Cooking For Beginners: Easy Recipes for Novices

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What is the best dish for a beginner cook to try? Below are the best easy recipes for novices that will encourage everyone to try cooking.

When you are learning to cook, any recipe can seem intimidating. It is important to first introduce easy recipes for novices first. But with these quick and easy meal ideas – whether ready in 15 minutes, contain only a handful of ingredients, or are cooked in one pan or pot – you will be a pro in the kitchen in no time.

3 Dishes Every Novice Cook Should Learn

Dish #1. 17-minute Caesar salad. Crispy prosciutto and toasted sourdough bread add extra crunch to this 17-minute Caesar salad.

10 Ingredients

• 100g sliced prosciutto
• 200g sourdough bread torn into bite-sized pieces
• A head of Romaine Lettuce
• Sliced avocado to serve
• Hard-boiled eggs, halved, to serve
• Shaved parmesan to serve
• Store-bought Caesar salad dressing to drizzle
• Olive oil, to drizzle
• Chopped fresh chives to serve
• Salt and pepper, to season
• Select all ingredients

3 Method Steps

• Step 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan force—line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
• Step 2. Place prosciutto on one prepared tray and sourdough bread on the other. Drizzle the bread with olive oil, then season with salt. Bake the prosciutto for 6 minutes and bread for 10 minutes or until crispy.
• Step 3. Arrange butter lettuce leaves in 2 bowls. Top with toasted bread and torn prosciutto. Add avocado and hard-boiled eggs. Sprinkle with shaved parmesan and drizzle with Caesar salad dressing. Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives.

Dish #2. One-pot Italian Chicken. Ready in 25 minutes, this creamy casserole is made from chicken breast filets and classic Italian ingredients, including tomatoes, white wine, basil, and crusty bread. (See notes on how to make a keto-friendly recipe.)

11 Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 20g Unsalted Butter
• Four small chicken breasts filets
• Two garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 80g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 80ml (1/3 cup) white wine
• 250ml (1 cup) thickened cream
• 125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
• 60g pkt baby spinach
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• Crusty bread to serve
• Select all ingredients

2 Method Steps

• Step 1. Ignite the butter and oil in a big non-stick frying pan over high heat until the butter is foamy. Season the meat, then add to the pan. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook the chicken for five minutes per side until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
• Step 2. Place the garlic in the pan. Cook, stirring, for one minute or until aromatic. Add the tomatoes and stir to coat. Put the wine and cook for a minute or until reduced. Add the stock and cream. Return the chicken meat to the pan and simmer for an estimated five minutes or until the liquid is decreased. Stir through the spinach until wilted. Season and sprinkle with the basil leaves. Serve with crusty bread.

Dish #3. 5-ingredient pappardelle and meatballs. Slice fresh lasagne sheets to create instant pappardelle pasta with tomato-based meatball sauce, bocconcini, and fresh basil.

5 Ingredients

• 560g pkg. Premade Meatballs
• 500g jar Classic Tomato with Onion Pasta Sauce
• 375g pkg. Fresh lasagne sheets, cut into 2cm strips or a package of Pappardelle Pasta
• 100g cherry bocconcini, coarsely torn
• 1/2 cup basil leaves

4 Method Steps

• Step 1. Heat a big non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, then cook, occasionally stirring, for eight minutes or until browned and cooked through. Reduce heat to medium.
• Step 2. Add the pasta sauce and cook, occasionally stirring, for five minutes or until the meatballs are cooked, and the sauce thickens slightly.
• Step 3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a big saucepan of boiling water for up to three to four minutes or until just al dente. Drain well. Divide the pasta evenly among serving bowls.
• Step 4. Spoon the meatballs and sauce evenly over the pasta in the bowls. Top with bocconcini and basil. Season. Serve immediately.

Your Solution

Yes, you are busy. While you love to whip up an elaborate feast for dinner every night, that will not happen. Your solution? These three easy recipes for novices require minimal effort (and zero fancy chef skills) but still taste delicious. From a 17-minute Caesar salad recipe to one-pan chicken wonders, consider your every meal covered.

Check out also the Compilation of recipes by Eleanor Gaccetta. The book is a collection of 200 straightforward recipes and heartfelt stories of Italian life that brought families together around the table. This book will raise your interest whether you are a novice in the kitchen, a home cook, or a professionally trained cook.