This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I was in our kitchen knocking up one of my lightningly fast suppers the other night. You know the sort of thing. You’ve had a hectic day and the hours have flown by and suddenly everyone’s back home and looking at you expectantly. You are tired and the last thing you feel like is cooking. So you make something that you know will be tasty – but quick.
It suddenly occurred to me that my fellow A&G contributors all probably had their own favourite speedy (possibly cheats) recipe. So I sent them an email asking them to share their ideas and, being an adorable bunch of women, it wasn’t long at all before my inbox was laden with their replies. Hope you find one or two of them useful in your repertoire. If you have a delicious standby recipe do get in touch – we’d love to hear your ideas.
LOULOULAPOMME
Pork, shallots & Mushrooms
Serves 2. Cut a small pork filet into 1/2 inch coins, finely chop large shallot and 250g mushrooms. Melt a knob of butter in frying pan, add pork, shallot and mushrooms until pork is “rose” then add three tbspn of low fat creme fraiche, half a glass of wine and half a teaspoon of ground cumin. Boil rapidly for two minutes. Season to taste. Serve with spinach fettuccine. Bon appetit!
GERALDINE
Chicken with pesto Make pesto in a processor (it’ll keep in a jar in the fridge for several days) by blitzing 50g basil leaves with a good pinch of salt, then add 2 garlic cloves and 50g pine nuts until you have a thick paste. Then add 50g Parmesan and blitz until well processed. Add a stream of olive oil very slowly until you have the required consistency – usually about 120ml. Buy some cooked chicken from a supermarket and shred the meat with your fingers. Mix the chicken with pesto and heat through gently. Serve on warm couscous (add some roasted peppers if you have any handy) with a salad. Or, you can mix the shredded chicken with two parts pesto, one part mayonnaise or greek yoghurt (or a mixture of the two) for a good chicken salad. Top with toasted pine nuts. Making the pesto is the secret – it’s so easy and much more delicious than a jar. But if you use a jar this supper will be even quicker. Geraldine x
ANNABEL
Mackerel with Bulgur & Tomato for 2. Make 400ml vegetable stock, pour over 150g bulgur wheat, set aside for 15 mins. Halve 8 tomatoes & grill until soft and skin starts to blacken. Remove skins. Add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar & season to tomato flesh & crush. Grill mackerel fillets with olive oil until skin flakes away. Divide bulgur wheat, top with fillets and spoon over tomatoes. Super tasty.
MARVELLOUS MOTHER IN LAW
10 minute salmon parcel. Put salmon fillet on a piece of foil, scatter over chopped spring onion, lots of chopped ginger and a good slug of soy sauce. Parcel up and cook for 10 mins at 200 degrees/180 fan. I serve over microwaved spinach or steamed pak choi. Delicious and boringly healthy.
EMMA
Smoked Salmon Pasta My biggest cheat is boiling a pan of pasta and then adding chopped up smoked salmon to the hot, drained pasta, along with a tub of creme fraiche, a dash of lemon and some black pepper. You can also add green veg (asparagus or broccoli) which you steam in a colander over the pasta. Easy peasy.
BACKPACKING GRANNY
Jumbo Prawns and Spinach I am not the greatest cook but I have found a five min supper consisting of jumbo prawns and spinach. Wilt one whole bag of spinach in pan with a little oil, turning constantly. Add packet jumbo prawns. Add Hoisin sauce and freshly chopped chilli. Delicious. BPG x
GRACE
Quick Fish Rub a little extra virgin olive oil on the top of a fillet of white fish, sprinkle over Waitrose’s lemon and pepper breadcrumbs, bake in oven for 10 – 15 mins on 180 degrees and serve with steamed broccoli and M&S Hollandaise sauce. Yum!
BUMBLE
Fillet steaks (battered with a rolling pin), seasoned and rubbed with a teaspoon of olive oil. Pan (dry) fried and put aside to rest for 5 mins. Pour large splash of Madeira (wine) into the pan with the steak juices and let it bubble for a couple of minutes. Serve with M&S Battered Onion Rings and a bag of their salad leaves, or peas.
