One-pot meals?

I just read every entry in the ongoing "what do you eat for breakfast?" thread, one of the food-things that's been bugging me since I moved here (didn't really eat breakfast before). Reminded me of another thread I would really like to read on here...

What are some favorite one-pot meals on this forum? I'm looking for delicious recipes that are also ideally (very) easy to make. (I can dream, can't I?)

Many thanks...

PS. I'd most appreciate ovo-lacto-vegetarian-friendly recipes; if you have favorite meat recipes, can you suggest vegetarian substitutions?

PPS. Links to full recipes very very much appreciated . I know how to cook elaborate meals...it's the simple, quick ones that stump me .

Pot Noodles

If you're OK to exclude rice or pasta from the "one pot" then the list of things is huge. Espcecially if you can fry in your pot.

I cook mainly middle eastern or asian food, and steam my rice (either Thai jasmine rice or basmati) in the microwave in one of these:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

Simplicity itself.

So good, that I've even got people in Taiwan asking me to take them when I go; easier to clean than a rice cooker, quicker, and better for smaller (1-3 people) portions.

So, as the rice takes 15-20 minutes (10-15 cooking, 5 standing) my trick is to learn things I can cook in 15-20 minutes. Every stir fry falls in that catgegory. Can even knock up a simple Indian curry, but it tastes better the next day (I sometimes cook "out of sync" by cooking late at night something I'll have for lunch and dinner the next day).

Do you have favorite 15-20 minute recipes? The ones I tried were dismal failures....

Thanks!

A sure fire crowd pleaser.

Cook a pot of pasta, any kind, set aside to drain in the sink.

Use the same pot to fry up onions, carrots, celery (actually any veg fresh or frozen you have in your fridge). Add the usual olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, whatever spice you got. Remove cooked veg to a serving bowl or casserole dish. In the same pot, chuck in all bits of old cheese, add milk, flour, butter, cream, chicken stock, whatever needs to be gotten rid of. Add a dash of white wine and cook until it forms a creamy sauce. Dump pasta and veg in the pot, stir. Presto, finished. If you are ambitious, dump the whole thing into a casserole dish, grate cheese over the top, and bake in the oven at 220 for 30 minutes. This creation will feed you (and your family) for the next 3 days. Great way to get rid of all the odd bits of veg, cheese, meat (right, forgot, if you have any bits of meat just chop it up fine and chuck it in with the veg).

Most are relatively random.

In a pan, pour lots of olive oil. Add (yes, while the oil is still cold) finely chopped garlic, ginger and birdseye chillies. Turn on the heat. Just as the garlic is starting to go dark, push everything to the sides and add a decent fillet of salmon, skin side down. Fry without moving for 5 monutes. Cover the pan (if possible - else keep spooning hot oil on top) for 10 minutes. Pour over pasta (or toast if you have no pasta - been there).

Instead of salmon, use a duck breast (microwave for a few minutes first). Or scallops (turn over and continue frying instead of covering).

If you don't eat chillies, use spring onion. Or both (with the duck or scallops, not the salmon).

I sometimes add lime juice or cheat and use powdered citric acid (sparingly!).

Same method here Adrian - one pot dishes don't have recipes, they just happen - with what you've got lurking at the bottom of the fridge, etc. The best happen that way

A couple of favourites:
Lentil-Sausage stew - Serves 6, but I’ve frozen the extra portions to have for another meal.
90g chorizo sausage skinned, sliced into very thin rounds, all but a few of the rounds cut into strips
1 large onion, very finely chopped
300g green lentils
3/4 ltr unsalted brown or chicken stock, but you could use veg stock as well.
1 large carrot sliced into thin rounds
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil OR 2 tsp dried basil
Freshly ground pepper

Cook the chorizo rounds & strips in a large, heavy pan over medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Remove the rounds and set aside. Add the onion and continue cooking until onion is transparent - about 6 minutes.
Rinse the lentils under cold running water and add to pan along with stock and 3/4 ltr of water. Bring to a simmer and cook the mixture, covered, until the lentils are soft - about 35 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, basil and pepper, simmer covered until the carrot rounds are tender - 7 to 10 minutes. Garnish the stew with the reserved chorizo rounds and serve at once.

Another simple one is tuna & spaghetti. Simply cook the pasta and while it’s cooking, drain a small tin of tuna, put into a bowl and break down the chunks into smaller pieces. Add a little olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Add some black pepper and basil (fresh or dried) and then serve the drained pasta with the tuna mix on top.

Lentils, the Swabian way:

http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/42795...eneintopf.html

Not for everybody, but a great meal on a cold day.

Best served with self-made Spätzle

I make a wicked Clean-Out-The-Fridge soup.

The day before, use whatever meat you have to make a stock, whatever veggies are on hand, whatever herbs are left in the garden, any bean/lentils lurking in the cupboard, and some kind of starch, be it potatoes, rice, barley, etc you might have. Spice to suit your mood.

If you don't have meat to make a stock, a prepared stock will do. But homemade tastes better.

Yesterday's version was a sort of mexican chicken, made with the carcass and left over bits of Sunday's roast chicken:

The day before, plunk the chicken carcass in the slow cooker, with a bit of pressed garlic, bay leaf, onion and perhaps some celery tops if you have them, water to cover. Cook all day. Let cool overnight, skim off the solid fat that has formed at the top. You now have a rich chicken broth. The great thing about a slow cooker is that you can go about your day while it cooks, no need to watch.

Back in the slow cooker, add another garlic clove, potatoes, tomatoes (if you have end of season green tomatoes left in the garden these are particularly good) celery or celery root. Add left over dry white wine if you have it. Let cook a few hours. Then add hot chiles, carrots and the left over roast chicken. And anything else that strikes your fancy. Season with your favorite mexican spices (I use penzey's adobo and/or fajita, and some extra mexican oregano). Cook until done. At the end, toss in some zuchinni.

Mighty good.

One pot slow-cooker soups are a great way to use up anything left over.

I seem to have too many peppers on hand, so tomorrow I'll probably do roasted red pepper soup (roasted peppers, shredded potato, leeks in a chicken broth - add cream if you fancy). Or maybe tomato... or minestrone...

Serve with fresh bread, a salad, maybe a cheese plate - and a nice bottle of wine.

Do you have a specific place to buy this rice/whatever microwave cooker here in Switzerland? Googling isn't sometimes as smooth as one would like...

I get them (I've bought a few over the years, as often people see me use it and want one) from Amazon or Lakeland. They seem to bounce up and down in price, but they're always under £10.

Unfortunately, currently unavailable:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microwise-Mu.../dp/B000TAR8MY

(model no MWST0022)

How about a couscous? very easy and quick to make:

Fry emince de pork or beef with oignons

Add sliced carrots and courgettes (zucchinis), celeri and chick peas

Add oxo cub of vegetables

Leave it to cook slowly until meat and vegs are tender

In the meantime, put some couscous in a bowl, add 1tbs of olive oil and Add some hot water, cover it and leave it absorb for 5/7 min

Serve! If you prefer it a bit spicy, add some Harrissa hmmm! I think you can find it in Migros or Globus for sure.

Has anybody heard of a crockpot ?

Is that what you mean?

Rice + layer of tenderstem Broccoli/fried tofu/whatever you like + Teriyaki sauce

- Cook rice in rice-cooker

- boil/fry broccoli/tofu etc.

- 'assemble'

- put Teriyaki sauce on top

takes about 20 min.

Also known as a slow-cooker. These are great (especially for making meat really tender). I use mine all the time. Migros sells a good one (their brand) for only about 30 CHF. It has a removable inner pot that washes easily.

Not specific recipes, but I think that Nigel Slater is a bit of a one-pot, fast food genius, his books inspired my love of home cooking. Buying any one of his books will yield many ideas, but this one is especially good

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Real-Fast-Fo...3881018&sr=1-3

In fact, if you buy it and hate it, i'll refund your money

(He's a bit of a dairy fan, but usually suggests alternatives too)

Sweet potato soup. My recipe is almost identical to this one:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-p...up/detail.aspx

Lentils and rice with fried onion : I won't give exact measurements since I don't know how many you are cooking for

Using a medium sized pot:

Slice a large onion into rings. In ~ 40g butter fry onion until caramelized (~10 minutes.) Set onions aside in a bowl.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in your pot. Add a chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add lentils with water and cumin. Cook until tender. Add rice and extra water. Cook until rice and lentils are soft. Add onions back to pot and let sit 5 minutes with top on.

I also make a pasta/veg combo almost exactly as Karl mentioned above. It's a perfect meal on those days you want a nice meal but want it fast. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes to make.

a quick stir fry noodles

stir fry almost any sorts of veggies from your fridge, fry some eggs, meat or toufu if you want some protein. season it with soya source (dark and light) and finally add some water soaked rice noodles.

done. enjoy.