£1.30)

15 x Ramona’s Original Falafel (£3.25 for 500g)

Method:

1. Start by dicing the peppers and set aside.

2. Place 3 falafel on a microwavable plate and heat for 4 minutes.

3. Whilst they are in the microwave begin assembling the wrap by first spreading a generous layer of jalapeno houmous in the centre of the wrap, top with a large handful of rocket and some of the chopped up peppers.

4. Finally take the cooked falafel out of the microwave, place in the wrap and sprinkle some feta on top to finish.

5. Now simply roll it up, pop it in a Tupperware and your lunch is ready to take on the go.

Tip: Store the remaining chopped up peppers in the fridge to make lunch prep even quicker the rest of the week.

Variations: Add in extra veg you have left over like onions or cucumber. Switch up your lunch each day by using different flavours of houmous and falafel.

Make new friends with this simple but delicious dish that is perfect for sharing with your flatmates.

Serves: 4 (equivalent to 2 lunches and 2 dinners)

Ingredients:

1 orange pepper (45p)

1 yellow pepper (45p)

1 red pepper (45p)

1 red onion (21p)

1 punnet of mixed tomatoes (or the equivalent of a punnet of cherry, cocktail or golden grape tomatoes) (90p)

200g black olives (pitted) (75p)

200g green olives (pitted) (75p)

250g halloumi cheese (£2)

150g Ramona's Beetroot Heavenly Houmous (£2.69 for 500g)

150g Ramona's Red Pepper Heavenly Houmous (£2.69 for 500g)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Fresh herbs

Method:

1. Chop the red, yellow and orange peppers into slices – we used bell peppers but any peppers work for this recipe.

2. Slice red onion and add to a baking tray along with the sliced peppers.

3. Scatter in the small tomatoes whole.

4. Liberally coat with good quality olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss the contents to ensure the veg is coated.

5. Put the tray in the oven at 180C for 20 minutes or until cooked. Toss halfway through.

6. Five minutes before the vegetables are ready chop your halloumi into slices and add to a pre-heated heavy bottomed griddle pan. Turn halfway through to ensure both sides have a good colour. When cooked keep off the heat until you are ready to use.

7. Remove vegetables from the oven and add the olives and stir through.

8. Spread the houmous across the bottom of your serving bowl and cover with the oven roasted vegetables. Top with the grilled halloumi and fresh herbs to finish.

9. Serve immediately with fresh crusty bread – ciabatta or sourdough work well and are perfect for scooping through this dish and mopping up all the juices.

Tip: Can be served on its own as a main meal or as part of a sharing mezze.

Variations: Mix and match different flavours of hummus to create different combinations. Swap out the mixed olives for ones marinated in chilli to add a bit of fire to your bowl. You could also dd courgette or sliced carrots.

This dish is as tasty as it is healthy. Beetroot has been found to help maintain a healthy liver – great to combat those freshers nights out.

Serves: 4 (equivalent to 2 lunches and 2 dinners)

Ready in: 15 to 20 mins

Ingredients:

4 flatbreads (79p)

500g Ramona’s Beetroot Heavenly Houmous (£2.69)

1 jar of green olives (75p)

3-4 bell peppers (assorted colours) (82p)

1 large courgette (40p)

400g feta (or dairy-free alternative) (£2.60)

Rocket (to garnish) (£1)

Method:

1. Begin by dicing the bell peppers and courgettes and cutting the olives in half and set aside.

2. Spread a generous layer of beetroot houmous on top of each flatbread, then top each of them with your chopped vegetables and a handful of rocket.

3. Finally, finish your flatbreads off by sprinkling some cubes of feta on top and then they’re ready to slice and enjoy!

Tip: If you want to create a warm version of this dish then you can roast the peppers and courgettes in the oven and warm your flatbreads in a frying pan before assembling.

For more easy, budget-friendly recipes and to shop the Ramona’s Kitchen range, visit their website.