Category Archives: 30-minute meals

30-minute meals, Beans, Cakes, Entertaining, Seafood

Fish with Edamame Pesto and Cookies-and-Cream Ice Cream Cake

In what I suspect will become a birthday tradition, Sam once again asked for “chocolate cake with whipped cream” for his birthday party this year. Although my holiday schedule wasn’t quite as hectic as Kristin’s, between December 1st, 2010 and January 1st, 2011, I had already celebrated eight days of Chanukah, my husband’s birthday, my birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s.  Exhausted from the festivities, I was tempted to remake last year’s icebox cake and spare myself the time it would take to find a new recipe to fit Sam’s party criteria. But I just couldn’t brush off the request that easily. It’s not Sam’s fault he was born the first week in January and that his birthday, like mine, tends to be sucked up and forgotten amidst the winter holiday hustle and bustle. I luckily found another great make-ahead cake covered in whipped cream, chocolate, and–as an added  bonus–sprinkles.  Despite its less than perfect appearance (to be blamed on a final layer of too warm hot fudge sauce), this cake was a real crowd-pleaser.

The birthday dinner itself was a lighter affair. Sam is a huge fan of Japanese food, especially edamame, so this edamame-based pesto caught my eye while I browsed cookbooks for a cake recipe. The pesto tasted amazing dolloped on a piece of sauteed cod, and nearly as good spread on a cracker later that night as a bedtime snack. I rounded out dinner with simple steamed veggies and cooked quinoa.

Fish with Edamame Pesto
adapted from Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express: 404 inspired seasonal dishes you can make in 20 minutes or less

serves 3

1 bag frozen edamame (in pods)
olive oil
1 clove garlic, grated
juice of half a lemon
handful of grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb (450 g) cod or other fish fillet(s)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
chopped walnuts, for garnish

Blanch the frozen edamame in boiling salted water for 3–5 minutes until tender. Drain and rinse the edamame under cold water. Shell the soybeans and place them in a blender or food processor with a few tablespoons of olive oil (or more, as needed) to get a nice puree. Add the garlic, lemon juice, and Parmesan and blend until smooth. Season the puree to taste with salt and pepper.

Season the fish fillet with salt and pepper. Cook the fillet(s) in the butter or olive oil over medium heat about 4 minutes per side or until golden and cooked through. Serve the fish with a spoonful of the pesto and garnish with chopped walnuts.

***

Cookies-and-Cream Ice Cream Cake
adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2000

serves 12

1 x 16-oz (45o‑g) pound cake, thawed if frozen
1/2 gallon (about 1 kg) cookies-and-cream ice cream, slightly softened

12 oz (340 g) hot fudge sauce (purchased or homemade)
6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 (60 ml) cup water
10 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

1 cup (240 ml) chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
candy sprinkles

Cut the cake into 1/3‑inch-thick slices. Halve each slice diagonally, forming triangles. Cover the bottom of a 9‑inch-diameter springform pan with the cake by arranging some triangles, points facing in, around the edge of pan. Fill in the center with more triangles; then cut additional pieces to fill in any spaces. Spread half of the ice cream over the cake. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

Stir the fudge sauce, chocolate chips and 1/4 cup water in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Cool to just barely lukewarm. Spread half of the fudge sauce over the ice cream. Sprinkle with the cookies. Top with enough remaining cake slices to cover. Spread the remaining ice cream over. Freeze 1 hour.

Stir the remaining fudge sauce over medium-low heat until barely lukewarm. Pour the sauce over the ice cream, spreading to the edge. Freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.

To serve, let cake sit in fridge about 15 minutes to slightly thaw. While the cake thaws, beat the cream and sugar in a medium bowl to stiff peaks. Run a knife around the pan sides to loosen the cake. Release the pan sides. Spread the whipped cream around the side of the cake and, if desired, pipe a border of whipped cream around the top edge of the cake. Scatter sprinkles or other small candies atop the cake.

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

Penne alla Vodka and Ice Cream with Blonde Mocha Sauce

Did you hear about the snowstorms in Europe that were wreaking havoc on people’s Christmas travel plans? Well, that was us. Our hearts sank as the snow built up at Dublin airport on December 23, which shut the runway while we watched the plows go back and forth for hours (meanwhile, tractors were plowing the snow around the gates — an Irish solution to an Irish problem?). To make a long story of snowstorms, mechanical failures and missed connections short, it took us three days, two hotels and four airports (Dublin, Philadelphia, Charlotte, NC and Tampa) to finally reach my mother’s house in Florida at 8:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. After that ordeal, a stiff drink was in order — plus some boozy food for good measure and an easy, espresso-infused ice cream sauce to perk up weary travelers.

Penne alla Vodka
adapted from Catherine’s Italian Kitchen by Catherine Fulvio

Serves 4

For a twist on this Roman dish, Catherine Fulvio suggests adding smoked salmon or cooked prawns at the last minute and heating through, while in Nigella Lawson’s version of this recipe, she suggests adding cubed bacon. For a stronger vodka hit, I like to use Nigella’s method of adding the vodka to the drained pasta along with a knob of butter, then adding the boozy pasta to the sauce. This method has the added advantage that if you’re serving children, you can set aside a plain portion of pasta for them before adding the vodka to the rest.

1 lb (450 g) penne
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 or 2 red chillies or 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) water
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vodka
1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions in plenty of boiling salted water.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan that’s big enough to also hold the cooked pasta. Add the chillies and saute over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and the water. Simmer over a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the pan and burning. If need be, add more water. Stir the cream into the chili and tomato mixture. Add the vodka and simmer for about 3 minutes more. (Alternatively, add the vodka to the drained pasta for a stronger sauce — see the note above.)

Drain the pasta and transfer to the pan with the sauce, then add the Parmesan cheese. Mix thoroughly, taste for seasoning and serve.

***

Blonde Mocha Sauce
adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson

Serves 10

While I now prefer Catherine Fulvio’s vodka alla penne recipe to Nigella Lawson’s, this blonde mocha sauce is part of Nigella’s Supper alla Romana menu for easy entertaining from Feast (which is comprised of the pasta, this ricotta and pine nut salad and ice cream with this blonde mocha sauce). Nigella vows that even people who don’t like white chocolate like this sauce.

8 oz (225 g) white chocolate
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
ice cream, to serve

Break the chocolate into chunks and put into a heavy-based saucepan on the lowest heat possible with all the other ingredients. When the chocolate has melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk vigorously to thicken the sauce. Pour the blonde mocha sauce into a pitcher or glass measuring cup, cover the surface directly with a thin skin of plastic wrap and when cool, stick it into the fridge for 4 to 6 hours to allow it to thicken and firm up. When you’re ready to pour it over the ice cream, take it out of the fridge, give it a good stir and use it straight from the pitcher.

30-minute meals, Holidays, Italian food, Pasta and noodles, Soups and stews

Tortellini in Broth with Spinach

Inevitably after most holiday meals, I find myself walking to my car with a plastic grocery bag of slightly gooey, unattractive, and lukewarm bag of bones and meat scraps. Perhaps no one else wants to carry home such an odd parcel, or perhaps everyone knows of my frugality. Whatever the reason, I’m happy to turn the humble carcass into a hearty broth at home. If you browse through the recipes on this site, you’ll find that both Kristin and I use broth frequently. Although I’ve found a good store-bought brand (Swanson’s Organic Chicken Broth), nothing beats homemade.  It’s really cheap and easy to make.

For this year’s turkey broth I threw the leftover bones (with scraps attached) into a large stock pot and poured in water to cover. I roughly chopped and added one onion, one carrot, one celery stalk, and a handful of fresh parsley. For added zip, I threw in a pinch of dried thyme, a bay leaf, and about a tablespoon of salt. After bringing it to a boil, I let the liquid barely simmer for about three hours, strained it, and poured it into quart jars. After a night in the fridge, you can skim off any fat that rises to the top and pour the broth into whatever size container you wish. It will keep in the fridge for a few days and frozen for several months. I like to freeze it in muffin tins, then put the small broth-circles into larger storage bags, perfect for adding to sauces and stir-frys. I didn’t freeze all my broth this year, instead sacrificing a quart for this quick and kid-friendly meal. For extra cuteness, serve in bunny bowls as pictured below.

Tortellini in Broth with Spinach

Serves 4 as main course, 6 as first course

14 oz (400 g) dried tortellini
1 quart (1 liter) chicken or turkey broth
12 oz (340 g) fresh baby spinach
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain the tortellini and set it aside.

While the pasta cooks, bring the broth to a simmer. Depending on the broth you are using, you may need to add salt or pepper to taste.

After the tortellini is cooked, add the spinach to the broth and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring gently, until the spinach is wilted. To serve, divide the broth, spinach, and tortellini between bowls. Top each bowl with grated Parmesan, if desired.

30-minute meals, Fruit, Potatoes

Bramley Apple, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwich with Sweet Potato Wedges

Is there a better place to be on a sunny October day than an apple orchard? I couldn’t think of one when I was at Stagrennan Farm 10 days ago as part of an orchard tour organized by Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) to show off the often unsung Bramley apple.

When I arrived, I was promptly offered the obligatory cup of tea along with a slice of Fiona McNeece’s homemade apple cake and apple, blueberry and sloe crumble. Her brother Olan also works at the orchard, which their father bought in 1962 in Drogheda, County Louth. Fiona and Olan have apples in their blood — they are the fourth generation of their family to grow Bramleys (their great-grandfather planted a Bramley orchard as part of his small farm in County Armagh in the late 1890s, and their grandfather went on to buy his own farm in 1933, also in Armagh). Approximately one-third of the world’s supply of Bramley apples are grown in Ireland, where they have been grown for 200 years, and the McNeeces are proudly part of that tradition.

Like many people you talk to involved in growing and producing Irish food, Olan was enthusiastic about talking about apples and taking us around his farm, which even extended to showing off their new vineyard tractor, which is narrower than normal tractors so that it can fit between the rows of a vineyard or orchard. Clad in wellies and waterproof hiking boots because of the previous day’s heavy rain, we piled into the farm’s jeep and followed Olan in the tractor as he wound down a maze of lanes. Once we were standing amongst the trees, he explained that the orchard is organic in all but name — they have a weather station in the orchard to predict disease in their own micro-climate and they follow integrated pest management to allow natural predators to do away with harmful pests — so we happily ate apples straight from the tree.

But we weren’t eating Bramleys — while those are the main crop at Stagrennan Farm, they also plant a variety of other apples to aid pollination. Apples are often divided into eaters and cookers, and Bramleys are the latter. In fact, they’re the only apple available for the sole purpose of cooking. When cooked, Bramleys break down into a fluffy, frothy puree, which I found out for myself when I made a delicious apple compote using Bramleys after watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall make it that way a few weeks ago on River Cottage Everyday. Just like Hugh said, the resulting compote was silky smooth, and was so good that I’ll never make applesauce with any other apple again.

Back at the office, fellow food bloggers Aisling, Deirdre, Joanna, Sarah and I were treated to a cooking demonstration using Bramleys by Tara Walker, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who is an instructor at the Fairyhouse Cookery School, and one of the recipes she made for us was this sandwich. We left the orchard laden down with a huge box of Bramleys and eating apples, along with samples of some products Olan and Fiona are hoping to bring to market soon: apple juice, apple and Calvados sauce, apple and white port sauce, apple and ginger jelly, roasted apple marinade, spiced apple chutney and, my favorite, apple and quince jelly. When I got home with my bounty, my kids ate two apples each and helped me peel the 6 pounds worth of Bramleys to turn them into enough compote to last us for a week.

Thank you again to Olan and Fiona McNeece for so generously hosting us and to Bord Bia for organizing the tour. Olan told us we’d have to come back to the orchard again in the spring, when the trees are in bloom, and after seeing how beautiful it was with the blazing autumn colors, I think we might just take him up on that.

Bramley Apple, Bacon and Blue Cheese Sandwich
adapted from Bord Bia

This moreish sandwich is substantial enough for dinner now that we’re in the wintry soup-and-sandwich season. It’s one of the Bramley apple recipes from the Bord Bia website, which also features a one-dish pork and Bramley apple bake, ginger baked Bramleys and a Bramley apple and whiskey tart. If you can’t get Bramley apples, use another cooking apple instead, such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pink Lady or Royal Gala.

Serves 4

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
12 rashers back bacon (or 12 slices pancetta or American bacon)
2 Bramley apples, quartered, cored and sliced
8 thick slices of good-quality white bread (sourdough is best), lightly toasted
butter, for spreading
2 oz (60 g) soft blue cheese, such as Cashel Blue, crumbled

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the bacon and cook over a medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp. (If using pancetta or American bacon, fry the bacon in a dry pan instead until crispy.) Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Add the Bramley apple slices to the pan and saute over a medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender and golden. Remove from the heat. Butter the bread and top 4 slices with the bacon and apples. Crumble over the cheese and top with the remaining slices of bread. Cut in half and serve.

***

Sweet Potato Wedges
adapted from Every Day by Bill Granger

Serves 4

These sweet potato wedges are a good match for this sandwich, but Clare’s oven-baked parsnip chips would also be good, as would Michael Ruhlman’s sweet potato chips.

2 lb (900 g) sweet potatoes, skin left on and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

Toss the sweet potato wedges with the olive oil, paprika, cayenne and salt and pepper. Scatter them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the wedges are golden brown.

Looking for more apple recipes? Try some of these from our recipe archive:

30-minute meals, Grains and pulses, Seafood

Couscous Paella with Shrimp

Don’t you love finding a recipe that’s tasty, easy, quick, and healthy? Here’s one I just discovered. This recipe is also an excellent choice for anyone looking to serve the wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp that are finally back in stores (ahem, thank you BP for the forced hiatus). One word of caution — make sure you have enough dinner guests at the table for this dish. Couscous doesn’t reheat particularly well and you won’t want a bite of it to go to waste.

Couscous Paella with Shrimp
adapted from Family Circle as posted on Food Network

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bell peppers (green, yellow, and/or red), cut into 1/2‑inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 can (14 oz/400 ml) chicken broth
1 cup (240 ml) water
10 oz (280 g) frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 lb (680 g) large shrimp, shelled and cleaned
10 oz (280 g) couscous (plain or whole wheat)

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot that has a lid. Add the onion, garlic and peppers and cook until the peppers are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the salt, black pepper, thyme, pepper flakes and turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, water, peas and shrimp. Simmer, covered, for 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the couscous and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes, then remove the cover, fluff the couscous with a fork, and serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Vegetarian main dishes

Mustard Crusted Tofu with Sweet Potatoes and Kale

Earlier this month our family went vegetarian for a week. My husband and I have been wanting to try on vegetarianism for awhile and when our friends mentioned their interest, we made a pact to go meat-free together. To sweeten the deal, we agreed to have each other over for dinner during the week. As you can probably figure out by my posts, we tend to eat (and enjoy) meat a few times per week. But honestly, except for a momentary craving for a turkey sandwich, I didn’t miss meat at all. Eliminating meat from our menu gave me the chance to make some of my favorite vegetarian dishes, vegetarian chili on quinoa and fettuccine alfredo, for example, and was good motivation to find some new meatless menus. I tried out this tofu recipe because it sounded different and, more importantly, quick. I never thought to combine mustard and tofu but it somehow works. The sweet potatoes and kale provide an earthy, sweet note to balance the tangy tofu.

Mustard Crusted Tofu with Sweet Potatoes and Kale
adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2007

Serves 3

1 x 14-oz (400‑g) package firm tofu
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole grain Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 bunch kale, stem cut from each leaf, leaves thinly sliced crosswise
1 red-skinned sweet potato (yam), peeled, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
soy sauce or tamari, to taste
cooked rice, to serve

Cut the tofu in half lengthwise and place the pieces, side by side, on a clean dishtowel or several pieces of folded paper towels. Fold dish towel (or paper towels) over the tofu. Place the covered tofu in a dish, cover, and let it sit overnight in the fridge. The towels should draw out a considerable amount of moisture from the tofu. If you forget to do this the night before your meal, simply place a large pan or other heavy plate on top of the tofu and let it sit for at least half an hour to press out excess moisture.

Cut the pressed tofu into eight pieces, cubed as in the picture, or in 1/2‑inch-thick slices. Spread the top and bottom sides of each piece with the mustard.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and ginger; sauté 3 minutes. Add the sweet potato and saute another 5 minutes. Add the kale and lime juice then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the potato is tender and the kale is wilted, about 12 more minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in another large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu; cover and cook until heated through and crisp, about 2 minutes per side (some mustard seeds may fall off of the tofu).

Arrange the kale and sweet potato mixture on a plate. Place the tofu pieces atop the vegetables. Serve with soy sauce or tamari and rice, if desired.

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

Pasta with Feta, Spinach and Pine Nuts

Nigella Lawson’s new show, Nigella Kitchen, started two weeks ago. The only problem is that it’s on at the same time as River Cottage Everyday with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Luckily, I don’t have to choose between them since I can record River Cottage while I watch Nigella, but if I did have to choose, I think I’d go with the domestic goddess. I know her formula of snug-fitting cashmere twin sets, seductive finger-licking and her fondness for fairy lights is growing old for some people, but I still love her. I even joke that I want to be her when I grow up. This is another 30-minute meal from her new cookbook, taken from her lifesaver express index when I barely had time to think amidst my work deadlines last week, never mind plan meals, shop for them and cook them, but was still able to whip up something healthy and tasty for dinner thanks to this quick and easy recipe.

Pasta with Feta, Spinach and Pine Nuts
adapted from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

Serves 6

Nigella says the leftovers can be made into an excellent cold pasta salad for lunch the next day by refrigerating it straightaway, then breaking it up a bit with a fork and adding some lemon juice and olive oil.

1 lb 2 oz (500 g) fusilli
1/3 cup (50 g) pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
1 lb 2 0z (500 g) frozen leaf spinach
7 oz (200 g) feta cheese, crumbled
3 or 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
salt and freshly grated black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, or according to the packet instructions.

Toast the pine nuts in a hot, dry pan (one that’s big enough to eventually take the sauce and all the pasta) just until they’re golden, taking care not to let them burn. Transfer to a bowl or plate and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in the pan and add the onion. Cook on a low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft. If they look like they’re getting too brown, sprinkle with a little salt (to help draw out the juices and slow down the browning). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the nutmeg or allspice, then add the frozen spinach. Keep stirring to help the frozen spinach melt consistently.

Just before you drain the pasta, scoop out a mug of the cooking water. Add about 1/4 cup (60 ml) to the spinach in the frying pan, then crumble in the feta and stir. Add in the Parmesan and stir again.

Drain the pasta and toss into the spinach and feta sauce, then season to taste. Add in more of the pasta cooking water if the sauce looks too dry. Transfer to a serving bowl, then add the toasted pine nuts and toss through before serving.

30-minute meals, Italian food, Pasta and noodles

Pasta with Pancetta, Peppers and Parsley

With over 80 cookbooks in my collection, the last thing I need is another one, but that didn’t stop me from getting Nigella Lawson’s new book, Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home, hot off the presses two weeks ago (in America, you’ll have to wait until October 12 to get your hands on a copy). A lifesaving new feature in this book is a separate index of express recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less, and with a recent bottleneck of work deadlines requiring lots of late nights chained to my desk with little time to spare for cooking, let alone meal planning, I’ve already been turning to it a lot. This is one of the first recipes I made from the book, and I can see it being a firm favorite in my repertoire of store cupboard dinners that I can pull together when time is short and the kids are hungry.

Pasta with Pancetta, Peppers and Parsley
adapted from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

Serves 4

1 lb (450 g) spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
11 oz (300 g) pancetta cubes or streaky bacon
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (optional)
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water
about 14 oz (400 g) (drained weight) roasted peppers from a jar, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 large bunch of parsley, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil over a medium heat in a heavy-based pan, one that’s big enough to eventually add all the cooked pasta to later. If you’re using regular bacon, chop it into bite-sized pieces first. Fry the pancetta or bacon until crisp, then add the garlic, dried chili, lemon zest and juice and the water. Cook for 1 minute, then add the peppers and half the chopped parsley.

When the pasta has finished cooking, reserve 2 cups (480 ml) of the cooking water, then drain. Add the pasta to the sauce in the pan. Toss everything together well and add some of the pasta cooking water if it needs it, then season to taste and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.