Cook Badge - Advanced

Ingredients (serves 1):

• 1 chicken breast
  
• ½ cup couscous
  
• Baby spinach (a generous handful)
  
• ½ cup chicken stock
  
• Roughly two tablespoons slivered almonds
  
• Pepper
  
• Salt
  
• Garlic seasoning
  
• Olive oil

Method: Place almonds in a frypan on a medium heat, tossing every now and then. When they’re nicely browned, set aside. Put some oil in the pan and turn the heat up. Slice and season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning. Fry chicken in oil.

In a small saucepan add chicken stock, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a small amount of olive oil. Bring to the boil. Once boiled, add couscous, stir, and take off the heat. Cover and leave for five minutes

Fluff the couscous with a fork, and toss in almonds and baby spinach. Serve with chicken on top.

Main: Spaghetti Bolognaise with a side of buttered bread

Ingredients (serves 6):

• Spaghetti
  
• 500g mince meat
  
• 2 cans crushed or diced tomatoes
  
• 3 cloves garlic
  
• 1 large onion
  
• 1 cup beef stock
  
• 1tsp dried oregano
  
• 1tsp dried basil
  
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• Parmesan cheese
  
• Chopped parsley
  
• Crusty sliced bread
  
• Butter

Method: Dice the onion and sweat in a pan with a little oil until translucent. Add meat and stir until browned.

Chop garlic. Add in cans of tomato, garlic, stock, oregano, basil, nutmeg, salt and pepper (according to personal preference) and stir. Let the sauce reduce at a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about an hour, or until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency.

Boil water in a separate pan. Add pasta to water, drain when ready.

Serve with buttered bread, parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

Dessert pancakes with berries and a butterscotch sauce

Ingredients (serves 3/ gives you 10 large pancakes):

• 1 cup self-raising flour
  
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
  
• Pinch salt
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
  
• a small amount of assorted berries
  
• Butter to grease pan
  
  Butterscotch sauce:
  
• 60g butter
  
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 150mLs cream
  
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup

Method: combine flour, sugar, salt, egg, milk and vanilla in a bowl. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk. If too thin, add more flour. This recipe can exchange the vanilla for fruit, chocolate chips, cinnamon etc. Milk can also be exchanged for buttermilk.

Place a small amount of butter in a pan, on a medium-low heat (depending on the stove, you may have to experiment with the heat to cook the best pancakes). Once it has melted, you can start cooking the pancakes. When the bubbles in the pancakes pop, they’re ready to flip. The second side shouldn’t take long, a minute at most. They should be a nice golden brown colour.

Butterscotch sauce: melt butter in a saucepan, add cream, sugar, and golden syrup. Keep on a low-medium heat, and let the sauce bubble and thicken. Should take about 7-9 minutes. Thickens further when cool, so you shouldn’t leave it lying around in the saucepan.

Serve pancakes stacked with berries on top and sauce poured over.