Here is a healthy, clean meal that is plant-based, low calorie, low fat– and wonderfully hardy and tasty. In about 15 minutes of prep time and half an hour of unattended cooking, you can have this wholesome meal on the table.We serve it with “grilled” pita (pita we toast on the oven rack, or if the grill pan is handy, on that) and a crisp green salad– and feel as satisfied by the meal as we feel righteous about starting the new year off on a healthful note. And by the way– you’ll only have one pot to clean at the end of the night.
That one-pan-to-wash idea is part of the premise behind our upcoming book, Hero Dinners: Complete One-Pan Meals that Save the Day. (We also wanted to create recipes that do away with the need to have to figure out what side dishes to serve and how to time them, so both are incorporated into every recipe.) For the book, David and I created 100 meals that are made entirely on just one sheet pan or in one skillet. Seriously, each recipe makes a well-balanced meal with protein, vegetable and grain (usually both). Some of the recipes can be on the table in under 30 minutes while others take longer, but what they all have in common is that you end up with a complete, wholesome meal and only one pan to wash.
We’ve got dinners for adventurous eaters (Harissa Chicken with Cauliflower, Grapes and Quinoa), carb-cravers (Skillet Lasagna with Caramelized Onions and Spinach), kids (Peanut Coconut Noodles with Tofu, Snow Peas and Carrots), meat lovers (Rib Eye Steaks with Paprika Potatoes and Asparagus), do-ahead hosts (Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks with Couscous), fish lovers like me (don’t miss the super simple Orange and Herb Roasted Branzino with Tomato, Potato and Fennel Tian), budget-conscious cooks (the astounding Spanish Chuck Eye with Sweet Onion, Olive and Roast Pepper Topping, Green Beans and Almond-Parsley Rice)…and so much more.
We’ve been working on the book for–well, it seems like forever. We developed and cross-tested the recipes a gazillion times to be sure that they turn out right when you make them– and to that end, we also included a photograph for every single one, because we know that helps. Hero Dinners is also full of cooking, ingredient, shopping and storage tips, and lots of neat tricks for doing unexpected things like cooking rice and quinoa in a sheet pan. We really do believe these recipes, our book, and your meals are all heroes that swoop in and save the day. Hero Dinners will be officially out on April 2nd, but please send the publisher the message that this book is going to sell like hot cakes and pre-order yours now.
