Week 1 Term 2 -23 March 2026

Double Meal Prep

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished on the oven or stovetop or reheated in the oven at home.  Please bring: 

1. 1 x 350ml takeaway container for blanched greens (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
2. 1 x 350ml takeaway container for the salsa ingredients
3. 1 x 650ml container for saffron rice
4. 1 x 650ml container to take stock/liquid home for lamb
5. 1 x 2l reheatable container with a lid for Chicken Ronsard (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
6. 1 x deep baking tray or casserole dish with lid for lamb – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.

Otherwise, you can buy ‘containers’ packs on our website for a couple of dollars each. 

Otherwise, you can buy ‘containers’ packs on our website for a couple of dollars each. 

Chicken Ronsard, blanched greens and saffron rice (v – Cauliflower and White Bean Ronsard)

Equipment

• Cutting board stabilized
• Chef’s knife
• Cooktop
• Frypan
• Small saucepan with lid
• Bowls x 2
• Bowl of iced water
• Spatula
• Strainer/sieve

Ingredients

 Saffron rice pilaf

•  150ml chicken stock
• 30g butter
• 1 French shallot
• 100g long grain rice (jasmine or basmati)
• ¼ tsp saffron threads
• 1 bay leave
• 1 sprig thyme

Chicken Ronsard

• 400g chicken pieces
• Plain flour
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1 carrot
• 1 shallot
• 1 clove garlic
• 40ml brandy
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1 small tomato
• Bouquet garni (parsley stalks, thyme, bay leaf)
• 125ml cream
• Sprig parsley

• 2 handfuls green beans or other greens
• Salt and pepper

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Gather all ingredients and equipment.
3. Blanch beans:
   a. Top and tail.
   b. Boil in salted water until done.
   c. Refresh in iced water.
   d. Put in plastic container.
4. Prepare rice:
   a. Infuse saffron in stock over medium heat.
   b. Melt 30g butter in saucepan.
   c. Chop onion finely and add.
   d. Cook until fragrant.
   e. Add rice and cook for 2 minutes.
   f. Pour stock over rice.
   g. Add bay leave and thyme and season.
   h. Bring to a fast simmer, then cover with a lid.
   i. Put in oven for 12 minutes.
5. Prepare vegetables and herbs:
   a. Finely dice carrot.
   b. Finely dice shallot
   c. Mince garlic
   d. Deseed, peel and chop tomato.
   e. (v – cut cauliflower into chunks)
6. Saute chicken (v – cauliflower):
   a. Toss chicken (v – cauliflower) in flour, season.
   b. Heat EVOO in frying pan and saute on both sides until golden.
   c. Add carrot, shallot and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant.
   d. Add brandy and flame.
   e. Add wine, tomato and bouquet garni, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.
   f. Remove chicken pieces (v – cauliflower) to casserole dish.
7. Make sauce:
   a. Add cream and boil to thicken.
   b. Strain through sieve
   c. (v – add white beans)
8. Pour sauce over chicken.
9. Fluff rice and sit for a further 5 minutes, covered. Put in plastic container.
10. At home, reheat all on stovetop, in oven (covered) or microwave.
11. Clean down.

Slow cooked lamb shoulder with fig and pistachio salsa (v – Butternut Pumpkin)

This recipe is based on one in Yottam Ottolenghi’s “Ottolenghi Test Kitchen – Extra Good Things”.  Note this is about a 4.5 hour cook at home (less for the vegetarian option)

Equipment

• Cutting board stabilized
• Chef’s knife
• Cooktop
• Frypan

Ingredients

Lamb

•  1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 10g fresh ginger
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• Big handful dill
• 1.5 tbsp EVOO
• Scant 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 700g lamb shoulder, bone in (v – half a large butternut pumpkin and 60g dried red lentils)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods
• 2 soft dried figs
• 250ml chicken stock (v –  vegetable stock)

Fig and pistachio salsa

• 1 soft dried fig
• 20g pistachios
• ¼ lemon
• Handful dill
• Handful parsley

• 2 cups basmati rice, cooked (chef to prepare)
•  Salt and pepper

Method 

1.Gather all ingredients and equipment.

2. Prep vegetables and fruit:

1. a. Cut onions into wedges
   b. Roughly chop garlic
   c. Peel and roughly chop ginger
   d. Roughly chop 2/3rds of the dill
   e. Quarter 2/3^rds of the figs.
   f. Dice remaining figs into 1cm dice
   g. Cut lemon into wedges.
   h. Chop pistachios.
   i. Pick remaining dill and parsley
   j. Bash cardamom pods
2. Put meat (v – pumpkin) in casserole/baking dish and pierce 10 or so small holes in it with the tip of a knife (v – score the top of the pumpkin in a cross hatch pattern).
3. Make marinade and pour over meat ( v- pumpkin):
4. Put the following into a blender and blitz to a coarse paste:
   a. 1/3 of the onions
   b. Garlic
   c. Ginger
   d. Ground spices
   e. Chopped dill
   f. Oil
   g. Vinegar
   h. ½ tsp salt and
   i. ½ tsp white pepper
5. Pour over meat (v – pumpkin).
6. Add other ingredients to the baking tray:
   a. Remaining onion
   b. Cinnamon sticks
   c. Cardamom
   d. Quartered figs
   e. (v – dried lentils)
7. Put stock into container.
8. Prep salsa ingredients (to finish at home – see below):
   a. Toast pistachios gently in frypan.
   b. Put salsa ingredients into container (separate) – diced figs, pistachios. ¼ lemon, picked dill and parsley.
9. At home:
   a. Remove from fridge 2 hours before you want to start cooking.
   b. Preheat oven to 140C.
   c. Pour the stock into the pan, cover and roast for 4 hours (v – roast for 2 hours).
   d. Turn heat up to 180C, remove foil and cook for 30 minutes (check at 20 mins) until lamb (v – pumpkin) is well browned and the sauce is a little reduced.
10. While lamb (v – pumpkin) is cooking, reheat rice and finish mixing salsa:
    a. Squeeze lemon juice into container.
    b. Mix in diced figs, pistachios, dill and parsley.
11. Clean down.