Want a tasty meal one-pan meal that's hassle free? Look no further than these beauties.
From a super-simple risotto to tender roast lamb – and a mouthwatering slow cooked beef stew with dumplings – you’ll get maximum flavour for minimal effort.
Even better, there won’t be hours of clearing up afterwards!
This delicious chicken pasta dish has wonderful Mediterranean flavours
Serves 4
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Rub 1 tbsp of oil over the chicken and season well, then put skin-side up in a casserole dish or roasting tin and bake for 20-25 mins until crisp but not cooked all the way though. Remove from the dish and put on a plate.
Add the remaining oil to the dish, mixing it with the chicken fat. Tip in the onion and garlic, then bake for 5-8 mins until tender.
Pour in the wine, stirring it with the onions, then leave to evaporate slightly in the residual heat before adding the bay, thyme, rosemary, parsley stalks and tomatoes.
Dissolve the stock cube in 300ml boiling water and pour this in, then add the vinegar, capers, if using, olives and orzo. Stir well and season.
Nestle the chicken back in the pan, skin-side up, and roast for 20 mins until the sauce is thickened, the orzo is tender and the meat is cooked through.
Give it a stir, then leave for 10 mins for the orzo to absorb the excess liquid. Scatter over parsley leaves to serve.
You can whip up this tasty bacon and mushroom risotto in around 30 minutes
Serves 4
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and cook the onion and bacon for 5 minutes to soften.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until they start to release juices. Stir in the rice and cook until all juices have been absorbed.
Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring well and waiting for most of the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful — this will take 20 minutes.
Season and serve with Parmesan.
This classic beef stew with dumplings, warmed in a slow cooker, can be ready in four hours
Serves 4
Fact-box text
AdvertisementHeat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and brown the beef.
Remove, leaving any oil behind, and put in the slow cooker. Add the remaining oil to the pan, turn the heat down and fry the onion, carrot and celery until softened. Add to the slow cooker.
Pour the wine into the pan and simmer. Cook for 2 minutes before pouring into the slow cooker. Add the remaining stew ingredients to it and cook on high for 4 hrs or low for 7 hrs.
Just over an hour before the time is up, make the dumplings. Put the flour and suet in a bowl, season well and combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in 3 tbsp cold water.
Stir, then add a teaspoon of water at a time until a soft dough forms. Make into eight balls and put on top of the stew.
Cook for 1 hour more. Serve scattered with parsley.
Creamy Tuscan chicken pot is fabulous served with crusty bread
Serves 4
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over a high heat.
Add the chicken and sear for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Remove and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the casserole, reduce the heat to low and sweat for 5 minutes, until translucent.
Return the chicken to the pot, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, stock, chilli and salt and pepper, then bring up to a simmer.
Cook over the lowest heat setting for 1 hour, then stir in the orzo and cook for 1 hour more.
Just before serving, stir through the spinach and crème fraîche until the spinach wilts. Serve with crusty bread, if liked.
SLOW COOKER METHOD
Cook the chicken, onion and garlic as above, then pop all the ingredients except the orzo, spinach and crème fraîche into the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in the orzo, then cook for 1 hour. Add the spinach and crème fraîche as above.
This crowd-pleasing chorizo and mozzarella gnocchi bake is very easy to make
Serves 6
Heat oil and fry the onion and garlic for eight minutes until soft. Add the chorizo and fry for five minutes.
Tip in the tomatoes and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then add the gnocchi and cook for eight minutes, stirring, until soft.
Heat the grill to high.
Cut the mozzarella into chunks and stir three-quarters of it and most of the basil through the gnocchi.
Put in a baking dish, top with the rest of the mozzarella and grill for three minutes until the cheese has melted. Scatter over the rest of basil.
One-pan lamb with hasselback potatoes is a super-simple roast packed with flavour
Serves 6-8
Make 30 small, deep incisions all over the lamb. Halve the garlic bulbs, so the cloves fall away at the top and remain attached at bottom. Peel and slice the tops, then push into the slits. Poke the sprigs of rosemary and thyme into the slits, too.
Heat the oven to 210C/190C fan/gas 7. Sit each potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and cut widthways (but not all the way through) every 3mm. Slot a bay leaf into the middle slit of each potato. Put potatoes into roasting tin with halved garlic bulb and rest of rosemary and thyme. Drizzle with half the oil and season, toss to coat and turn so they’re cut-side up. Rub the lamb with the rest of oil and lemon juice and season generously. Nestle in the middle of tin, surrounded by the potatoes.
Roast for 1½ hours, basting the potatoes, until the lamb is cooked and the potatoes are crisp. Rest the lamb for 15 minutes. Serve with mint sauce.