- Nourish Champions
Maple Meets Carrots: A Youth Cooking Challenge
As part of our Youth Food Leaders partnership with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and Native Council of Nova Scotia, our group of Youth Food Leaders recently took part in a Cooking Challenge, where in teams, and with a limited amount of time and budget, they were challenged to create a dish that featured carrots and maple syrup! The winning dish was a delicious and impressive Maple Curry Chicken Penne. Head to our website to hear directly from the winning team about their experience in the program and to find their recipe for the winning dish.
We asked the youth, What’s been your favorite part of the program so far?
“The friendly people and welcoming environment.”
Maple Curry Chicken Penne with Carrots
Recipe developed by youth (Emily, Trenton, and Shailynn) participating in our Youth Food Leaders partnership with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and Native Council of Nova Scotia during a cooking challenge.
Ingredients
4 carrots, sliced
¼ cup maple syrup
1 box of penne pasta
2 chicken breasts, coarsely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Curry powder (your desire)
1 tsp of turmeric
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
Sprinkle of chili flakes
½ cup of maple sugar
Directions
Peel and slice carrots into ½-inch slices on the bias.
Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, cook the carrots for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Drain. Sprinkle ¼ cup of maple sugar on the carrots and set aside.
Bring a second pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once water is boiling, cook the pasta according to package directions. Strain pasta once cooked.
Dice the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
Heat a frying pan with 2 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, add chicken and cook on medium-high heat for 6-7 min, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Back in the same pan, combine remaining olive oil and maple syrup and stir over low-medium heat. Add salt, pepper, curry powder, minced garlic cloves, turmeric, remaining maple sugar (optional) and chili flakes, and let fry for 1-2 min, until fragrant.
Add the chicken, carrots and pasta back in with the sauce and mix to combine.
Enjoy 😊
About Youth Food Leaders
The Youth Food Leaders Program supports youth leadership in food initiatives across Nova Scotia. It teaches youth important food skills related to cooking, food safety, growing food, and more, and connects them to unique food experiences in their community, enabling them to grow into the food leaders of tomorrow. From going out into the field to learn about local food systems and practices and embedding these in the kitchen with foundational food skills, workshops are designed with youth, for youth.
