4 Delicious one-pan dinners from Rukmini Iyer

Washing up mounds of saucepans after a meal can put a real dampener on the delicious home cooked dinner you just whipped up for your family, so it’s no wonder one-pan dinners are becoming so popular. 

We enlisted the help of talented food stylist and author of ‘The Roasting Tin’ Rukmini Iyer to reveal a few of her favourite one dish dinners, as well as sharing some from her newly released vegan and vegetarian cookbook ‘The Green Roasting Tin’.

 

SPICY CHIPOTLE CHICKEN WINGS WITH SWEET POTATO WEDGES, CORIANDER AND LIME YOGHURT

For a summery, outdoor lunch or match-night snack, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than these sticky, spicy chicken wings. Serve with a glass of something chilled.

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

800g free-range chicken wings

800g sweet potatoes, peeled

and cut into 2½ cm wedges

2 teaspoons chipotle

chilli flakes

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt

½ a lime, zest and juice

4–5 tablespoons Greek yogurt

A handful of fresh coriander

leaves, chopped

½ a lime, zest and juice

fresh coriander leaves and lime

wedges, to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C/gas 3. Pop the chicken wings and sweet potato wedges into a large roasting tin. Mix together the chipotle flakes, smoked paprika, dark brown sugar, olive oil, 2 teaspoons of sea salt and the lime zest and juice.
2. Pour the chipotle mixture over the chicken and potatoes, and mix well with your hands to coat evenly. Transfer to the oven and roast for 40 minutes.
3. Turn the heat up to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6 and roast for a further 20 minutes, to crisp up the chicken skin.
4. Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, chopped coriander, lime zest and juiceand a pinch of sea salt, and set aside.
5. Sprinkle the crispy chicken wings and wedges with the coriander leaves, and serve with lime wedges and the yogurt dip alongside.

 

 

STEAM-ROASTED SALMON & BROCCOLI WITH LIME, GINGER, GARLIC & CHILLI

I could eat this punchy dressing – packed with fish sauce, peanuts, lime and coriander – slathered over almost anything. It works particularly well to cut through the rich salmon, while the peanuts provide wonderful texture. While the salmon and broccoli cook, you can get on with the light chopping and stirring to put the dressing together. If cooking for children, leave out the chilli and add it to your portion.

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

400g broccoli,

cut into small florets

2 cloves of garlic, grated

2 tablespoons sesame/

vegetable oil

4 salmon fillets

(approx. 800g total)

2 spring onions,

finely chopped

2½ cm ginger, grated

1 red chilli, finely sliced

2 tablespoons fish sauce

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 limes, zest and juice

30g fresh coriander,

finely chopped

55g peanuts,

roughly chopped

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/ gas 6. Place the broccoli florets in a large roasting tin, scatter over the grated garlic, sprinkle over the oil and toss well to mix.
2. Pop the salmon fillets into the roasting tin along with the broccoli, cover the tin tightly with foil, then transfer to the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through to your liking.
3. Meanwhile, mix together the spring onions, ginger, chilli, fish sauce, vegetable oil, lime zest and juice, coriander and peanuts. Taste and adjust the levels of fish sauce and lime juice as you wish.
4. Remove the cooked salmon and broccoli from the oven and generously coat the salmon with dressing. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the broccoli, and serve immediately.

 

 

GADO GADO: INDONESIAN SALAD WITH WARM POTATOES, GREEN BEANS, BEANSPROUTS & PEANUT-COCONUT DRESSING

This is probably my favourite dish in the book – roast potatoes with a spicy peanut dressing and green veg – what’s not to like? It’s been a hit with all my recipe testers too – a potato salad on acid.

Serves: 2

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

1kg Charlotte potatoes, halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

240g green beans

300g beansprouts

A handful of fresh coriander, to serve

DRESSING

50g crunchy peanut butter

80ml coconut milk

30ml lime juice

1½ tablespoons soy sauce

1 fresh red chilli, grated

2.5cm ginger, grated

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/ gas 6.
2. Mix the potatoes in a roasting tin with the oil and salt, then transfer to the oven and cook for 40 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing. Depending on your brand of peanut butter, you may need to add a little more coconut milk so you have a thick, spoonable dressing consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
4. Once the potatoes have had 40 minutes, add the green beans and beansprouts. Add a splash more oil if needed, then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the potatoes and vegetables with the coriander and serve warm or at room temperature, with the dressing alongside.

Note: Check the seasoning of the dressing by putting a little bit on a cooked potato, and tasting. Add more soy sauce to the rest of the dressing as needed.

 

 

CRISP CAULIFLOWER STEAKS WITH HARISSA & GOAT’S CHEESE

This is one of the most visually beautiful dishes in the book, and tastes as good as it looks. Serve with Greek yogurt and some cous cous on the side.

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 25–30 minutes

1 very large cauliflower

1 red onion, quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 teaspoons harissa

125g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled

30g pine nuts, roughly chopped

20g panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

TO SERVE:

Couscous

Greek yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Remove the greens from the cauliflower and pop them into the roasting tin along with the red onion. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt.
2. Slice the cauliflower from top to bottom into four thick steaks and lay these in the tin along with the greens and red onion.
3. Rub each steak on both sides with ½ teaspoon of harissa. Season with sea salt, then press the goat’s cheese on to each steak.
4. Mix the pine nuts, panko breadcrumbs and parsley with a pinch of sea salt, then scatter a quarter of this over each cauliflower steak, pressing down lightly.

METHOD:

Drizzle with olive oil, then transfer to the oven to roast for 25–30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the cauliflower is just cooked through.

Serve the steaks with cous cous and Greek yogurt, with the crispy leaves and onions alongside.

ALL photos copyright David Loftus, text Hannah Hargrave, recipes copyright Rukmini Iyer – we thoroughly recommend her latest cookbook and will be surprised if you find one recipe in it that you don’t enjoy!