Your weeknight meals made easy: a crisp tomato-and-bread salad boosted with salty anchovies and tangy capers, a vibrant bowl of salmon, zucchini, olives, and lemony couscous that refreshes the weeknight routine, and sticky chicken paired with zesty coconut-lime rice for a fragrant, wholesome hit. Fresh, comforting, and satisfying without the stress.
Summer-in-a-bowl with serious personality: crisp bread, ripe tomatoes, and a warm anchovy oil that does all the heavy lifting. Minimal effort, maximum payoff. Light, fresh, and very weeknight-friendly, built from everyday ingredients that somehow taste like a mini escape.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped (about 20g)
- 110 ml olive oil
- 100g sourdough, crusts left on, sliced 2 cm thick, lightly toasted, then cut into 4 cm chunks
- 500g ripe tomatoes, cut into 4 cm chunks
- 1 lemon: finely grate the zest to get 1 tsp, then juice to get 2 tsp
- 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
- 5g parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 5g basil leaves, finely chopped, plus a few extra leaves to serve
- 1/2 tsp chilli flake (optional)
- Sea salt flakes
Method
Get the anchovy oil going.
Add the garlic, anchovies and olive oil to a medium saucepan with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Place over low heat and gently warm for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything softens and melts together. Keep the heat low—you want warmth, not sizzling. If it starts to bubble, take it off the heat to cool slightly before continuing.
Coat the bread.
Take the pan off the heat and add the toasted sourdough chunks straight into the warm oil. Toss until every piece is glossy and coated. Lift the bread out into a large bowl, leaving the flavoured oil behind in the pan.
Prep the tomatoes.
In a separate bowl, mix the tomatoes with the lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, parsley and basil. Season lightly.
Finish & serve.
Add the tomato mixture to the bowl of bread and gently toss so the juices soak in without crushing the tomatoes. Transfer to a serving platter and spoon over the remaining anchovy–garlic oil. Finish with chilli flakes if using and extra basil leaves if you like.
Credits: Recipe adapted from ottolenghi.co.uk
Everything you need for a flavour-packed bowl comes together in minutes: soft zucchini, bright tomatoes, briny olives and perfectly tender salmon, all spooned over lemony couscous. Fresh, feel-good, and exactly the sort of bowl that resets the day in the best possible way.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 150g couscous
- Olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 2 x 120g salmon fillets, skin on
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 large zucchini
- 10 Kalamata olives (stone in)
- 400g can of whole tomatoes
- 10g fresh parsley
Method
Prep the couscous.
Pop the couscous into a large bowl and just cover with boiling water. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil, the zest of half a lemon, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with a plate and set aside to steam.
Salmon time.
Heat a dry non-stick pan over medium heat. Lay the salmon in skin-side down and cook for 2 minutes. Flip, then gently peel off the skin and set it back in the pan. Cook the salmon for another 2 minutes, then move it to a plate. Let the skin cook for 3 minutes more until crisp, then set it aside with the salmon.
Build the base.
Return the pan to medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic, zucchini and olives. Cook for about 10 minutes until softened. Tip in the tomatoes, break them up with the back of a spoon, and let the sauce bubble gently.
Simmer.
Nestle the salmon fillets into the sauce, cover with a lid, and simmer for 5 minutes until just cooked and tender.
Finish & serve.
Chop the parsley and fold most of it through the couscous, fluffing with a fork. Divide into bowls, spoon over the stew, and top with a salmon fillet and the crispy skin. Finish with the remaining parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Swap salmon for barramundi or snapper—both hold their shape beautifully and soak up the sauce just as well.
Credits: Recipe adapted from woolworths.com.au
Some dinners demand hours of marinating, simmering, and multitasking. This is not one of them. A tray of sticky, glossy chicken and a pot of fragrant coconut-lime rice—a quick toss, a hot oven, and you have a dish that’s zesty and nourishing, packed with the kind of goodness that tastes as good as it feels.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup kecap manis
- 1 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 cm piece ginger, finely grated
- 2 limes, zested, juiced
- 1.8kg free range chicken wings
- 1//2 bunch spring onions, finely sliced
- 1/4 cup shredded toasted coconut
- 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced to serve
- 2 lime cheeks to serve
For the coconut and lime rice:
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 400 ml can coconut milk
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- 1/4 bunch coriander, finely chopped, plus extra coriander leaves to serve
Method
Get the chicken going.
Heat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. In a large bowl, mix the kecap manis, sriracha, garlic, ginger, lime zest and juice. Add the chicken wings and toss to coat. Let them sit for 15 minutes.
Bake.
Tip everything into a roasting pan and roast for 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes so you get that deep, dark, glossy glaze.
Prep the rice.
While the chicken cooks, place the rice, coconut milk, 1 3/4 cups water, lime zest and juice into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then drop to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork and folding through the chopped coriander.
Finish & serve.
Spoon the rice into bowls. Add the sticky chicken, then scatter over the spring onion, toasted coconut, chilli and extra coriander leaves. Add lime cheeks for squeezing.
Make double the rice—it keeps beautifully and makes tomorrow’s lunch feel like a reward.
Credits: Recipe adapted from woolworths.com.au
