Weekday Meals - in minutes

Weekday Meals in Minutes with Alison & Simon Holst

Life is so busy these days with work, school, after school activities, sport, family commitments…the list is endless.

And when you get home you want good nutritious food that tastes good and doesn’t take hours to prepare – no pressure!!!

Weekday Meals in Minutes, the brand new book from Alison & Simon Holst’s Everyday Easy series will solve that problem for you.

The food is mouth-watering and, even better, it can be prepared with little effort and with everyday ingredients. I can vouch for this when I made last night's dinner from a recipe withinthe new book. Recipe below.

The book even supplies you with a suggested list of the pantry basics so you are stocked ready to go.

And it also takes the hassle out of deciding what to cook with a menu planner for the week.

And individual the sections make it easy for you to find the type of meal you want to make – whether it be a refreshing salad or light wraps or a more a substantial curry or main meal with either fish, seafood or meat.

And there is also a vegetarian section.

It’s all here, Weekday Meals in Minutes takes the hassle out of everyday meals and with over 100 recipes you’ll always find something the family will love.

RRP: $34.99

ISBN: 978-0-908319-07-7
Published by: Hyndman Publishing


Reproduced with permission of the publisher. It was stunning !

Lemony Salmon Risotto

When it occurred to me that I could make a fish-based risotto using cubes of salmon fillet, with its beautiful colour and texture, the idea began to have a much greater appeal than it had when contemplating the ‘white on white’ of white fish with rice. I still like to keep the rice as pale as possible but love the contrast once the salmon, prawns and peas are added at the end.

 For 2–3 servings:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled and chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
3 cups warm chicken stock
zest of 1 lemon
½–1 cup hot water
¼ cup dry sherry
½–1 tsp salt

200–300g salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1cm cubes

½–1 cup cooked peeled prawns,
½ cup frozen peas
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1–2 Tbsp chopped basil, optional

 ➊ Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent any browning until the onion is soft. Tip the rice into the pan and stir until the grains are coated with oil, continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the rice begins to look milky white, about 2–3 minutes.

➋ Pour in half the warm stock and cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until the stock has almost been absorbed, then add the remaining stock and the lemon zest. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until this too has almost been absorbed (by this time the rice should have been cooking for about 15 minutes). Begin testing the rice, if it is not tender and is looking dry, add ½ a cup of water and cook for a few minutes longer then test again and repeat if necessary.
➌ As soon as the rice is tender right through, add the sherry, salt, salmon, prawns (if using) and peas. Stir gently and cook for 3–4 minutes longer until the salmon is just cooked through, then stir in the Parmesan.
➍ Serve garnished with some chopped basil and a green salad, with a glass of white wine on the side.