Something for the weekend: five easy traybake dinners perfect for busy days
Aisling Larkin's Parmesan-crusted pork traybake dinner is the perfect antidote to a busy day. Picture Denis Minihane.
Busy days require low-stress dinners. Prepare these dishes in the morning, so they can slide into the oven when you need them in the evening.
Creamy chicken traybake with rosemary, smoked bacon and peas
Comforting and delicious, this dish is everything you need after a long day
Servings
6Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
60 minsTotal Time
1 hours 10 minsCourse
MainIngredients
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
6 chicken fillets
salt
pepper
30g Dijon mustard
10 sprigs rosemary
6 garlic cloves
250g smoked streaky bacon
1.2kg waxy baby potatoes
200ml chicken stock
250-350ml cream
1 heaped tsp cornflour
100g frozen petit pois peas
Method
Preheat the oven to 180℃ fan/200℃.
Wash the potatoes and cut into cubes. Trim the chicken. Dice the streaky bacon. Mince the garlic. Boil the kettle and make up the stock. Mix the cornflour and 2 tbsp of the cold cream together until it forms a smooth paste. Stir in the rest of the cream, dijon mustard, garlic, stock and seasoning.
Put the oil and butter on the baking tray. Pop in the oven and heat up for a couple of minutes. Take out and place on the chicken and bacon. It should sizzle on the hot oil and butter as it hits it. Place the potato cubes on the tray next. Pour over the sauce lay in the springs of rosemary, keeping two or three back for garnish. Feel free to use 2 oven trays to fit everything.
After 45 minutes, remove the traybake, sprinkle in the frozen petit pois and gently stir it a little. Return to the oven to bake.
Bake for fifteen more minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through fully.
Serve with a simple green salad.
Baked Plaice, Turbot or Brill with potatoes, fennel and herb butter
This very simple 'master recipe' for flat fish is delicious served with hollandaise sauce, mousseline or beurre blanc in place of the herb butter
Servings
2Preparation Time
20 minsCooking Time
22 minsTotal Time
42 minsCourse
MainIngredients
450g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
175g onions, thinly sliced
½ fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 x 1-1.75kg fresh plaice, turbot, brill or other flat fish on the bone
flaky sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
For the herb butter:
110g butter, softened
4 tsp finely chopped mixed herbs (flat-leaf parsley, chives, fennel and thyme leaves)
Method
Preheat the oven to 250°C.
Toss together the thinly sliced potatoes, onions and fennel in a bowl. Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and spread evenly on an approx. 30 x 50cm baking tray. Bake for 5 minutes while you prepare the fish.
Turn the fish on its side and remove the head if you wish; I prefer to leave the fish whole. Wash the fish and clean the slit by the head very thoroughly. Using a sharp knife, cut through the skin right around the fish, just where the ‘fringe’ meets the flesh. Be careful to cut neatly and to cross the side cuts at the tail or it will be difficult to remove the skin later on.
Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and lay on top of the partly cooked vegetables. Bake for 17–20 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the fish is cooked. To check if the fish is cooked, lift the flesh from the bone at the head: once it is ready, it should lift off the bone easily and be quite white with no traces of pink.
To make the herb butter, mix the softened butter in a little bowl with the herbs.
Just before you are about to serve, catch the skin down near the tail of the fish and pull it off gently (the skin will tear badly if it hasn’t been properly cut). Bring to the table and serve from the dish or lift the two fillets onto a hot plate and coat with the herb butter. Raise the tail and carefully lift the bone off the remainder of the fish. Break at the head and put aside. Carefully lift the remaining two fillets onto the plate. Coat with the herb butter and surround with the potatoes, onions and fennel, which should be deliciously charred at the edges. Serve immediately.
Chicken supper in a dish with aïoli
Tumble all of the ingredients together in a bowl, season them well and toss them into a roasting tin for an irresistible one-dish supper
Servings
8Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
60 minsTotal Time
1 hours 10 minsCourse
MainIngredients
2kg potatoes
225-275g medium onions, sliced into rings
8-10 large chicken legs, separated into thighs and drumsticks
1 large head of garlic, separated into cloves
1-2 tbsp sweet or smoked paprika (or a mixture of both)
2 tbsp marjoram, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
flaky sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
3-4 large ripe tomatoes
dash of balsamic vinegar, to taste
dash of honey or sugar, to taste
3-4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
For the aïoli:
2 egg yolks
1-2 garlic cloves
pinch of English mustard or 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ tsp flaky sea salt
2 tsp white wine vinegar
250ml oil
2 tsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 230°C.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunky wedges. Put them into a large bowl with the sliced onion rings, chicken pieces and garlic cloves and sprinkle over the paprika, marjoram and plenty of salt and pepper. Drizzle generously with the extra virgin olive oil and squeeze over the lemon juice. Toss thoroughly to coat the potatoes and the chicken in the flavourings. Spread in a single layer over a large roasting tray or a large gratin dish, approximately 35 x 40cm.
Roast for 15–20 minutes, then reduce the heat to a moderate 180°C for a further 45 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and crisp at the edges and the chicken skin, is sticky and irresistible. Check the chicken is cooked close to the bone; it may take a little longer.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place them in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper, balsamic vinegar and honey (or sugar). Stir in the parsley. Sprinkle the tomato mixture over the hot chicken just as it comes out of the oven.
Accompany with the aïoli and a salad of organic leaves anointed with an extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice dressing.
To make the aïoli, put the egg yolks into a bowl with the garlic, mustard, salt and vinegar. Pour the oil(s) into a measuring jug. Taking a whisk in one hand and the oil in the other, carefully drip the oil onto the egg yolks, drop by drop, whisking at the same time. Within a minute, you will notice that the mixture is beginning to thicken. When this happens, you can add the oil a little faster — but don’t get too cheeky or it will suddenly curdle because the egg yolks can only absorb the oil at a certain pace.
If the aïoli curdles, it will suddenly become quite thin. If this happens you can quite easily remedy the situation by cracking another egg yolk into a clean bowl and whisking in the curdled aioli, half a teaspoon at a time.
Once all of the oil has been incorporated, beat in the parsley. Taste and add a little more seasoning and vinegar, if necessary.
Miso-glazed salmon and broccoli with coconut rice
A modern, bright family favourite that is full of umami flavour and sprouting broccoli – a deliciously moreish meal filled with nutrition
Servings
4Preparation Time
15 minsCooking Time
30 minsTotal Time
45 minsCourse
MainIngredients
4 salmon fillets (approx 750g)
1 tbsp white miso paste
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy/teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves
2 cm piece fresh ginger
4 tbsp water
200g tender stem broccoli
For the coconut rice:
1 tsp oil
250g basmati rice
400ml coconut milk
100ml chicken stock
¼ tsp salt
To garnish:
Fresh lime, red chilli, spring onions, sesame seeds and coriander
Method
Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Sit the salmon in a flat dish, pour over the marinade and allow to sit for at leat 15 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Next steam the coconut rice. Make up the stock, open the tin of coconut milk. Heat the oil in the saucepan and cook the rice for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Pour in all the liquid together, bring it to a boil, then reduce it down to a very low heat. Pop the lid on and cook until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is soft. This usually takes about 30 minutes. Turn off, allow to sit for a few moments, fluff up and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with fresh coriander.
Preheat the oven to 220℃/200℃ fan. Arrange the salmon on the baking tray. Combine the miso, mirin, sesame, soy, garlic, ginger and water together. Whisk and spoon the marinade over the salmon and cook for 15-20 minutes. Plunge the broccoli into a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and refresh in ice-cold water immediately. Pop on the baking tray with salmon for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
Garnish the miso salmon traybake with lime wedges, fresh coriander, spring onions, sesame seeds and chilli. Serve family-style in the centre of the table on the tray with the big bowl of steamy fragrant coconut rice.
Parmesan pork with roast vegetables
Brining the pork keeps it incredibly moist, tender and juicy and that combined with the layers of umami flavour in the crumb make this a delicious family meal
Servings
4Preparation Time
8 hours 20 minsCooking Time
1 hours 25 minsTotal Time
9 hours 45 minsCourse
MainIngredients
500g pork fillet (1 loin)
For the brine:
300ml buttermilk
3 garlic cloves
4 sprigs thyme and rosemary
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp dijon mustard
For the crumb:
200g panko breadcrumbs
50g Parmesan
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely diced
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
For the traybake:
2 tbsp olive oil
750g baby potatoes (skin on)
200g butternut squash or sweet potato
1 sweet red pepper
2 red onions
5 garlic cloves (skin on)
1 courgette
2 apples
½ tin of chickpeas
3 tbsp of balsamic glaze
Method
Prepare the pork 8 hours advance or overnight to allow it to tenderise. Trim the fat off the pork and cut into medallions (about 10 pieces per pork steak). Place all the ingredients for the brine a in a sealable container and stir. Add the pork, ensuring it is well covered and then seal it up, pop in the fridge and allow to tenderise.
To make the crumb, grate the Parmesan, finely chop the rosemary and thyme and combine all the seasoning ingredients together with the breadcrumbs.
Now, assemble the traybake. Quarter the baby potatoes, de-seed and chop the peppers, dice the courgette and butternut squash and peel and quarter the red onions.
Open and drain the tin of chickpeas, core and cut the apple into chunks. Pop the cloves of garlic from bulb and leave skins on.
Preheat the oven to 180℃/200℃ fan. Put 2 tbsp oil on the oven trays with a big pinch of fresh black pepper and sea salt, heat it in the oven for 3-4 minutes Remove the tray from the oven and scatter on the potatoes, butternut squash, peppers, onion, garlic, apple and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 50 minutes until the vegetables are roasted.
As the vegetables roast, cook the pork on a separate tray. Remove the pork from the bag. Allow to drip and drain a little. Coat each piece in the crumb. Pat on the crumb well. Heat another tray in the same way, when hot remove from the oven and place the pork on the hot tray to allow the crumb to sizzle. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
When cooked, remove from the oven, stir through some fresh rosemary and thyme and drizzle the traybake with a little balsamic glaze. Toss everything together. Sit the crispy parmesan pork on top. Serve family style dining garnished with a little fresh rosemary and thyme and some Parmesan.
