Midweek Meals: Five dinners to cook this week ready in less than 30 minutes

Every week, we bring you five meals to suit all tastebuds - even the fussy eaters in your life 

What's for dinner tonight?

Baked haddock with breadcrumbs

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Enjoy this cherry tomato, olive and breaded haddock supper for the whole family, ready in just half an hour

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 shallots, peeled and sliced

• 4 large potatoes, chopped 

• 400g cherry tomatoes

• 70g green olives, sliced

• 4 fillets of haddock

• 100g bread crumbs

Method

1. Toss the potatoes, garlic, and rosemary in olive oil and seasoning. Place on a roasting tray and into a medium oven, until the potatoes are golden on the outside and cooked through.

2. In a separate baking tray, toss the tomatoes, shallots and olives in oil and seasoning. Season the fish and place it on top. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and place into an oven heated to 180°C. Bake until the fish is cooked through, which will take about 15 minutes, depending on its thickness.

3. Serve with the potatoes on the side and with the juice from the roasting tray.

Old-fashioned meatballs in tomato sauce

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

This rich sauce can be used for may different things, it is often handy to make a double batch and use it in a vegetarian dish another night

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• dash of olive oil

• 1 onion finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tins of tomatoes

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 bunch of thyme, removed from the stalk

• 1 tsp honey

• bunch of basil, removed from the stalk

• 340g minced beef

• bunch of parsley, finely chopped

• 85g Parmesan, grated

• ½ tbsp tomato purée

• 25g breadcrumbs

• 1 egg

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion until it turns translucent, add the garlic and stir fry for a minute then add the tomatoes, vinegar and thyme. Allow to bubble away over a low heat with a lid on for 20 minutes.

2. Add the honey and basil and taste and season. Allow to bubble away for another ten minutes or so.

3. In the meantime put the mince into a bowl and add the parsley, Parmesan, purée and breadcrumbs as well as some seasoning. Stir it all together then stir through the egg.

4. Roll about a soup spoon of the mixture into a ball and fry it in a pan of heated oil, turning them so that they cook through.

5. Spaghetti is the most typical pasta served with meatballs but any other shapes will do. You can either toss the meat balls in the sauce or spoon it over them.