Midweek meals: Five quick and easy dinner recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less
These dinners are ready in no time and will ensure full bellies for the whole family
Tagliatelle with mozzarella and fresh basil
A quick, comforting lunch or dinner
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
MainCuisine
ItalianIngredients
- 350g of dried tagliatelle
2 shallots, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
180mls tomato passata
1 tsp chopped thyme
2 balls mozzarella, cut into large cubes
A bunch of fresh basil, roughly ripped up
Method
Cook your pasta.
Sauté the shallots in a dash of olive oil until translucent and add the garlic for the last minute. Add in the passata and thyme. Allow to bubble on a low heat for ten minutes. Season to taste.
Toss your pasta in the sauce and toss in the mozzarella and basil. Season and serve.
Baked Salmon
Baked salmon is tasty, quick and easy to prepare
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
MainCuisine
IrishIngredients
4 salmon fillets (skin off)
200g of bulgur wheat
40g of butter
2 spring onions
1-2 lemons
1 red pepper
1 carrot
Black pepper
Salt
Method
Heat the oven to 180°C. Cut the greaseproof paper into 4 equal pieces.
Pour the bulgur wheat into a large heatproof bowl and pour in enough boiling water to cover it, then cover tightly with cling film and put to one side.
Slice the lemon thinly. Place two slices of lemon dead centre in each piece of greaseproof paper. Put a fillet of salmon on top of the lemon.
Season with salt and black pepper then place a knob of butter (10g) on top of the salmon. Take the 4 corners of the greaseproof paper and pull them together then twist to seal the salmon into a parcel.
Scrunch the paper together so that it is tightly sealed. Place your parcel into an ovenproof dish then put it directly into the oven. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
Finely chop the red pepper, spring onions and carrots into equal-sized pieces. Remove the cling film from the bulgur wheat as it should have soaked up all the hot water at this stage. Stir in the chopped vegetables.
When the timer goes off, remove the salmon parcels from the oven.
To serve, spoon the bulgur wheat salad into a bowl. It can be served warm or cold. Open a parcel and flip the salmon upside down on top of the salad. This will allow the juices captured in the parcel to be used as a dressing for your salad.
Beef Noodle Stir Fry
A quick and easy noodle recipe to add to your repertoire.
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
MainCuisine
AsianIngredients
350g egg noodles
A dash of sesame oil
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
an inch size piece of ginger, finely grated
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 carrot or red pepper, sliced into very thin slices
450g of either beef steak cut into thin slices, or firm tofu cut into thin slices
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
4 tbsp stock
To garnish:
2 scallions, finely sliced
A handful of fresh coriander, finely sliced
A handful of lightly salted peanuts, finely chopped
Method
Put the noodles into boiling water and cook until they have softened but still have bite. Toss in a little sesame oil and set aside.
Heat another dash of sesame oil in a large pan or a wok until it is hot. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the pan. It will start to colour quite quickly so add in the strips of beef and carrot and toss them.
Add in the soya sauce, hoisin sauce and stock. Serve on top the noodles. You can add a little more stock if the sauce evaporates too quickly.
Butternut squash mac and cheese
Butternut squash is the essential ingredient in this silky smooth mac and cheese
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
25 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
MainIngredients
1 butternut squash, cubed
350ml milk
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Grating of nutmeg
450g macaroni or small pasta shells
100g strong Cheddar, grated
50g Parmesan or Grana Padano, grated
50g mascarpone (optional)
For the breadcrumbs (otional):
100g breadcrumbs
2tbsp butter
Method
Place the butternut squash, milk and 150ml water into a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Stir in the garlic, nutmeg and salt and pepper.
After 15-20 minutes, pierce the squash with a knife. If there is no resistance, turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly while you cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
Using a stick blender, purée the butternut squash in its cooking liquid. Stir in the pasta and cheeses, stirring until the cheeses are melted and the sauce has come together. Taste, adding more seasoning if needed. If the sauce is too thick, add a little pasta water to thin it out.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and stir the breadcrumbs in foaming butter until golden and crispy. Scatter on top of the mac and cheese just before serving.
Hake with blood orange and green olive salsa verde
The green olive salsa verde should be made rough and ready, with the green olives being roughly chopped rather than finely chopped into a paste. We used big juicy, garlic stuffed olives from the Real Olive Company.
Servings
2Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
25 minsCourse
MainIngredients
2 nice size fillets of hake
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 blood oranges, zested and cut into slices
Sea salt
Black pepper
Chilli flakes
60ml of white wine
50g butter
For the salsa:
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
8 spring onions, thinly sliced
Zest of one blood orange
100g good quality marinated green olives, pitted, very roughly chopped
½ small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
60ml extra olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Season the fish well with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch or two of chilli flakes if you so wish. Place the seasoned fish on a large piece of baking parchment on top of the slices of blood orange. Drizzle all over with olive oil and sprinkle over the zest of one of the blood oranges. Places the slices of garlic on top along with the butter, divided. Gather up the parchment and pour in the white wine before tightly wrapping the parchment to seal.
Place in the oven for 15 minutes. While in the oven prepare the salsa verde. Mix together all the chopped ingredients with the crushed garlic, blood orange zest, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt. Divide liberally between two serving plates. When the fish is ready, place on top of the salsa verde and serve.
