One-pot comfort food
homegrown-kitchen.co.nz
With a lot more home-cooked meals being prepared around the country at the moment, here are two quick pantry meals that can be cooked in a flash.
One pot pasta
This is one of those speedy pantry meals that takes little effort and, with one pot, the clean up is easy.
You can double the recipe to have enough for lunch the next day, or bulk out the meal with ‘‘cheat’s meatballs’’.
These are my son’s specialty, and basically involve squeezing out the contents of quality sausages, rolling them into meatballs, then cooking in a frying pan until browned.
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium marrow or zucchini (about 400g), or other greens such as broccoli or kale, cut into bite-sized pieces 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 cups hot vegetable stock or boiling water teaspoon salt 250g fusilli (spiral) pasta Cracked pepper A handful of basil leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano Grated parmesan cheese to serve Heat the olive oil in a large, wide-based saucepan. Add the chopped onion and saute for five minutes, until softened.
Add the garlic and vegetables, and cook for a further three minutes.
Add the tomatoes, hot stock or water, salt, and pasta. At this stage, the pasta should be covered by the liquid.
Slightly cover with a lid and cook over amedium heat, stirring every 2-3 minutes to check the pasta isn’t sticking.
As soon as the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes, remove from the heat. Stir through the pepper and basil or oregano, cover with a lid and leave to steam for 5-10 minutes while setting the table.
Serve with grated parmesan and extra olive oil for drizzling at the table.
Comforting red lentil dhal
Dhal is a firm family favourite in my house. I make a few variations, sometimes with coconut milk added, others that are more tomato-based.
This one is somewhere in between. It isn’t too complex, and uses spices you will likely have at hand. If not, two rounded teaspoons of mild curry powder can be used in place of the ground spices. Again, I will often double this recipe so I can freeze half for a quick lunch or dinner another day.
Preparation time: 10minutes Cooking time: 25minutes Serves 4, plus leftovers
■ 11⁄ cups (300g) split red lentils 2 ■ 400g tin chopped tomatoes ■ 2 cups water
■ 11⁄ teaspoons ground cumin 2 ■ 1 teaspoon ground coriander ■ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder ■ 1⁄ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
4 ■ 1⁄ teaspoon salt
2 ■ 1 tablespoon oil or ghee ■ 1 large brown onion, finely chopped ■ 3 garlic cloves, chopped ■ 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
To serve:
Chopped coriander Unsweetened natural yoghurt About 2 cups cooked basmati rice
Rinse the red lentils and place in a large saucepan with the tomatoes, water and spices (not the salt at this stage, or it can toughen the lentils). Bring to a simmer and cook until the lentils are soft when squashed, about 20 minutes. If the mixture looks like it is drying out, add a little extra boiling water to loosen.
Once the lentils are soft, remove from the heat, add the salt, and use a stick blender to roughly puree. This is optional, but will give the dhal a creamy and comforting texture. While the lentils are cooking, heat the oil or ghee in a frying pan over amoderate heat.
Add the onions and gently saute for 10 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and mustard seeds and cook for a further five minutes. Stir this through the dhal and check taste. Serve with basmati rice, coriander and yoghurt.