Whilst on a narrowboat, there is very little space for storing food (or anything else for that matter!), provisions can sometimes be hard to find, and the operation of the boat often has to take precedence over cooking a meal. With these in mind, it is preferable to be able to create quick and easy meals from easily obtained ingredients.

The recipes below give quick, cheap and easy courses that even beginners in the 'galley' can tackle. The quantities are for one person.

Recipe Index

Chicken jardinière

Chicken pieces in a vegetable sauce, served on a bed of rice.

Croissant Ardennes

French croissant stuffed with Ardennes paté

Kingclip au beurre

kingclip in a butter sauce, served with tricolore pasta and peppers

Stir-fried pork

- - with noodles

Chorizo pasta

Pasta, with a chorizo sausage in a cream sauce

Chicken casserole

Chicken pieces in red-wine and mushroom sauce, served with rice

Chicken rogan josh

Quick Indian meal - with rice

Chicken jardinière

Ingredients

1 fresh chicken breast, cut into equal-sized pieces

1/4 small onion, chopped

6 mushrooms, quartered

1/3 each of two colours of pepper, diced

Any other veg available can be added

1/3 packet powdered vegetable soup, reconstituted with 5 fl.oz cold water (white wine can be used for part of this)

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste, and other seasonings as desired (soy sauce, chilli sauce etc)

2 tbls rice (or pasta)

Method

This dish can be cooked on the hob, or in preheated oven (gas 5 / 375F / 180C)

Heat small amount of olive oil in a pan, then add all vegetables, and sauté for 5 mins

Add chicken and cook for further 5 mins

Add reconstituted soup to hot pan and bring to boil

If cooking in oven, place in ovenproof dish (if pan is not ovenproof) and place in oven for 25 mins

If cooking on hob, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 mins

When almost ready, cook rice

Serve on hot plate making nest with rice, and placing chicken and sauce in middle

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Croissant Ardennes

Ingredients

1 croissant per person

Ardennes Paté

Method

Split croissants and stuff with paté

Wrap in foil (to prevent drying)

Bake at Gas 5 / 375F / 180C for 15 mins until hot throughout

Serve with a few leaves and salad vegetables

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Kingclip au beurre

Ingredients

1 piece Kingclip (substitute cod, thick haddock, monktail, halibut if desired)

1 oz butter

2 handfulls tricolore pasta

thin slivers of different coloured peppers, to total 1/2 pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bring large pan of water to boil with pinch of salt a dn splash of olive oil

Add pasta, and return to rolling boil for 8-9 mins until pasta cooked to taste

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in frying pan and add the washed fish

Season and cook fish until pasta is ready

Drain pasta, return to pan and toss slivered pepper into pasta

Serve pasta on hot plate, topped with fish. Pour melted butter from pan over fish.

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Stir-fried pork

Ingredients

1 slice of pork loin, finely sliced into strips

1/4 onion, chopped

1/3 each three colours pepper, cut into slivers

6 mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

soy sauce

olive oil

1 lemon, jested and squeezed

noodles

Method

Put pan of water to boil (for noodles)

Heat wok or heavy frying pan

Put small amount of oil in bottom, then add onion and garlic

Toss in oil, then add pork and cook for 2-3 mins

To pan of boiling water, add lemon zest and juice, and noodles

Cook till ready - (3-4 mins)

Add remaining vegetables to wok, with soy sauce to taste

When noodles are ready, drain and serve on hot plate, topped with contents of wok

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Chorizo pasta

Ingredients

1.5" (4cm) chorizo sausage, diced

1/4 small onion, chopped

1/4 each yellow and green peppers (not red), chopped

6 small mushrooms, chopped

1/2 small tub crème fraiche

splash white wine

2 handfuls pasta

Method

Cook pasta in boiling water while making sauce

Fry vegetables in a little olive oil, then add chorizo allowing juices to run producing red oil

Just before pasta is ready, add splash of wine to chorizo pan to deglaze, then add crème fraiche and bring to boil

Drain pasta then toss in the sauce

Serve immediately on warmed plates

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Chicken casserole

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, cut into cubes

1/4 onion, chopped

12 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tin condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 tbls red wine

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbls rice (or pasta)

Method

Throw all ingredients (except rice/pasta) in ovenproof dish and mix thoroughly

Cook for 45 mins at gas 4 / 350F / 160C

If, towards end of cooking, sauce appears too thin, add 1 tsp cornflour dissolved in a little cold water. Stir through and return to oven

12 mins (approx) before end of cooking, cook rice / pasta

Serve on hot plate with chicken in nest of rice / pasta

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Chicken rogan josh

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, diced (can also use pork or lamb)

selection of vegetables as available and to taste - total to equal 1 large pepper

2 tbls rice

jar / packet of Rogan Josh sauce mix (1 jar does approx 3 people, or 3 meals for 1)

Method

This can be cooked on the hob or in preheated oven - gas 4 / 350F / 160C

Sling all except rice in pan / ovenproof dish

If cooking in oven, cook for 45 mins

If cooking on the hob, cook for 20 mins

Serve on bed of cooked rice

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