Vegetables and chicken

Cut boneless chicken into even bite-sized pieces and brown them in a hot pan for a few minutes. Add firm vegetables such as carrots first, then quicker-cooking ones such as courgette; stir-fry until the chicken reaches 75 °C in the centre.

Broccoli, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, green beans and courgette all work well. Cut them to a similar size, adding dense vegetables before softer ones so everything finishes cooking together.

Serve it with rice, noodles, couscous or potatoes, or tuck it into a wrap. Ginger, garlic and soy sauce suit a quick stir-fry; lemon, thyme and a little olive oil give it a more Mediterranean flavour.

Yes. Add them straight from frozen to a hot pan and cook off their excess water before adding sauce; overcrowding the pan can make them steam rather than brown. Make sure the chicken reaches 75 °C in the centre.

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate them in a covered container within two hours. Eat them within two days, reheating only the portion you need until it is steaming hot throughout.

Yes, once cooled, freeze them in airtight portions. Thaw in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot throughout; vegetables with a high water content, such as courgette, may be softer after thawing.

Yes, but keep the raw chicken separate from ready-to-eat foods and use a clean board and utensils after handling it. Arrange the pieces in a single layer and cook until the thickest part reaches 75 °C.

Firm tofu is a useful swap: press it dry, cube it and brown it before adding the vegetables. Chickpeas also work well, though they need only warming through rather than cooking for as long as raw chicken.