Midweek meals: Five summer dinners ready in 30 minutes or less

Take the stress out of this week's dinners with these speedy dishes

From stir fry to spaghetti, here are some dinners that are sure to be crowd-pleasers

Minced lamb stir fry with tomatoes and coriander

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Fresh, rich cherry tomatoes are at the centre of this garlicky dish, filled with tender lamb, soya flavours and a hint of chilli

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• rice for four

• 400g minced lamb

• dash of rapeseed oil

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

• 2 thumb size pieces of ginger, finely chopped

• 4 tbsp soya sauce

• ½ tbsp honey

• zest of 2 limes, juice of 1 small one

• 3 spring onions, sliced

• 1 head of pak choy, leaves pulled apart and larger leaves sliced

• 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered

• bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves roughly chopped separately

Method

1. Put the rice on to boil in lightly salted water and drain when cooked.

2. Heat the oil in a large wok and fry the garlic, chilli and ginger for thirty seconds.

3. Add the lamb and and brown it all over. Add the soya sauce, honey and lime juice and zest. Taste and season.

4. Stir in the spring onions, pak choy, coriander stalks and tomatoes. The heat should wilt the pak choy almost straight away.

5. Serve with the rice and sprinkle the coriander leaves over the mince.

Quesadillas

recipe by:Darina Allen

Quesadillas are a delicious snacks of corn tortilla and a variety of fillings, sold in little stalls on the streets of Mexico

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Mexican

Ingredients

• 8 corn tortillas or 4 wheat flour tortillas

• 110g Mozzarella cheese, grated 

• 2 green chillies, cut in strips (optional)

• To serve:

• Guacamole

• Tomato and coriander salsa

Method

1. Heat an iron pan or griddle, lay a tortilla on the hot pan.

2. Put about 30g of cheese on one half, keeping it a little from the edge, lay a leaf or two of epazote on top, sprinkle on a few strips of chilli.

3. Fold over the other side, seal.

4. Cook for a minute or two, then carefully turn over.

5. Serve just as it is or cut into quarters with tomato and coriander salsa and guacamole, or refried beans.

Coconut chicken with spices and herbs

recipe by:Darina Allen

This deeply flavoured is rich and silky smooth, with tender chicken bites and is ready in less than half an hour

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• 4 cardamom pods (optional)

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 celery stick, finely chopped

• thumb size of grated ginger

• 4 garlic cloves

• 2 limes — one for zest and juice, the other for serving

• 1 chilli, finely chopped, or use a dried chilli that has been soaked in boiling water

• big bunch of coriander (or parsley); separate the stalks from the leaves and chop the stalks finely

• salt

• pepper

• 1 tin of coconut milk

• coriander or parsley leaves, lightly chopped

• 400g chicken, picked from the leftover roast chicken

• 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped (optional)

• 500g cooked rice

• Equipment:

• wok, saucepan, or big frying pan

Method

1. Heat the wok and toast the cumin, coriander and cardamom for a couple of minutes. Next add a little oil to the toasted spices and add the onions, celery, ginger, lime zest, chilli and herb stalks, season with salt and pepper and soften over a low heat for about five minutes. You might need a little more oil but make sure you do not brown the vegetables.

2. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the chicken and let it warm through without letting it boil. Add the lime juice and sprinkle the top with the chopped coriander leaves and spring onions.

3. Reheat the rice by heating a pan to very hot and adding a drop of oil to coat the bottom. Stir fry the rice until very hot. Serve with segments of lime. This is a great way to use up bits of odd vegetables that are hanging around in your fridge. To bulk it out, add a bag of frozen spinach (defrosted) towards the end or serve spinach separately with a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Spaghetti with beans and tomatoes

recipe by:Darina Allen

For a quick, creamy dinner with bursts of garlic and basil flavour, try combining French beans, tomatoes and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 1kg tomatoes (plum or small beefsteak)

• 300g French beans, topped and tailed

• salt

• 150ml double cream

• 1 garlic clove, whole and peeled

• handful of basil leaves

• 400g spaghetti

• 50g grated Parmesan

Method

1. Skin the tomatoes, deseed with a teaspoon and chop them coarsely.

2. Cook the beans in plenty of salted boiling water for three minutes until they are just tender. Cool them quickly in a bowl of cold water and drain.

3. Bring the cream to the boil and add the garlic.

4. Take the pan off the heat and leave the cream to steep for  five minutes before removing the garlic.  Then add the beans, tomatoes and torn-up basil, and toss just for a minute to warm the veg through.

5. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.

6. Drain and mix with the tomatoes and beans. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Chicken breasts with salad and sundried tomatoes

recipe by:Darina Allen

This quick and easy salad is a meal in itself

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Traditional

Ingredients

• 8 chicken breasts

• olive oil

• salt

• pepper

• For the basil dressing:

• 175ml extra-virgin olive oil

• 50ml white wine or rice wine vinegar

• salt

• pepper

• sugar

• 1 garlic clove

• 10-15 basil leaves

• 1 finely chopped shallot (optional)

• For the parsley salad:

• 4 handfuls destalked Italian and curly parsley

• Worcester sauce

• 8 chopped sundried tomatoes

• slivers of parmesan cheese

Method

1. The dressing: Whizz the basil with the oil, vinegar, shallots, garlic and seasoning in a liquidiser or food processor. Keep aside.

2. Just before serving cook the chicken breasts: Heat a cast-iron grill pan until quite hot. Brush each chicken breast with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken breasts on the hot grill for about a minute, then reverse the angle to make attractively, cook until golden brown on both sides. The grill pan may be transferred to a moderate oven, 180°C. Be careful not to overcook the chicken breasts, they will take about 15 minutes in total.

3. Put a pan-grilled chicken breast on each plate. Toss the parsley in a little of the basil dressing, sprinkle with a little Worcester sauce. Put a portion of parsley on each plate, sprinkle with a few pieces of sundried tomato and slivers of Parmesan cheese.

4. Serve immediately with rustic roast potatoes or buffalo chips.