This week, the focus is on speedy recipes that can be brought to the table in a matter of minutes. This is fuss-free cooking. There are certain times of year when I need recipes that are wholesome, delicious, minimal in wash-up time and nutritious in equal measure. With the decent weather and upended routines causing chaos in a busy family home, these are the recipes that will dig you out of a hole. The oven takes on the workload, allowing time for a table to be set and (if you so desire – no judgment here), the house to be quickly cleaned before serving up in the middle of the table or stirring together into a hearty bowl.
As you’ll see from the title, the first recipe is the work of my wife, Grainne. She can’t have full credit here, as I believe her method of making the sauce was a “viral TikTok” recipe that did the rounds earlier this year. She has insisted she has made it her own (like a true chef) and, most importantly, the results are very tasty. She basically cuts everything up and places it in the tray before roasting in the oven. In there, the tomatoes char, the garlic softens, spinach wilts and the cream cheese bubbles away, coating everything together, the centrepiece being the cooked salmon fillets. She then cooks off her pasta and adds some of the starchy water to the tray. Everything gets mixed together and seasoned up before folding the pasta through it. It’s a taste sensation in fairness and feels lighter than it is in the summer sunshine. Definitely worth giving a go.
The second recipe is a simple traybake using a home-made cajun spice blend. The aim is to cook the salmon in a fiery, hot oven to get the spices charred and blackened. It can then be served up in the middle of the table with the roasted potatoes, lemon and a simple salad. The idea is to let everyone pull apart their own fish.
With both recipes, the magic is in finishing up serving and throwing the whole tray into the dishwasher, ready to fight for you another day. Sometimes cooking just needs to be easy, but you don’t have to compromise on flavour.