Three 20-Minute Dinners For When You Can’t Be Bothered
If you really wanted to cook more and cook healthier this year, you’d be forgiven for thinking it would be complicated. Almost every single ‘healthy eating’ recipe involves a load of chopping and roasting, or asks you to make a whole batch of dressing and sauce which, in reality, will just go bad in the fridge rather than being used over your as-yet-unmade recipes.
So here are three easy recipes for good-for-you dinners that you can actually get on the table in 20 minutes or less. They don’t require any advance planning and they don’t yield a load of random leftovers that don’t go with anything else in the fridge.
Quick Carrot & Ginger Soup
Serves 3–4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 large leek
1 large knob unsalted butter
1 large garlic clove
4 cm fresh ginger
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
600g carrots
1.25 litres vegetable stock
Instructions
Roughly chop the leek. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium high heat, and fry the leek for a few minutes until soft. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and blitz them in a food processor until very finely chopped. If you don’t own one, the biggest holes on your box grater will do but will be a bit more work!
Once the leeks are soft, peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger, and add to the pan along with the chilli flakes and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Once the garlic is soft and aromatic, add the carrots. Cook for about a minute until the carrots are soft, then add the stock.
Bring the soup to the boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes until the carrot pieces are tender. Blitz until smooth with a stick blender or back in the food processor, and check to see if you want to add a little more salt or pepper before serving, perhaps with a swirl of cream, yoghurt or buttermilk to garnish if you’ve got any open in the fridge!
15-Minute Orzo with Prawns, Tomatoes & Feta
Serves 1
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10–12 minutes
Ingredients
100g orzo
85g raw king prawns
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Large handful cherry tomatoes, halved
Large glug extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Small handful of fresh oregano or Greek basil
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
50g feta
Instructions
Whack the grill on as high as it will go, and set the orzo to cook for 10–12 minutes in a saucepan full of salted, boiling water.
On a large, rimmed baking sheet toss together the prawns, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, herbs (setting some aside for a garnish), and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Grill until the prawns are just pink.
Drain the orzo, and spoon over the prawns, tomatoes and all of their cooking juices. Finish the bowl with the feta crumbled over the top, another generous few grinds of black pepper and the leftover herbs.
Chipotle Baked Salmon with Mexican Cauliflower Rice & Tomato Avocado Salsa
Serves 1
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 salmon fillet
1/2 tbsp chipotle paste
1 small avocado
Small handful cherry tomatoes
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lime
100g cauliflower or pre-prepared cauliflower rice
Generous glug extra virgin olive oil
Small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Rub the chipotle paste all over the salmon fillet, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
While the salmon is cooking, make the tomato and avocado salsa. Dice the avocado, halve the tomatoes and toss them with a generous pinch of sea salt and a spritz of the lime juice. Set aside.
To make the cauliflower rice, whizz the cauliflower in a food processor, and transfer it to a bowl covered with kitchen wrap. Make a few holes in this with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape, and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Stir in the olive oil, fresh coriander, the rest of the lime juice and a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Serve the baked salmon in a warm bowl over the cauliflower rice with the tomato avocado salsa on the side.
Originally published at https://www.refinery29.com.
