An easy five-day family meal plan

Emily Weinstein is having a sauce moment. In this week’s roundup we’ve got fish-sauce butter with chicken, and a tahini dressing on a roast carrot salad, among other delights you’ll definitely want on the menu

From pan to plate: Any white fish will work in this easy, lovely one-pan meal (Getty/iStock)

I think I am having a sauce moment with our newest recipes. Last night, I made Eric Kim’s chicken with fish-sauce butter. Then there is Hetty McKinnon’s tahini sauce with her roasted carrot salad.

They can be paired with chicken, tofu, grains, fish, vegetables, eggs and/or steak. Protein plus sauce is a meal format I love – it’s remarkably flexible in every way and a gift to cooks who just want to make something easy, then douse it with flavour.

Roasted chicken with fish-sauce butter

Extremely delicious and not much work either (Getty/iStock)

This recipe from Eric Kim is extremely delicious and not much work. He takes baking tray chicken, toasts croutons in the schmaltz and – this is the brilliant moment – serves it with a delicious covering of fish sauce, brown sugar, lemon and butter. You could skip the croutons if you wanted, but they add a fun crunch.

Makes: 4 servings

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 900g)

Salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

340g bread, crusts removed, bread torn into bite-size pieces (see tip below)

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, kept whole

Coriander leaves with tender stems, for serving

Method

1. Heat oven to 230C. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper (the fish-sauce butter is plenty salty, so don’t overdo the salt here). Arrange the chicken skin-side up on a baking tray and drizzle the oil over the chicken skin, coating it evenly. Roast for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is light gold and the tray is pooling with hot, rendered chicken fat.

2. Take the tray out of the oven, scatter the bread around the chicken and toss gently to coat in the chicken fat. Place the tray back in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes until the chicken is golden, crispy and sizzling (you’ll hear it).

3. While the chicken roasts, combine the brown sugar, fish sauce and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, occasionally swirling the pan or stirring the sauce with a wooden spoon, until bubbling vigorously and the mixture has reduced by about half. The next part is fun: turn off the heat and add the butter, constantly swirling the pan or stirring with a wooden spoon, until all of the butter has melted and is incorporated into the fish sauce mixture.

4. To serve, scatter the coriander all over the chicken and bread and spoon some of the fish-sauce butter over each chicken thigh, reserving some to add to each plate for dipping the chicken and croutons while eating (which is divine).

Tip: Many breads will work here, especially stale loaves that you’re trying to use up. Crusty sourdough lends a pleasurable tang, while chewy, tender milk bread tastes comfortingly sweet.

Read more:

• Seven days’ worth of meat-free dishes to get you through National Vegetarian Week
• What I learnt from a year of cooking Korean food with my mother
• Raymond Blanc: ‘Hospital food was very good – especially the desserts’

Baked spanakopita pasta with greens and feta

An inspired tribute to spanakopita (Getty/iStock)

Ali Slagle bakes pasta with mozzarella, feta, a creamy sauce and a whole lot of greens, in an inspired tribute to spanakopita, the Greek spinach pie. Highly recommended, especially if you love the combination of dill and feta.

Makes: 4 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Salt and black pepper

30g chopped spinach, Swiss chard or other mild greens (tough stems removed)

25g chopped rocket, watercress or other peppery greens

25g chopped fresh dill or parsley leaves and tender stems, or a combination

6 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced, whites and dark green parts separated

450g tubular or curvy pasta, such as rigatoni or fusilli

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

225g cream cheese, cut into 1.3cm cubes

113g mozzarella, grated

113g crumbled feta

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Heat the oven to 230C.

2. In a 2.8L/22cm-by-33cm baking dish, toss the chopped spinach, rocket, herbs and spring onion greens with 2 teaspoons of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Squeeze the mixture with your hands to wilt, then set aside.

3. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until 2 minutes shy of al dente; reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain pasta and set aside. Return the pot to the stove.

4. Melt the butter in the pot over a medium heat. Add the spring onion whites, garlic and a pinch of salt, and sauté until softened, in 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese and pasta water and stir until smooth. Stir in the wilted greens, half the mozzarella and half the feta until combined. Stir in the pasta until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

5. Transfer the pasta to the baking dish, then top with the remaining mozzarella and feta. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened and turned bubbly and the top has browned in spots. If you like a crisper top, broil for a few minutes more.

Seared prawns with chard, chillies and ginger

Fast to cook and humming with flavour (Getty/iStock)

Fast to cook and humming with flavour, this recipe from Melissa Clark is essentially a stir-fry, and a good reason to keep frozen prawns on hand. They cook up as plump and juicy as fresh ones – so long as you defrost them properly.

Makes: 4 servings

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

680g cleaned large prawns

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more for seasoning the shrimp

2 bunches red or rainbow chard, rinsed (about 450g)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 hot chilli, seeded if desired and thinly sliced

1 long mild or sweet chilli, thinly sliced

1 shallot, chopped

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, to taste

60g coriander leaves

Method

1. Season prawns generously with salt. Wash and trim chard, thinly slicing the stems.

2. In a large frying pan over a medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil, then add prawns and sear until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer prawns to a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan, let heat for a few seconds, then add the garlic, chilli peppers, shallot and ginger and sauté for about 3 minutes, until slightly browned. Stir in sugar, pepper and salt and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in chard stems and sauté until they start to soften, after about 2 minutes.

3. Add the greens to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of water and immediately cover the pan. Keep it covered for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the greens to wilt. Once the greens have cooked down, remove the lid and continue cooking for a few more minutes to allow the water to evaporate. Add the prawns and any liquid accumulated on the plate and cook for about 1 minute longer, until the prawns are heated through. Drizzle with the sherry vinegar and gently toss to coat. Serve hot, garnished with the coriander.

One-pan roasted fish with cherry tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes sweeten this dish (Getty/iStock)

I love a cherry tomato that has collapsed and sweetened in the pan. Lidey Heuck roasts them with garlic, shallots, sherry vinegar and a drizzle of honey, and pairs them with fish fillets for an easy, lovely meal.

Makes: 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

300g cherry tomatoes, halved

80g thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)

2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste

4 (170g) skin-on mild white fish fillets, such as cod or halibut

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (from about ½ lemon)

Chopped fresh basil, for serving

Chopped fresh mint, for serving

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C. Place the tomatoes, shallots and garlic in a 22cm-by-33cm nonreactive baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Pour over the tomatoes and toss to combine. Roast for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes have collapsed and the shallots are translucent.

2. While the tomatoes roast, pat the fish dry with paper towels, brush all over with olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Toss the tomatoes, move them to the sides of the dish and place the fish fillets, evenly spaced, in the centre. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.

4. Sprinkle the entire dish with the lemon zest, basil and mint. Serve the fish with the tomatoes, spooning any remaining juices on top.

Warm roasted carrot and barley salad

Carrots are the base for this filling meal (Getty/iStock)

In the Before Times, when people came over for dinner, I often roasted carrots, allowing them to nearly blacken in the oven; I served them on a platter with swoops of seasoned yogurt and piles of herbs. Hetty McKinnon’s new recipe makes those carrots the base of a filling meal, pairing them with barley, a rich tahini dressing and almonds for crunch. I can’t wait to try this one.

Makes: 6 servings

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup pearled barley

Salt and black pepper

900g carrots, washed, trimmed and cut into 7.5cm-long, 1.3cm-wide batons

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons runny honey, such as clover honey

½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest (from ½ lemon)

25g rocket

A handful of parsley

24g cup toasted sliced almonds

For the spiced tahini:

65g tahini

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from ½ lemon)

1 teaspoon ras el hanout

1 small garlic clove, grated

Method

1. Heat oven to 220C and place a rack on the lowest shelf. In a medium saucepan, combine the barley with 4 cups of water; season with ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes until tender. If the barley hasn’t absorbed all of the water, drain off the excess.

2. Meanwhile, place the carrots on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat, spreading into an even layer. Season with salt and pepper. Place on the bottom oven rack and roast for about 15 minutes until tender and starting to turn golden. Remove from the oven, toss and return to the oven for 5 to 7 minutes until completely tender.

3. While the carrots roast, make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, ras el hanout, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is smooth and has a pourable consistency.

4. When the carrots are ready, remove them from the oven, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with lemon zest. Season with a pinch of salt and toss to coat.

5. In a serving bowl, combine the carrots with the barley, rocket and parsley. Drizzle with the spiced tahini and sprinkle with almonds.

© The New York Times