I’m Loving

Matt Preston’s three veg and meat.

NEXT MONTH WE CELEBRATE 20 years of delicious, so I felt it might be worthwhile looking back at how Australia’s midweek meals have changed over time – and boy, have we come a long way judging by your favourite recipes from delicious.com.au this year. With that in mind, here are my top 10 midweek ideas for 2021.

SALMON FISH CAKES Once a combo of canned salmon and mash flavoured with little more than lemon and pepper, modern fish cakes from Yotam Ottolenghi have been going off online and are made with fresh salmon and flecked with Thai basil and wakame.

CURRY It used to be all about powdered Keen’s mustard and cheap cuts of meat, but Christine Manfield’s speedy coconut fish curry is loaded with turmeric, green cardamom, green chillies and ground cloves. There’s not a skerrick of curry powder!

FRIED RICE This was a remake of the pea, corn, Spam and diced carrot monstrosity from Chinese takeaways. Phoebe Wood’s Greek spinach rice dish, however, is our most praised rice dish for 2021.

SPAGHETTI Carbonara may have beaten bolognese as our pasta of choice, but here at delicious. downloads for Silvia Colloca’s healthier version of aglio olio with fat prawns, garlic, olive oil, chilli and parsley among the pasta, are up 274 per cent.

MINCE Australia’s most popular protein, it’s now seen more in meatballs than a meatloaf or burger. Try making lean turkey ball albondigas, or pork and prawn balls to swank up a sweet and sour.

STIR-FRIES still hold a place in our hearts but are now more likely to be a virtuous lean mix of chicken breast, capsicum and broccoli from Dr Clare Bailey and Justine Pattison’s The Fast 800 Easy. With a third the fat of thigh, and a cheaper price, the breast’s popularity is rebounding. The recipe has been going off this year on our site.

CHICKEN THIGHS are still the most popular protein, but now you’re likely to find them in a tray bake with veg, or crumbed and baked to throw in wraps, rather than rolled in prosciutto.

LAMB CHOPS used to be the midweek go-to, but with prices pushing $50 a kilo, it’s no surprise slow-roasted lamb shoulder (or leg) has replaced them, especially if feeding hungry teens.

MEAT & THREE VEG The days of meat flanked by a carb and two veg are long gone with newer dishes mingling those elements. For example, Kirsten Jenkins’s popular pork san choy bow combines pork mince with vermicelli noodles, green beans, celery, water chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms. For this month’s recipe, we played with this idea and made veg the focal point, taking the Greek meze feast as our inspiration. So, forget meat and three veg, my favourite midweek dinner today is THREE VEG & MEAT!

THREE VEG & MEAT

SERVES 4 8 lamb chops

HASSELBACK SPUDS WITH SRIRACHA BUTTER

150g unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup (80g) sriracha

1 garlic clove, crushed

1kg desiree potatoes, peeled

ROASTED CARDAMOM CARROTS

2 bunches baby (Dutch) carrots, tops removed 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp pure icing sugar, sifted

25g pistachios, coarsely chopped, to serve

1/2 tbs currants, to serve

BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH FISH SAUCE CARAMEL

750g brussels sprouts, halved

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

70g caster sugar

2 tbs fish sauce

40g unsalted butter

3 lap cheong sausages, cut into 5mm pieces on an angle 227g can water chestnuts, drained

Juice of 1 lime

Preheat oven to 220°C. For the spuds, place butter in a stand mixer with whisk attachment and whisk for 3-4 minutes until pale and doubled in size. Whisk in sriracha, garlic and 1 tsp of salt.

Place potatoes in a saucepan of cold salted water over mediumhigh heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes until just tender. Drain. Slice a small piece off potato bases for stability, then cut 3mm slices crossways along each potato (don’t cut all the way through. Place on a baking tray and brush with half of the sriracha butter. Roast, basting every 15 minutes with the butter, for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes until golden. Set aside and keep warm.

Reduce oven to 200°C. For the carrots, place carrots on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Scatter with oil and 1 tsp salt. Roast for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with cardamom and icing sugar. Cook for 10 minutes until golden and tender. Set aside and keep warm.

Increase oven to 240°C. For the brussels sprouts, place brussels sprouts on a baking tray lined with baking paper, drizzle with oil and roast for 25 minutes until tender and lightly charred.

Meanwhile, place sugar and fish sauce in a frypan over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes until caramelised. Melt butter in a separate frypan over medium heat, then add lap chong and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp. Add water chestnuts, sprouts and fish sauce caramel. Cook for 2 minutes ,then toss in lime juice.

Preheat a chargrill to high. Cook lamb for 2-3 minutes each side or cooked to your liking. Season. Top carrots with pistachio and currants. Serve lamb with veg and remaining sriracha butter.