The perennial question for weeknight meals is, what are the rules? For me, for now, and whenever I can, it’s essentially a 30-minute window, give or take, from when I start chopping to dishing up, and pretty much serve straight from the pan, too. It’s very often pasta for comfort, or steamed fish for speed. Of course, swaps are made and shortcuts taken, but these are my speedy solutions for when it’s 8pm and I’m starving.
Steamed sea bass with cumin and tomato oil (pictured top)
Steamed fish is already a really quick dinner but, if you prefer, the oil for this one can be made a day ahead and reheated just before using. In the absence of a steamer, bake the fish at 240C (220C)/475F/gas 9 for the same time, then pour over the oil as below. Steamed greens and plain rice are all that’s needed by way of accompaniment.
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2
For the fish
20ml olive oil
4 sustainably sourced sea bass fillets
10g piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
Fine sea salt
6-8 spring onions (80g), trimmed and cut widthways into three pieces
For the tomato oil
350g cherry tomatoes
75ml olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp aleppo chilli flakes
To serve
Steamed greens
Plain rice
1 lemon, halved
Put all the ingredients for the bass in a large bowl with a half-teaspoon of salt, and toss gently to coat. Sandwich together two of the fillets, with the skin on both facing outwards, then put on a plate that will fit in a steamer. Repeat with the other two fillets. Arrange the spring onions in two bunches alongside the fish.
Now for the oil. Put a small frying pan on a high heat. Drizzle the tomatoes with a half-teaspoon of oil and season with a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Once the pan is smoking hot, char the tomatoes for three to four minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until they’re slightly collapsed, then tip into a bowl and return the pan to the stove on a medium-low heat.
Put the remaining oil and the tomato paste in the hot pan and cook, stirring gently, for 10 minutes, until the oil turns red and the tomato paste has gathered in little clumps. Stir in the cumin, chilli and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, cook for 30 seconds, then return the tomatoes to the pan and take off the heat.
Meanwhile, half-fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat to medium-high, place the steamer basket with the fish plate in it on top, cover and leave to cook for six minutes.
Carefully lift the plate out of the steamer and pour off any liquid from it. Spoon the hot oil and tomatoes on top and serve with rice and greens, with the lemon halves alongside for squeezing over.
Braised tofu with sour yoghurt and spinach
This is inspired by Persian yoghurt braises, in which ground nuts are often used to thicken the sauce. Frying the tofu adds flavour, but you can skip this stage if need be, to make the cooking even quicker. Play around with the green vegetables, and use up what you have to hand – chard and green beans, for example, both work well here, too. Either way, serve with rice or another simple grain.
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2
75ml vegetable oil
1 x 280g block firm tofu, cut into 3cm cubes and patted dry
Fine sea salt and black pepper
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced (150g)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
220g plain yoghurt
1 tbsp lime juice
30g walnuts
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp hot madras curry powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp caster sugar (or granulated)
50g spinach leaves
50g frozen peas
Put four tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat, and season the tofu with a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu and fry for about five minutes, turning until it’s golden on all sides. Transfer the tofu to a plate, leaving the oil in the pan.
Add the onion, garlic, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until softened and starting to brown.
Meanwhile, put the yoghurt, lime juice, walnuts and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a blender and blitz for three minutes, until completely smooth.
Put the remaining tablespoon of oil in a small pan on a medium heat and, once hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds, and fry for 30 seconds, just until the mustard seeds start to pop. Take off the heat and put to one side.
Once the onions start to brown, return the fried tofu to the pan (or the unfried tofu cubes, if you didn’t cook them earlier), stir in the curry powder and turmeric, and fry for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Pour in the yoghurt mixture, 250ml water and the sugar, and cook on a medium heat for five minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken and cling to the tofu. Stir in the spinach and peas, cook until the leaves have just wilted, then take off the heat.
Pour the mustard and cumin oil all over the top and serve straight from the pan.
Cabbage and poppy seed pasta
This is the most comforting of weeknight dishes. It’s inspired by my colleague Katja’s two favourite childhood dishes, pasta with cabbage and noodles with walnuts and poppy seeds. The sauce is buttery, sweet and nutty, and I love it just as it is, but if you wish, lighten it by adding herbs such as dill or tarragon.
Prep 5 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2-4
120g unsalted butter
1 white cabbage, quartered, cored and cut into 1cm-wide strips (550g)
Fine sea salt and black pepper
4 tsp poppy seeds
1½ tsp caster sugar
300g tagliatelle
80g soured cream
Put the butter, 250g of the cabbage and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a small saucepan and cook on a high heat for 20 minutes, stirring for the last two minutes, until the cabbage is a deep brown and the butter has also browned. Take off the heat, stir in the poppy seeds, sugar and a teaspoon of ground black pepper, then set aside two tablespoons of the browned cabbage mix to sprinkle on top at the end.
Meanwhile, fill a large saucepan with two and a half litres of water, add 50g salt and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, drop in the remaining 300g raw cabbage and the pasta, and boil for a minute less than the packet instructions. Set a colander over a large bowl in the sink, then drain the cabbage and pasta, reserving 150ml of the cooking water.
Return the strained pasta and cabbage to the now dry saucepan, add the brown butter cabbage mixture and 100ml of the reserved pasta water, then use tongs to stir and toss until the sauce comes together and coats the pasta nicely; if need be, add a little more cooking water to help it emulsify.
Sprinkle the two tablespoons of reserved browned cabbage on top, dollop on the soured cream and serve straight from the pan.
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