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!

Hake with ginger and rice

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This is a super simple, humble recipe for a quick dinner or lunch using good quality Irish hake and our favourite leftover ingredient — rice

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 400g leftover rice

• Bunch of spring onions, white parts sliced thinly, green ends discarded

• 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and grated

• 2-3 fillets of skinless hake,

• cut into large chunks

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 50g butter

• 3 tbsp light vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

• Small handful of coriander, chopped

Method

1. Place the fish chunks on a board and drizzle two tablespoons of oil over it. Rub the grated ginger all over the chunks and then season all over with sea salt and black pepper.

2. Make sure the chunks are well coated in oil, ginger and seasoning.

3. Leave for a couple of minutes.

4. In a large frying pan over medium high, heat the remaining oil and then add the marinated fish chunks. Cook the fish for a couple of minutes on one side and then cook for a further two minutes until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the pan to a warm plate.

5. Add the butter to the pan, letting it melt before adding the leftover rice. Heat the rice for a minute or two and then add the spring onions.

6. Stir everything around the pan until the rice starts to stick. Stir the sugar and vinegar together until the sugar dissolves and then pour this over the rice.

7. Stir through and then remove from the pan. Serve in bowls with the fish on top, garnished with freshly- chopped coriander.

Orzo with courgette and pancetta

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

You'll have a midweek meal in minutes thanks to this creamy, hearty pasta dish made from store cupboard ingredients

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 300g orzo

• 200g pancetta, cubed

• olive oil

• handful of parsley, roughly chopped

• 4 medium courgettes

• 100g Parmesan

• zest of ½ lemon

• sea salt

• freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. Cook the orzo in a large pan of salted boiling water. Save a cup full of the cooking water before you drain the orzo and refresh immediately in cold water. Sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. Leave to the side.

2. Cut the courgettes in half lengthways and then diagonally into small thick slices. Place a large frying pan or cast iron pan over a medium high heat.

3. Add olive oil cautiously, as even lean pancetta will release its own fat. Cook the pancetta until it is starting to turn crispy.

4. Add the courgette slices to the pan, tossing them in the pancetta fat.

5. Cook until the courgette slices soften and start to turn golden brown in places. At this stage the pancetta should be nicely crispy. Add a little of the cooking water to the frying pan and then add back the cooked orzo.

6. Take off the heat and stir together the orzo, pancetta and courgette until well combined. The orzo should be warm but not hot.

7. Stir through some freshly chopped parsley and the zest of ½ a lemon.

8. Arrange in a serving plate or individual bowls with the parmesan shaved over and a final crack of black pepper.

Burrito in a bowl

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

Filled with refreshing lime flavour and Greek yoghurt for a creamy kick, this wholemeal burrito dish is a great midweek choice

Servings

4

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Mexican

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 red onion, finely chopped

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp paprika

• 500g lean minced beef

• 3 tbsp Greek or natural yoghurt

• 3 tbsp lime juice

• 3 tbsp tomato purée

• 60ml water

• 1 tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 125g brown rice

• ½ iceberg lettuce, shredded

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced

• 100g Cheddar, grated

• wholemeal wraps, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the red onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add the cayenne pepper and paprika and cook for one minute. Stir in the mince and cook for about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the instructions on the package. Mix the Greek yoghurt and lime juice in a small bowl and set aside.

3. When the mince is cooked, stir in the tomato purée, water, and kidney beans and heat through.

4. Warm the wraps according to the instructions on the package. Divide the cooked rice between the wraps. Add a layer of iceberg lettuce to each one, followed by a layer of avocado slices and a layer of spicy mince. Sprinkle the Cheddar on top and finish with a dollop of the Greek yoghurt.