Learning to cook the Jamie way in Leeds

Jamie's Ministry of Food, which opened last month, is staffed by a team of cook- trainers on a mission to teach people how to cook – Jamie style – using fresh market produce to make modern, tasty healthy dishes.

Simon Chapplelow, the centre manager and chef, says: "We aim to give students on the course the confidence to cook really good meals for themselves and their families."

Dietician Emma Croft spearheaded the campaign to set up the Leeds Ministry of Food. She says: "The UK consumes more than half the ready meals produced in Europe. The more ready meals we eat, the less we cook, until eventually we don't even have the confidence to boil an egg or cook fresh vegetables.

"Being able to cook food from fresh ingredients is much better for people's health and they enjoy it more."

The Ministry of Food Kitchen is delightful. A spacious area allows students to work alongside their teacher in a pleasant bright and airy kitchen.

Simon has laid out trays with fresh salmon, madras curry paste, naan bread, cucumber, coriander, yogurt, lemon and chilli. He takes us through how to make a quick salmon tikka with naan bread and a spicy yogurt dressing. It is tasty, healthy and economical to prepare.

Now it is the turn of the celebrity students here to launch the venture. They include Yorkshire cricketer, Richard Pyrah, former rugby league player Ikram Butt and Vicky Locklin, the face of YTV's Calendar.

Richard struggles a bit with chopping the cucumber. "I have to be very careful what I eat, but I don't cook at all. When we are on tour all our food is provided."

Vicky does better and produces a carefully-cooked dish under the watchful eye of Simon.

To enroll on a course at the Ministry of Food, Kirkgate Market, Row G, Leeds Market Hall, between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Saturday, or call 0113 240 6677 for further details. Courses cost between 2 and 4 per session.

Quick salmon tikka with cucumber yoghurt.

Jamie says: "I love this dish. If you're a fan of chicken tikka masala, give this one a go. You might think it odd to use robust spice pastes on fish, but it's very common in southern India. When buying your fish, ask the fishmonger to scale it for you. You'll be amazed at how quickly these cook."

Serves 2

2 naan breads

1 fresh red chilli

cucumber

juice of one lemon

4 tbsp natural yogurt

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

A few sprigs of fresh coriander

2 x 150g fresh salmon, skin on and bones removed

1 heaped tbsp Patak's tandoori curry paste olive oil

Preheat oven to 110C/ 225F/gas . Place the naan bread into the oven for 10 minutes.

Halve, de-seed and finely chop the chilli. Peel and halve the cucumber lengthways, then use a spoon to scoop out and discard the seeds. Roughly chop the cucumber and place most of it in a bowl, reserving some for a garnish. Add the yogurt, half of the lemon juice, half of the chopped chilli and a pinch of salt and pepper. Chop the coriander leaves and put aside. Slice each salmon fillet lengthways into three thin slices and smear the tandoori paste over both sides of the salmon.

Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and dribble a little olive oil over the surface. Put the salmon into the pan and cook for 1 minutes on each side. Place the warmed naan bread on two plates. Spread a dollop of cucumber yogurt over the naan followed by three pieces of salmon. Scatter with reserved chilli cucumber and coriander leaves and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Meatballs and pasta

This is good looking enough to serve to a crowd and packed full of flavour.

Serves 4–6

4 sprigs of fresh rosemary leaves, picked off the stem and finely chopped

12 Jacob's cream crackers

2 tsp Dijon mustard

500g good-quality minced beef, pork, or a mixture of the two

1 tsp dried oregano

1 large egg

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper olive oil a bunch of fresh basil leaves

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

a fresh or dried red chilli, finely chopped

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

400g dried spaghetti or penne

Parmesan cheese, for grating

To make meatballs:

Wrap the crackers in a tea towel and smash up until fine. Place in a bowl with the mustard, minced meat, chopped rosemary and oregano.

Break the egg into the bowl and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well using clean hands. Divide mixture into four large balls. With wet hands, divide each ball into six and roll into about 24 little meatballs.

Drizzle the meatballs with a little olive oil and place on a plate. Cover and refrigerate.

To cook pasta, meatballs and sauce: Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and add two lugs of olive oil.

Add the onion to the frying pan and cook until softened and lightly golden. Add the garlic and chilli and as soon as they start to brown add the basil leaves. Add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and season to taste. Lower the heat and continue to cook.

Heat another large frying pan; add a lug of olive oil and the meatballs. Stir them around and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden (check they're cooked by opening one up – there should be no pink). Add meatballs to the sauce, simmer until the pasta is ready, remove from the heat. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the instructions.

To serve: Save some of the cooking water, drain the pasta in a colander. Return pasta to the pan. Spoon half the tomato sauce into the pasta, adding a little splash of the reserved water to loosen the sauce.

Serve on a large platter, or in separate bowls, with the rest of the sauce and meatballs on top. Sprinkle with torn basil leaves and some grated Parmesan.

Joan Ransley is a member of the Guild of Food Writers