Do you have teenagers flying the nest at the end of the summer?
Whether they’re heading to university or leaving home for other adventures, you’ll want them to be as prepared as possible for the real world – and that might mean getting at least one solid recipe in their repertoire.
Ease, cost-effectiveness and accessibility will all be key, plus they’ll need to be tasty (with some decent nutritional value too). Cooking from scratch means they can avoid the added salt, sugar and preservatives found in many processed foods, too.
Here’s what chefs suggest you to teach your teenager to cook before they leave home…
Tomato sauce
Charlotte Stirling-Reed, author of How To Feed Your Family, says a basic tomato sauce is an "easy, practical, and most importantly, versatile option for children and teenagers".
She adds: "It might sound a little dull, but it is such a useful skill to have learned and has such a variety of uses, as well as being adaptable for any dietary requirements."
Once they’ve got the basic recipe down, teens "can add in so many different ingredients, grate in veggies, and play around with herbs and spices so they can explore their palate and discover what flavours they really like" – and it doesn’t just have to be used on pasta.
"It can be fantastic base for so many other dishes – it can become a bolognese, whether beef or mushroom for vegetarians, turned in to a salsa for nachos, or even in to a chili to enjoy with rice."
A stir-fry
Jeremy Pang is an advocate for teaching teens "anything stir-fried – because it’s easy, it has to be fresh, and it takes minutes," he says.
The author of Jeremy Pang’s School Of Wok: Simple Family Feasts, remembers his university days.
"I turned up at uni with a wok and a bag of rice. One of my close friends – we’re still very good friends – he for the whole first term of university ate cheese on toast every day, possibly with some baked beans."
After the first term, Pang’s friend asked him to teach him how to use the wok. "So I taught him chicken stir-fry – and he ate chicken stir-fry for the second term."
Once you know the basics, you can make all kinds of different dishes with a stir-fry – Pang recommends lemongrass chicken, or a vegan version with finely sliced mushrooms and crunchy greens.
Macaroni cheese
If you teach one dish to your teen this summer, chef Adebola Adeshina of The Chubby Castor and The Yard wants it to be macaroni cheese.
"Macaroni cheese is nutritious and can also be cheap, gluten free and vegan, so it’s suitable for all," he explains.
Not only is it "a way to have fun with teens", Adeshina says, but it also "teaches basic cookery skills which can be transferred to other dishes".
It’ll be helpful for busy young people going off to university or leaving home, as "you can batch cook and freeze [it], and also vary the dish by adding different seasoning, vegetables and meat into the mix".
Dal
"A simple dal recipe is an ideal go-to meal to have under your belt. It is quick, cheap, filling and easily adaptable," suggests Bob Andrew, chef at organic veg box company, Riverford.
He says his recipe is "by no means an authentic version, but works off the basic principle of lentils cooked in a flavourful liquid with some warm spicing.
"You can choose a curry powder or paste of your liking and the coconut milk can easily be replaced with stock or water if you want to reduce the richness. As long as you are prepared to tend the pan with the occasional stir, it is fool-proof."
Andrew likes to add spiced roast carrots on top, but says anything that’s "to hand or in season" works fine.
"It is the perfect batch cooking recipe too; scale it up to make a large pan and you can freeze it in portions ready to be defrosted and reheated," he adds. "Dried lentils are cheap, readily available and store well, so consider buying a bulk bag if you think this might become a regular repast."
Béchamel sauce
"It might not be a full dish on its own right, however learning to make a béchamel sauce from scratch leaves the door wide open to creating a myriad of dishes: lasagne, cauliflower cheese, croque monsieur, ham in parsley sauce – the list goes on," says Mark Hartstone, chef proprietor of the award-winning La Fosse at Cranborne.
He calls it a "cheap meal component", which is "quick to do and uses larder staples". You can even sub out the milk for oat or nut milk and the butter for a vegetable-based margarine to make it vegan, Hartstone suggests.
Plus, let’s be honest, they’re bound to impress their mates if they can whip up their own béchamel.
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