Midweek Meals: Five fast dinners to feed a family this week 

Sausage pasta, fish with rice, a superquick orzo, chicken parm and a burrito in a bowl 

Quick and easy dinners the whole family will eat.

Chicken parmigiana

How to make chicken parmigiana worthy of The Sopranos

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, sliced through the middle and flattened

• 150g panko breadcrumbs

• 100g Parmesan, finely grated

• 3 eggs beaten

• 200g flour

• 100ml olive oil

• For the sauce: 

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

• 600ml passata

• 1 onion

• 1 tsp butter

• Salt, pepper, sugar, to taste

• For the parmiagana:

• 2 balls of mozzarella, sliced

• Basil or parsley, chopped (optional)

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Method

1. First, make the sauce.

2. Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium and as soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, pour in the passata.

3. Cut your onion in half and add to the sauce along with the butter. Cover, turn to low and simmer for twenty minutes.

4. Taste, check for seasoning and add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Remove the onion.

5. While your sauce is cooking, set up a breading station by pouring your breadcrumbs and cheese onto a plate, your flour onto another plate and your beaten eggs onto a third plate. 

6. Dip your chicken first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place onto a wire rack and place into the fridge for ten minutes. 

7. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and heat to medium. Fry the chicken for seven to eight minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and cooked through. Leave to rest on the wire rack.

8. Preheat your grill

9. In an oven-proof dish place the chicken in a single layer. Spoon over the tomato sauce and top with the cheese. Grill for around eight minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve with a green salad. 

Creamy sausage pasta 

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This simple cabbage and pork sausage supper with grated cheese is comfort food at its finest

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 300g fusilli pasta

• 4 pork sausages

• ½ green cabbage, shredded (optional)

• sea salt  

• black pepper

• 50g of butter

• a little cream or crème fraîche

• 60g of good mature cheddar or farmhouse cheese, grated

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to boil, add pasta and a good pinch of salt, simmering until the pasta is al dente. Reserve a little of the starchy pasta water.

2. As best you can, cut the sausages into bite-size pieces. You can of course cook them first and then cut them. Place in a large frying pan with a little oil over a medium high heat. Cook the sausages until brown all over before adding the shredded cabbage, if using. 

3. Season with salt and pepper, add the butter and cook down for around 5 or 6 minutes. Add some of the reserve pasta water and cook for a further 10 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche or cream, check for seasoning and add the grated cheese. 

4. Stir everything together until well combined and the cheese is melted and forming strings. Serve in bowls and enjoy!