Midweek Meals: Five easy family dinners perfect for sunny evenings

The mercury is set to hit 19 degrees this week, so focus on dinners that take less time but pack a tasty punch 

Let the sunshine in with these easy family-friendly dinners.

American-style sloppy joes

recipe by:Neven Maguire

This is a version of a sandwich that is an all-American classic, consisting of minced beef cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, often with the addition of kidney beans

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 50g raw chorizo, diced 

• 350g lean minced beef 

• 1 small onion, finely chopped 

• 1 green pepper, diced 

• 1 fresh small green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional) 

• 140g tomato purée 

• 3 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar 

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 

• 1 tbsp honey 

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard 

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 

• 1 × 400g tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce 

• 4-6 burger buns 

• 1 Little Gem lettuce, shredded 

• 100g cheddar cheese, grated 

• handful of mixed hot chillies in brine or sliced jalapeño chillies, drained (optional) 

• sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until it just starts to release its oil, then add the minced beef. Stir-fry until the meat starts to brown, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Add the onion, green pepper and chilli (if using) and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the vegetables are beginning to soften.

2. Add the tomato purée, sugar, vinegar, honey, mustard and Worcestershire sauce and stir until well combined, then stir in the beans. Season to taste, then bring to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is nice and thick.

3. Toast the burger buns under the grill. Arrange the lettuce on the bottom of each bun, then spoon over the sloppy Joe beef mixture. Scatter the grated cheddar on top with the hot chillies (if using), then sandwich together with the tops of the buns.
   
   Neven Maguire’s bestselling Midweek Meals is published by Gill Books, priced €22.99

Korean fried chicken bowls

Super-crispy chicken bathed in a sauce made spicy by the addition of gochujang, Korea’s famous spice paste

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the chicken:

• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk

• 8 free-range chicken thighs (bone in and skin on), cut into bite-sized pieces

• 100g (3½oz) cornflakes

• 85g (3oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

• 2 tsp chilli powder

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• Sunflower oil spray

• For the sauce:

• 8 cloves of garlic, finely grated

• 1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated

• 6tbsp light soy sauce

• 70g (2 ½oz) gochujang (Korean chilli paste)

• 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar

• For the bowls:

• 250g (9oz) sticky rice, cooked

• ½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced

• 6 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced

• Handful of radishes, finely sliced

• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

• A good handful of coriander leaves

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan/400˚F/Gas 6.

2. In a large bowl, mix the buttermilk with a generous season of sea salt and ground black pepper. Add the chicken to the bowl and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside.

3. Pour the cornflakes in a large freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin to a coarse powder. Add the flour, chilli and garlic powders to the bag along with salt and pepper. Seal the bag and shake the mix until combined.

4. Pour the dry mix into a large wide shallow bowl. One by one using tongs, dip each marinated chicken piece (shaking off any excess) in the dry mix until coated on all sides.

5. Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spritz with sunflower oil spray. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and crispy, turning halfway through to make sure they’re golden on all sides.

6. While the chicken cooks, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan whisk together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and brown sugar.

7. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a low simmer, cooking until the sugar is just dissolved – about three minutes. Set aside.

8. Once the chicken has cooked, brush with the sauce.

9. Assemble serving bowls with the sticky rice, cabbage, spring onions, radishes, chicken pieces, sesame seeds and plenty of coriander. Drizzle with more of the spicy sauce as needed.
   
   Recipe from Everyday Cook by Donal Skehan, published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25. Available now.

Bok choy noodle salad

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Bok choy (pak choi) stems offer a juicy crunch that balances the flavoursome noodles to create a lunchtime delight

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Starter

Cuisine

 East Asian

Ingredients

• 200g noodles, cooked and refreshed in cold water

• thumb of ginger, peeled and chopped

• 2 limes

• 1 tbsp soy sauce 

• 4 spring onions, sliced finely

• 3-4 bok choy, sliced very finely, leaves and stems

• handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped 

• 2 heaped tbsp peanut rayu

Method

1. Using a pestle and mortar, bash the ginger into a pulp and then muddle in the soy sauce along with the juice and zest of one lime.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and whisk it all together to make a dressing.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the noodles, spring onion and thinly shredded bok choy.

4. Pour the sauce into the bowl and mix well through the salad, again using your hands.

5. Tip out into a large serving bowl and squeeze the juice of the remaining lime over along with a few dollops of peanut rayu and garnish with coriander.

Red pepper and cherry tomato linguine

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Peppers, chillies and cherry tomatoes collide to make a quick, easy and delicious dinner

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 3 large bell peppers, one of each colour except for green

• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced

• 1 red chilli, finely diced

• big handful or two of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

• large handful of chopped parsley

• juice of 1 lemon

• 280g Linguine

• 2 tbsp good olive oil

• 100g Parmesan, grated

Method

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions in generously salted water, until al dente.

2. Remove the stalks and seeds from the bell peppers and chop the flesh into a fine dice.

3. In a large frying pan, heat the oil on a medium high heat and add the diced peppers, chilli and garlic. Sautee for 6-8 minutes, stirring regularly until the ingredients are fragrant and softened. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.

4. Next, add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat for another 3-5 minutes.

5. Add a little pasta water to make it runnier if you wish before adding the drained pasta, stirring it well into the sauce. Mix through the lemon juice, Parmesan and chopped parsley, check for seasoning and serve.

Aubergine and halloumi pitta

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

These versatile pitta pockets are great for a picnic or lunchbox, packed with spicy flavour and a zingy green tahini

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 6 mins

Total Time

 21 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine, cut into thin slices

• olive oil 

• 250g halloumi, cut into ½ inch slices 

• 4 white pittas, warmed or lightly toasted 

• hot chilli sauce

• sea salt

• black pepper 

• For the green tahini:

• 100ml tahini 

• the juice of 1 lemon 

• large handful of parsley 

• large handful of mint 

• large handful of basil 

• For the salad:

• 2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

• ½ cucumber, deseeded and cut into small cubes 

• spring onion, finely sliced 

• juice of ½ lemon 

• pinch of sea salt 

Method

1. Mix together the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and sliced spring onion in a medium sized bowl.

2. Squeeze over the juice from half a lemon and a pinch of sea salt. Mix around a little and then leave aside.

3. To make the green tahini, blitz all the ingredients together along with 6 tablespoons of water in a food processor until you have a runny, smooth, lightly green sauce. Taste for seasoning and add a pinch of salt or a little more lemon juice if needed.

4. Place the slices of aubergine in a large mixing bowl along with olive oil and a healthy pinch of sea salt. Mix around until each of the slices has soaked up a little of the olive oil.

5. Heat a griddle pan or frying pan over a medium high heat and fry the aubergine slices, each side for 2-3 minutes until really tender and slightly charred.

6. Fry the halloumi in a similar way with a little olive oil on your griddle or frying pan, 2-3 minutes each side so that you have nice golden crispy halloumi.

7. Warm the pittas or lightly toast them. Cut an opening in them so you have a pocket and stuff them with a few slices of aubergine and halloumi.

8. Add a spoon or two of the cucumber and tomato salad and drizzle generously with the green tahini sauce and lastly add a few splashes of hot sauce.