Midweek Meals: Five easy warming one-pot dinners that the whole family will enjoy

Winter is here, the season when one-pot dinners come into their own. From curries to stews, here are five easy routes to dinnertime this week 

One pot dinners are the key to stress-free evenings

One-pot chicken casserole

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

With apricots and green olives, this chicken casserole is sure to be a new midweek staple

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 onions, finely chopped

• 6 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• ½ tsp paprika

• 4 chicken breasts, cubed

• 2 peppers, deseeded and diced

• 10 apricots, halved

• 10 stoned green olives, halved

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

• ½ courgette, chopped

• 300ml chicken stock

• salt

• pepper

• handful of mint leaves, chopped

• brown rice to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large casserole over medium heat.

2. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cinnamon, cumin and paprika and cook for 2 minutes. Stir frequently and add a splash of water if the pan gets dry. 

3. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in peppers, apricots, olives, lemon, courgette and stock. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. 

4. When you are ready to serve, season to taste. Ladle the stew into warmed serving bowls and sprinkle over the mint. Serve with brown rice.

One-pot beef with juniper

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Enjoy this spiced beef dish with a hint of chilli, vegetables and juniper berries for a kick of flavour

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 30 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• generous dash of rapeseed oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped 

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced

• 2 large carrots, sliced

• bunch of rosemary, left on the stalk 

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp mild chilli powder

• 2 tsp juniper berries

• 1 tbsp plain flour

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 400ml stock

• 600g stewing beef, cut into large chunks

Method

1. Heat the oil over a gentle heat in an oven proof dish, which you have a lid for.

2. Sauté the onion, garlic, carrots and rosemary for 10 minutes, until they have all softened. You can add a knob of butter as well as the oil if you wish.

3. Stir in the cinnamon, chilli and juniper berries.

4. Stir in the flour until it has all combined then add the purée and stock a little at a time so they all blend together.

5. Add the beef to the pot and place into an oven heated to 160°C for two hours. Taste and season.

6. Place back into the oven with the lid removed and allow further cooking, about 30 minutes, until the meat is completely tender and the sauce has thickened.

7. Serve with mash or rice.

Fish curry with cherry tomatoes

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Cherry tomatoes are the perfect addition to this curry

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 red chilli, deseeded, finely sliced

• 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

• 2 fat cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

• 400g cherry tomatoes

• 1 tin of coconut milk

• 4 skinless fillets of Irish hake, cut into chunks

• vegetable oil

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp ground turmeric

• 4 cardamom pods, crushed in a pestle and mortar

• a handful of basil leaves

• sea salt

Method

1. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan or casserole. Add the chilli, ginger and garlic, cooking while stirring often for around 2 minutes so that the garlic has softened and become fragrant.

2. Add the spices and cook everything while stirring for another minute. Add the tomatoes next and cook for around 10-15 minutes until most of them have burst, releasing their juices into the pan. Next, add the coconut milk and season with a good pinch of sea salt.

3. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the hake fillets to the curry.

4. Cover the pan and leave to cook until the fish has just about cooked through — this should take around 7 minutes.

5. Tear or bruise the basil and scatter it over the curry before serving, either on its own or with rice.

One-pot chicken stew

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

This stew is done in one big pot. I use chicken legs in this stew because they’re economical and they add a lot of flavour. Try to get free-range if you can

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter

• 3 celery sticks, chopped

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 4 chicken legs

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

• a glass of white wine

• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

• salt and pepper

• baby potatoes, to serve

Method

1. Melt the butter in a very large casserole over a medium heat. Add the celery, onion and thyme and cook for 5 minutes. Place the chicken legs skin-side down in the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until the skin is browned.

2. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook on a high heat for 2 minutes, until the wine evaporates. Reduce the heat and stir in the carrots and tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

3. Stir 200ml water into the pan and turn the chicken legs so that they are skin-side up. Simmer, uncovered, for another 40 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water for 10–15 minutes, until tender.

5. When the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, season to taste. Ladle the stew into warmed serving bowls and serve with the baby potatoes.

Moroccan chickpea bake

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

The perfect solution to repurpose stale bread, this comforting chickpea bake is bursting with Feta cheese balanced againsy spicy and garlicky flavour

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Moroccan

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 red onions, peeled and diced

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 1 tbsp ground coriander

• handful of fresh parsley, chopped

• salt

• pepper

• 100g Feta

• stale bread, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook on a low heat until the onions are soft.

3. Add the chickpeas, cumin and coriander to the pot and stir until the chickpeas are coated in the spices. If the bottom of the pot goes a little bit dry just add a drop of cold water. Add the freshly chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the chickpea mixture into an oven-proof baking dish. Using your hands, crumble the Feta over the top of the chickpeas. Scatter the stale bread over the top and drizzle with a little olive oil.

5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until feta and bread begin to brown.

6. Remove from the oven, divide into portions and transfer to warmed serving plates.