Category Archives: 30-minute meals

30-minute meals, Italian food, Pasta and noodles, Poultry

Chicken Saltimbocca, Farfalle with Pesto, and Sauteed Spinach

This menu is quicker and easier to prepare than you might think. The whole dinner took about half an hour to make, start to finish. Plain pasta could certainly be served in lieu of the pesto since the chicken has a nice sauce to it. But if you are trying to use up a pound of fresh basil, pesto is a nice compliment to the buttery, salty chicken. The pesto recipe below makes a large amount of pesto; you will need less than half of the batch for a pound of pasta. I spoon my extra pesto into ice cube trays, then store them in plastic bags in the freezer. For instant pesto year round, take a few cubes out while the pasta of your choice is cooking, then toss the cubes with the hot pasta and a splash or two of the pasta water. Top with freshly grated Parmesan.

Chicken Saltimbocca

Serves 4

1/2 cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 lb (680 g) chicken tenders (or chicken cutlets)
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
3 oz (90 g) thin slices of prosciutto, cut into pieces to match the chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) white wine
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
4 tablespoons (60 g) butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 200°F (100°C).

Combine the flour and pepper in a shallow dish. Pat the tenders dry with paper towels. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Sprinkle the tenders evenly with minced sage. Place 1 prosciutto slice on top of each cutlet, pressing lightly to adhere.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the tenders to the pan, prosciutto side down, and cook until light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. The prosciutto will adhere to the chicken. Flip and cook on the other side until light golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. (Note: If the skillet is not large enough to hold all the tenders, cook only half of the tenders, remove from pan, then add 1 tablespoon oil and cook the other tenders as directed.) Transfer the tenders to the oven to keep warm while preparing the sauce.

Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any browned bits, and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon the sauce over the tenders before serving.

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Pesto

4 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
about 1 cup olive oil
3/4 cup walnuts and/or toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Pulse the basil, parsley, and garlic in a food processor until finely minced. Add the nuts and cheese. While the processor is running, pour in olive oil until the desired thickness is reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste. For use as a pasta sauce, add about 1/2 cup pesto to 12 oz (340 g) cooked pasta and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan.

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Sauteed Spinach

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lb (450 g) fresh spinach, washed and thoroughly dried
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To a cold skillet, add the olive oil and garlic. Sauté over a medium-low heat until the garlic just turns golden, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and sauté over a medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the spinach just wilts. Season to taste and serve. Optional add-ins (after cooking): splash of balsamic vinegar, grated Parmesan, lemon zest, or toasted sesame seeds.

30-minute meals, Asian food, Pasta and noodles, Seafood

Orange and Soy Salmon with Soba Noodles and Roasted Broccoli

On my way home from picking the kids up at day care yesterday, I realized that I’d forgotten to buy green beans, which I’d planned to make for dinner that night. What I did have, though, was a head of broccoli, so I went online to search for a roasted broccoli recipe and found this one with soy sauce and sesame seeds, a perfect complement to the salmon I’d started marinating earlier that afternoon. I’d never roasted broccoli before, but when the first search result that came up was “the best broccoli of your life”, I had to try it. My 15-month-old baby certainly seemed to think so — he couldn’t get enough of it, as well as the salmon.

The best thing about this dinner is that broccoli and salmon are two of the top 10 super foods, so it packs a real punch for one plate. It also doesn’t hurt that aside from marinating the salmon (which takes 5 minutes to pull together earlier in the day), the whole dinner takes less than half an hour to make from start to finish, helped by the fact that the salmon and broccoli cook at the same temperature and for the same amount of time.

You could serve this dinner either by combining the roasted broccoli and soba noodles and then serving the salmon fillet on top, or by keeping the three dishes separate.

Roasted Orange and Soy Salmon
from Bon Appétit, April 2003

Serves 4

1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
4 x 6 oz (170 g) salmon fillets, with skin

Mix the wine, orange juice and soy sauce in a glass baking dish large enough to hold all the salmon. Place the salmon, skin side up, in the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with foil. Shake any excess marinade off the salmon. Transfer the salmon to the baking sheet, skin side down. Roast until the fish is opaque in the center, about 14 minutes. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and transfer to plates.

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Roasted Broccoli with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds
adapted from VeggieGardener.com

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 lb (450 g) fresh broccoli (1 large or 2 small heads), broken into florets
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil (or shake to combine in a screw-top jar).

Place the broccoli florets in a bowl and toss well with the soy dressing. Arrange the florets in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir and continue roasting for 5 minutes more, or until the broccoli is tender-crisp and slightly browned on the edges.

While the broccoli roasts, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over a very high heat for 30 to 60 seconds, taking care that they don’t burn. When the broccoli is done, put it back into the bowl, add in the sesame seeds, and toss again. Serve hot.

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Soba Noodles
from Bobby Flay

Serves 4

1 lb (450 g) soba noodles, cooked al dente
1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup (5 g) chopped fresh cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 scallions, finely chopped

Place the noodles in a large bowl. Whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, olive oil and sesame oil. Pour over the noodles, add the cilantro and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with scallion.

30-minute meals, Pasta and noodles, Vegetarian main dishes

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

I love Ina Garten’s recipes — they always work and are always delicious — but my god, that woman uses a lot of butter and cream. I reduced the amount of cream she calls for, which makes the lemon flavor stronger. Add some finely chopped fresh chili or a pinch of dried chili flakes if you like a bit of zip. It goes without saying that a green salad and some crusty bread are perfect to round this off.

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten

Serves 4 to 5

1 tablespoon good-quality olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
zest and juice of 2 lemons
splash of white wine (optional)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1 lb (450 g) dried fusilli pasta
1/2 lb (225 g) baby arugula or baby spinach
1/2 cup (25 g) freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint (250 g) grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream, lemon zest and juice, splash of wine (optional), and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cook the broccoli florets in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain the broccoli and run under cold water to stop it cooking. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and place it back into the pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over a medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl, add the arugula, Parmesan, tomatoes, and cooked broccoli. Toss well, season to taste and serve hot.