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MAYBE YOU’RE ABOUT to get stuck into series seven of Call The Midwife, or love admiring the ingenuity of the folk on Tiny House Nation. Or maybe you’re watching Dirty Dancing on repeat (just me?).
Whatever the plans, there’s a certain style of dinner I’d suggest adding to your kitchen arsenal as the evenings draw in: a one-bowl wonder of a meal that lets you focus on the screen at hand.
When you’re Netflixing – I’m sure it’s a verb by now – you’re looking for something that’s quick and easy to prep, offers good flavour, gives bang for your buck and can be eaten with just one hand.
These are all go-tos in my house, and each recipe serves four…
1. Macaroni cheese
A comfort food classic, you can’t beat a steaming bowlful of mac and cheese – especially when it’s made with just a few ingredients that you can pick up at any corner shop. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook 400g macaroni until al dente, just one minute below the package directions. Drain in a colander, retaining a cup of the cooking water. Put the pot back on a low heat. Add 250ml cream and 250g grated mature cheddar cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Season aggressively with salt and black pepper, stir in pasta and mix well, adding as much of the reserved cooking water as needed for your desired consistency.
2. Beef and broccoli stir-fry
If you feel able to deal with chopsticks, this is a speedy supper that comes together in minutes. In a bowl, mix together sauce ingredients: 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok or large pan over a high heat. Add 400g thinly sliced beef, fry for 3-4 minutes until browned. Tip in 2 cloves thinly sliced garlic, 1 finely sliced red chilli and 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, stir well, add 250g finely chopped broccoli and fry for another 3 minutes. Pour over the sauce, and simmer until everything is coated in a sticky sauce. Serve with noodles, lime wedges and chopped, roasted peanuts.
3. Root veg wedges and hummus
The trick here is the contrast. The wedges are hot and spicy, crispy on the outside and fluffy within, and the hummus should be fridge cold. This is, hands down, my favourite meal to have while curled up on the couch. Preheat oven to 200C (180C). Scrub, but don’t peel, 500g potatoes. Cut into wedges and tip on to a large roasting tray. Peel 500g of mixed root veg (beetroot, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes), cut into wedges and add to the tray. Toss with 4 tablespoons olive oil and a generous amount of your favourite spice blend. Bake for 35-40 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden. Serve with a generous dollop of cold hummus. You might not even need a fork.
4. Martha Stewart’s one-pot pasta (with a Donal Skehan twist)
Put pasta, veg and liquid into a pan – cook, stir, season, serve. This is an undeniably genius recipe from Donal Skehan, inspired by the one and only Martha. You might want to switch out the spaghetti for penne, or something a little more fork friendly, but otherwise it’s an instant classic.
5. Lamb and feta-stuffed pita pockets
Don’t underestimate the power of a good sandwich, especially one that’s been baked in the oven. I use a Moroccan spice blend called ras el hanout in this dish but you can substitute garam masala (or even a pinch of ground coriander, according to The Stone Soup).
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) Thoroughly mix 500g minced lamb with 100g crumbled feta, 1 finely chopped onion, 2 finely chopped cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons ras el hanout, a handful of chopped parsley and the juice of half a lemon. Season well. Slice 4 large pita breads open and divide the mixture between them, flattening it to cover the whole surface. Close the pitas. Brush both sides of the sandwich with a little olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes until the bread is toasted and the meat cooked through. Cut into wedges to serve.
6. Slow cooker black beans
If you have – or can get your hands on – a slow cooker, then you can come home to a pot of ready-to-go, gently spiced black beans that are perfect for serving over rice, no knife required. This recipe makes masses but the beans freeze well. Stick half in the freezer for next week’s movie night. Serve with rice, a dollop of yogurt, fresh coriander and thinly sliced fresh chilli. Find my own recipe in full here.
7. Brown butter parmesan popcorn
When all is said and done, a bowl of truly great popcorn can stand in for dinner at any time. Over a medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large, deep saucepan. Add 100g popcorn kernels and mix well. Cook, shaking occasionally, until the first kernel pops. Clamp on the lid, turn the heat to high and shake constantly until the popping stops. Do not walk away, you will regret it! Tip into a large bowl and wipe the pan out with kitchen paper. Add 50g butter to the hot pan and replace on the heat until it starts to brown. Sprinkle in ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, pour over the popcorn and mix well. Grate over plenty of parmesan and toss again. Dinner is served.
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Congratulations and a fantastic idea.
I only wish this was around when I was in school.
I spent years typing in basic code from computer weekly for simple games, and there was nobody else doing it at the time and I dropped it after school. Would have taken a different path if this had been around.
Well done, hobby today, career tomorrow.
perhaps something like this could be done for adults too? i know id be interested
@Abi, I just did a crash course in scratch programming, you can download it free from scratch.mit.edu, check out a few videos on how to do it and you can look at what others have made and how they made it, and you can copy and evolve their code, ideas etc.. works a bit like Lego, the more you play with it the better you get. It’s quite basic at the start but you can do some cool stuff once you get good
Fair f*cks to him. Also, there’s Enda Kenny, as usual embarrassing everyone like your cheesy Dad at Christmas dinner.
Well done James. I’ll be bringing my young fella along to the cork dojo in September. he’s only 7 but already made a simple game and a calculator in Python :)
Well done, I’m firmly convinced everyone has their ‘speciality’, be that an academic thing, a caring thing, or an arty thing, etc…all should be applauded in equal measure, all are of equal importance, in the greater scheme of things. This is a superb idea, fair fu.ks to you, you’ll go far and so you should’
A simple solution to a complex problem. Brilliant. Pity this couldn’t be encompassed in the schools curriculum and genuinely teach this stuff to the kids a few times a week, not for an hour a week by someone who’s a few years from retirement and afraid of computers. He’s right, he and others like him are filling a void in our educational system that has been there for years. The trouble is now that he’s doing it, the void will still be left there.
Great idea, we’ll done James.
Great success story congratulations James . Great to see someone who enjoys teaching and passing on a skill that could be life changing for some of the children .maybe the next bill gates is out there amongst them. Continued success for the future
That picture was taken at a special sitting of the CoderDojo which took place in the Dail. We are the first country to hold a “class” in their parliament buildings as far as I gather. CoderDojo is amazing and it’s scary how much some the kids know at them. God help the lecturers in third level when the kids eventually meet them.
Would love to be able to attend something like this. Shame I’m well out of school :(
absolutely brilliant idea and badly needed in Ireland. got to say the pic of cash-in-kenny made me sick because this stuff should be part of the everyday curriculum imo. govt are totally dragging their feet on this to the detriment of Ireland.
I think dojo came from the Japanese meaning of “place to learn” and then coder as in they are training to become “Ninja” Coders. I would imagine it was an interesting process picking that name.
I agree this is a great idea. I think it should be kept outside the education system and sponsored/funded like a charity. This will allow the people running it full freedom to let it develop in any direction it wants. I love the idea that google has given it a facility to use. The kick a kid must get out of walking into that building like that. It gives it a real buzz feeling.
I never thought of it that way, I guess you have a point there Robert, I still think if these folks are giving up their time to fill a void in our education system, the least the state can do is help them, maybe with equipment or premises.
I have to ask, where did you get the name CoderDojo from?
I cannot understand why you got a single down vote, why would people be against such an overwhelmingly positive idea? Does anybody stand to lose anything?
people scrolling down on mobile devices tapping the thumbs up/down by accident, I suspect as much as 50% of the ups and down’s here are unintentional.
Such an uplifting story. Well done and may you continue to grow.
This is a great idea, and it has really taken off. Well done James!
Well done. A brilliant idea.
Would work for all ages
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