When You Only Have 30 Minutes

For a great cook or for someone that really loves cooking, within the time frame of 30 minutes, they can really completed few dishes.  But as for me, I don't think I can completed even with one dish.

Now, here is some ideas what you can cook within 30 minutes. Not only can you cook a memorable meal more or less from scratch in half an hour – you can even do a couple of courses. Three meal ideas when you only have 30 minutes.

Soup is easy to make and a hearty bowl of chunky soup, with delicious bread on the side can be a full meal on its own. One of the easiest and most foolproof is leek and potato soup. If you use a big saucepan you can even do it in one pot, with minimum washing-up afterwards.

Chop some leeks and a medium onion. Dice some potatoes into small cubes. Fling the lot into a pan with some butter, salt and black pepper and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes till the potatoes are soft. Add stock – a good quality vegetable or chicken stock cube is fine – and milk. Simmer gently for another 15 minutes.

All you need to do now is blend it to a purée. Add a splash of cream and garnish with parsley or chives. Eat with delicious crusty bread or crostini. If you make a larger quantity you can eat this soup cold too – as the timeless classic of French cuisine known as vichyssoise. Hot or cold, it’s tasty, filling and fast to prepare.

Ready-made pastry makes quick meals a cinch. For a speedy taste of the Mediterranean, try spanakopita in puff pastry. Preheat the oven to about 200ºC/400ºF. Boil some frozen chopped spinach and drain well. Add dill, parsley, seasoning and half and half feta cheese and ricotta to taste. Throw in some pine nuts. Line a greased metal dish with the puff pastry, spoon in the filling and cover with another layer of pastry.  Glaze the top with beaten egg if you like.

Shove the pie in the oven for twenty minutes and you have a little taste of heaven – in no time at all. While it’s baking, whip up some quick home-made tzatziki to go with it. Just mix sliced cucumber and yoghurt, with a dash of olive oil, lemon juice and some crushed garlic.

A universally popular fast favorite is pasta and fragrant basil pesto. With a good pre-made pesto from a good deli, all you have to do is boil your pasta and mix with the pesto. It’s so easy it hardly counts as cooking, but it’s a classic meal in fifteen minutes. While you wait for the pasta you’ll have time to put together a dessert too.

Chocolate mousse is a rich treat that is easy to make and doesn’t actually require cooking – so that’s time saved straight away. Melt dark chocolate in a pan. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Whip the whites till stiff. Stir the egg yolks into the warm chocolate. Fold in the egg whites and spoon into a dish or individual glasses. Give it five minutes or so in the freezer to cool fast and then leave it in the refrigerator a while longer. Decorate with cream and chocolate…

A flavorsome and imaginative meal can be made in no time if you have the right recipe and are organized enough to have the ingredients to hand. Test yourself – it really is possible and the results will thrill.

Worth trying. :)