Midweek Meals: Five easy dinners to cook this week ready in less than 30 minutes
Even the fussy eaters in your life will be satisfied by these midweek meals
Chorizo scrambled eggs
Breakfast, lunch or dinner - pile these spiced scrambled eggs into a warm flour tortilla or serve with roasted baby potatoes for a quick and easy meal
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
MainIngredients
175g chorizo, finely chopped
6 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp parsley, coarsely chopped
pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Method
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan, add the chorizo.
When the fat starts to ooze out add the beaten eggs and stir gently over a low heat until just set.
Add lots of freshly ground pepper and chopped parsley.
Serve in a tortilla or with roasted potatoes.
Spaghetti with wild garlic and herbs
This recipe is a delicious way to use all that lovely wild garlic that is in season - great for a quick lunch or dinner
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
22 minsTotal Time
27 minsCourse
MainIngredients
450g spaghetti
55-85g butter or butter and olive oil
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped
2 tbsp wild garlic, chopped (leaves and bulb)
2 tbsp basil or lemon balm
2 large or 4 small garlic leaves, crushed
55-110g Parmesan cheese, grated
Method
Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente, about 20 minutes for shop pasta or 2-3 minutes for home made pasta.
Mix all the herbs and mashed garlic with the melted butter. Sweat gently for two minutes, not longer.
Stir into the hot spaghetti and serve with grated cheese, preferably Parmesan, though we often use Irish Cheddar. Sprinkle wild garlic and chive flowers on top for extra excitement.
Bean stew with chorizo and tarragon
For a hearty, spicy supper with garlicky flavours, a variety of beans and fresh herbs, try this simple stew with steamed rice
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
MainIngredients
rice for four
dash of rapeseed oil
1 onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
450g chorizo, sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 star anise
2 tsp honey
75ml white wine
bunch of tarragon, finely chopped
1 tin of mixed beans, drained
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
Method
Put the rice on to boil in lightly salted water and drain when cooked.
Heat the oil in a large ovenproof dish and sauté the onion until it is translucent. Add the garlic and chilli and stir fry for thirty seconds.
Add the chunks of chorizo to the dish. Add the tomatoes, star anise, honey and white wine. Allow to bubble away over a low heat with the lid on the dish for ten minutes, then stir in the tarragon, beans and chickpeas. Add a half a cup of water or as much as you think necessary.
Allow to bubble away for a further ten minutes with the lid still on. Remove the two star anise, or warn your guests that them might find them in the dish. They add lovely flavour but do not break down with cooking.
Serve with the rice and with a little more tarragon sprinkled on top.
Chicken and coconut laksa
Delicate rice noodles and chicken breast strips combine in a rich, creamy and garlicky laska for two
Servings
2Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
25 minsCourse
MainCuisine
AsianIngredients
60g rice noodles
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped finely
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped finely
1 spring onion, chopped finely
1 tsp fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp granulated sugar
400ml can coconut milk
200ml chicken or vegetable stock (optional)
1 chicken breast, cut into strips handful of bean sprouts (optional) handful coriander leaves lime wedge
Method
Place your rice noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan or wok, and when hot add your garlic, ginger, chilli and spring onion. Cook on a medium heat for 1–2 minutes. You don’t want them to colour but rather just start to smell fragrant. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and stir well.
Reduce the heat and add the coconut milk. Follow with the chicken, allowing it to slowly poach in the coconut milk for 5–7 minutes until it is tender. Finally add the bean sprouts and cooked rice noodles. Serve sprinkled with coriander and with a wedge of lime.
This recipe is from Tiffany Goodall's First Flat Cook Book, published by Quadrille Publishing
Salmon, samphire and tenderstem broccoli pasta
Almost nothing goes better with fish as salty samphire, adding a depth of flavour to this salmon, broccoli and cream pasta dish
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
MainIngredients
350g salmon fillets, skin removed
400g dried pappardelle pasta
400g tenderstem broccoli
100g samphire
zest of 1 lemon
salt
pepper
150ml cream
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Method
In a small pot boil some salted water and add the broccoli and samphire, simmering for two minutes. Drain the broccoli and samphire, cooling it down immediately with cold water and leaving aside.
In another, larger saucepan, bring some well salted water to boil and add the pasta. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Drain and stir through some olive oil and leave aside.
Cut the salmon into large pieces and season with salt and pepper. Heat up the tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and add the salmon along with the broccoli and samphire. Cook for around one minute before adding cream.
Bring the cream to a simmer and add the lemon zest, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Make sure the salmon has been cooked all the way through in the cream before removing from the heat.
Stir the pasta through the sauce and serve.
