Basic Survival Food

For anyone who's just finished school, heading off to college or moving into their own place, it's not always easy to develop a basic understanding of cooking. Meryl's School of Cooking recently held a survival course that aimed to help young people develop basic skills in the kitchen and to introduce them to the fun side of cooking so that it will be something that they enjoy doing.

Some of the dishes prepared during the course were:
* Spicy Chicken Tortilla
* Lamb Curry
* Lentil, Butternut and Sweet Potato Pie
* Malva Pudding

Spicy Chicken Tortilla
Serves 4 to 6

Oil and butter for frying
4 chicken breast fillets, cut into strips (you can also use vegetarian strips)
Flour for dusting
1 red pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Sweet chilli sauce to taste
Fresh coriander
6 tortilla wraps
Lettuce and cucumber sticks

Heat a little oil and butter.
Toss the chicken strips in flour and stir fry quickly in the oil/butter mixture.
Remove the chicken from the pan.
Fry the sliced peppers and garlic until slightly brown.
Return the chicken to the pan to reheat.
Toss the chicken mixture with a little sweet chilli sauce and the coriander.
Heat tortilla wraps by putting two wraps between two pieces of paper towel in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Fill the wraps with the lettuce, cucumber sticks and chicken mixture.
Repeat until you’ve put together all the wraps.




Lamb Curry
Serves 4 to 6

Oil for frying
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 TBSP grated root ginger
2 dessertspoons curry powder
2 TBSP chutney
2 tomatoes, chopped
500g lamb cubes
1,5 tsp salt
400g potato, peeled and cut into cubes
Handful of fresh coriander and coconut

Heat the oil and brown the onions garlic and ginger.
Add curry powder and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chutney and tomatoes.
Add the meat and brown.
Add the salt.
Add enough water to cover and simmer until nearly tender. Depending the type of meat used this can be an hour or so.
Add the potatoes and cook until soft.
Check the gravy and seasoning.
Garnish with coriander and coconut and serve with rice.



Lentil, Butternut and Sweet Potato Pie
Serves 4 to 6

1 medium butternut, peeled and chopped into cubes
2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
½ onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP basil, chopped
A sprig of sage, chopped
Salt and milled black pepper
½ cup lentils
1 roll pre-made puff pastry
1 egg for egg wash

Heat the oven to 200ºC.
Roast the cubed butternut and sweet potatoes and sliced onion with the garlic and butter.
Add the chopped herbs to the vegetables and season.
Boil the lentils for 10 minutes and then drain.
Mix the lentils together with the roasted vegetables.
Roll the pastry into a rectangle and fill the centre with the vegetable mixture.
Pull the edges together and crimp to close.
Brush with egg and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until well risen and brown.

Malva Pudding

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 TBSP vinegar
1 TBSP apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Mix together the above ingredients.
Place in a round, deep dish in the oven.
Bake for 30 to 60 minutes.

To make the sauce, boil together the following ingredients, while stirring continuously:

½ cup sugar
70g butter
½ large tin ideal milk

Pour the sauce over the cooked pudding.