Dinner ideas
5 summer dinners for green beans
Use green beans as the vegetable that carries dinner: blister them with tomatoes, fold them through noodles, pair them with eggs or build a warm white-bean skillet.
Under 30 minutes
41 pages tagged under 30 minutes.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with crispy chickpeas
Sweet late-summer produce with chickpeas roasted until their edges crackle. The salad stays fresh while the chickpeas bring the substance.
Traybakes
Sheet-pan salmon with peppers and capers
The peppers get a fifteen-minute head start. Put them in at the same time as the fish and one of them will be wrong.
Cooking technique
Tofu sauces that stay crisp
Crisp tofu lasts longer when the sauce is thick, added late or served underneath. Build contrast with cucumber, lemon, tahini or chilli oil at the table.
Salads & sides
Two-ingredient yogurt flatbread
No yeast, no proving, no oven. Flour and yogurt in a bowl, and hot bread twenty minutes later.
Weeknight dinners
Zucchini fritters that actually hold together
Grated zucchini holds an astonishing amount of water. Get it out and you have crisp fritters; leave it in and you have green pancakes.
Cooking technique
Why courgettes turn watery in a pan
A watery courgette pan is usually a heat and spacing problem, not a bad vegetable. Dry the cut surface, use a wide pan and wait before turning.
Dinner ideas
5 easy dinners to make with passata
Passata can become a smooth sauce, a poaching base or a quick soup. These five dinners use one carton and ordinary cupboard ingredients.
Salads & sides
Peach and tomato panzanella with chilli oil
Chilli oil gives the sweet fruit a savoury edge, while toasted bread catches every drop of tomato and lemon juice.
Salads & sides
Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with toasted seeds
Toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds add a second kind of crunch to the peanuts without making the salad heavy.
Cooking technique
Cornstarch on tofu: how much coating is enough
A thin, even dusting of cornstarch gives tofu a crisp shell. Too much leaves powdery patches and makes the coating fall off in the pan.
Cooking technique
How to get tofu crispy without deep-frying
Crispy tofu comes from removing surface water, using a thin starch coating and leaving gaps in the pan. Deep-frying is optional, not the requirement.
Salads & sides
Zucchini ribbon salad with lemon
Raw zucchini is better than its reputation, but only if you shave it thin and give the salt ten minutes to work.
Dinner ideas
5 weeknight dinners to make with tinned tomatoes
One tin of tomatoes can take dinner in five different directions. These are the ones I use when the cupboard is fuller than the fridge.
Cooking technique
Why tofu sticks to the pan and how to stop it
Sticking usually comes from wet tofu, a cool pan, early turning or a thin pan surface. Fix the sequence and the crust releases on its own.
Salads & sides
Peach and tomato panzanella with yogurt
Thick yogurt turns the tomato juices into a cool, creamy dressing for crisp bread, ripe peaches and fresh herbs.
Salads & sides
Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with warm flatbread
Warm flatbread turns a crunchy cucumber salad into dinner, with every piece useful for scooping up the lemony dressing.
Cooking technique
How to turn leftover rice into a crispy tofu bowl
Leftover rice gives a tofu bowl a head start. Warm the grains separately, crisp the tofu in a clear skillet and add cucumber after the heat is off.
Storage and keeping
How to keep cucumber crisp in a tofu bowl
Cucumber stays crisp when it is cut with purpose, kept cold and dressed late. Treat it as a fresh counterpoint, not another pan ingredient.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with lemon and herbs
Corn, tomatoes and peaches brought together by lemon, olive oil and a handful of herbs. The corn gets charred; everything else stays fresh.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with pickled onions
Pickle the onions while the tofu presses, then keep their brine away from the crust until the bowls are ready.
Salads & sides
Peach and tomato panzanella with tahini dressing
Lemony tahini gives the juicy fruit a creamy savoury backdrop and turns this bread salad into a more filling side.
Salads & sides
Peach and tomato panzanella with toasted seeds
A handful of toasted seeds gives juicy peaches and tomatoes the contrast they need, alongside crisp country bread.
Salads & sides
Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with yogurt
Cool Greek yogurt makes the lemony cucumber feel creamy without taking away the peanuts or the snap.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with warm flatbread
Warm the flatbread at the end and use it to scoop up crisp tofu, cucumber and the lemony soy dressing.
Salads & sides
Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with tahini dressing
Lemon tahini gives smashed cucumber enough richness to stand beside bread or become lunch on its own.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with chilli oil
Chilli oil gives ripe peaches and tomatoes a sharp edge, while charred corn adds the savoury part. Keep the oil warm, not smoking.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber for a one-pan dinner
Cook the rice first, push it aside, then crisp the tofu in the same pan so the grains pick up the soy glaze.
Salads & sides
Peach and tomato panzanella with lemon and herbs
Juicy peaches and tomatoes soak into crisp bread while lemon, basil and red onion keep the bowl sharp.
Salads & sides
Peach and tomato panzanella with warm flatbread
A juicy peach and tomato panzanella with toasted bread, plus warm flatbread for scooping up every last drop.
Salads & sides
Smashed cucumber and peanut salad with lemon and herbs
Smashed cucumber catches the lemon dressing in its cracks, while peanuts and herbs keep every bite crunchy and bright.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with yogurt
Keep the yogurt thick and cold, then spoon it beneath the tofu so the crust stays crisp against a cool cucumber salad.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with tahini dressing
The smoky sweetness of corn and peach against a lemon tahini dressing. Creamy without dairy and substantial enough beside flatbread.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with toasted seeds
A simple corn, tomato and peach salad with two kinds of toasted seeds for crunch. The seeds are seasoned while warm so they taste of more than oil.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with chilli oil
Keep the chilli oil off the skillet so it stays fragrant, then spoon it over the tofu and cucumber at the table.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with crispy beans
Brown the tofu and beans separately so the beans dry out instead of steaming in the tofu's moisture.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with warm flatbread
Warm flatbread turns the lemony tomato and peach juices into part of the meal. Char the corn, tear the bread and let everyone build a bite.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with lemon and herbs
Press the tofu dry, leave it alone in the pan and finish it with lemon so the crisp coating survives the fresh cucumber.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with toasted seeds
Toast the seeds first and keep them dry, then use them to finish the tofu and cucumber bowl after the soy glaze.
Salads & sides
Charred corn, tomato and peach salad with yogurt
Lemony Greek yogurt turns the juices from corn, tomatoes and peaches into a cool sauce. Spoon the salad over it so the yogurt stays distinct.
Weeknight dinners
Crispy tofu with cucumber with tahini dressing
Keep the tahini dressing loose and cold, then spoon it around the tofu instead of softening the crisp coating.