Midweek Meals: Five quick and easy recipes ready in 13 minutes or less

From five-minute supercharged ramen to 10-minute lentil dahl

You don't have to spent long in the kitchen to whip up these delicious dishes

Tuna pasta

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

An easy, healthy recipe ready in 10 minutes.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 2 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 12 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 80g wholegrain pasta

• 112g tin of tuna in olive oil, drained

• 2 tbsp pesto (good-quality shop-bought works well)

• a small handful of chopped scallions

• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan

•  

Method

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.

2. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in the tuna, pesto and scallions and heat through. (If you don’t like tuna, you can use chicken or turkey).

3. Scrape the pasta into a warmed serving bowl.

4. Sprinkle over the Parmesan and serve without delay.

Supercharged instant noodles

Ramen noodles are the most underrated and ultra-flexible convenience food.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 5 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp sriracha

• 1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)

• 1/2 inch ginger, grated (optional)

• 1/2 chilli, finely sliced (optional)

• 1 packet of instant noodles, flavour your choice

• 1 package fresh stir-fry mix

• To serve

• Nuts or seeds

• Leftover roast meat

Method

1. I like to prepare my ramen sauce at home to store in my lunch bag. In a small jar, I shake together the soy, sriracha, garlic, ginger and chilli with a tablespoon of water. Sometimes I squeeze in some lime or a drizzle of maple syrup, but these are unnecessary.

2. When ready to eat, lay your vegetables at the bottom of a bowl and top with the dried noodles. Pour over boiling water and cover with a plate. Leave for three minutes.

3. Using a fork, stir the ramen noodles and vegetables, and add your sauce, forking through to make sure that it is all well coated. Top with seeds, leftover roast meat or even some Bombay Mix. Enjoy.