Duke of Edinburgh Award season has started at work. As tradition dictates, I have reprised my role as Camp Chef. In the past, I have stuck to simple dishes such as fajitas or curry as there have only been 3 adults to cook for. This year, with 8 adults on board, I have had to up my game in order to ensure all bellies are full.

Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya (feeds 8)

Ingredients:

• 1kg chicken breast (£6.50)
• 200g chorizo (£2.50)
• 2 onions (£0.50)
• 2 red peppers (£1.10)
• 500g rice (£0.89)
• 800g chopped tin tomatoes (£0.70)
• 1200 ml water
• 70g Jambalaya spice mix (£1.70)
• Asda olive oil spray (£1.45)

Total: £15.34 (£1.91/serving)

Preparation:

As this dish was to be cooked, quite literally, in a field, I chopped and bagged my ingredients the night before, in order to minimise the chaos that cooking in a field usually brings. I also made sure that the tinned tomatoes had a ring pull.
Method:

1. Fry the chicken and chorizo until golden brown. In a kitchen this should take under 5 minutes; on a gas burner in a field, it’s closer to 10!
2. Add the onion and cook for a further 5 (or 10) minutes: until the onion becomes translucent, but not burnt!
3. Add the rice and chopped peppers and mix thoroughly
4. Combine the tinned tomatoes, spice and water and add to the pan, mix, and bring to the boil.
5. Once boiled, simmer until the rice has cooked and the water has evaporated.

Notes:

In a kitchen, the cooking time is approximately 25 minutes, however, when cooking on a gas burner, it took closer to an hour to prepare and cook. Eating time was substantially less!