Budget Bites: Three one-pan recipes that minimise on washing up

There’ll be no arguments over who’s doing the washing up with these simple and delicious one pan dinners, says Hannah Twiggs

One-pan recipes also reduce food waste and use less energy (Sorted)

If you are after simple, filling meals that require very little washing up… you are in the right place.

As part of our Budget Bites column – where we’ve teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month – we’ve brought you three one-pan dishes that maximise on taste, and minimise on mess. They also make the most of your staple ingredients while keeping your fresh shopping list minimal.

We’ve also provided a handy shopping list for the ingredients (though hopefully most of it will be knocking about already), which are used across all recipes to ensure minimal food waste. You just need to decide where to shop, whether it’s locally or online.

Shopping list

• 3 clove garlic
• 1 small butternut squash
• 2 lemons
• 200g fresh spinach
• 10g fresh basil
• 1 aubergine
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 20g fresh basil
• 1 small broccoli
• 250g mascarpone
• 50g hard Italian cheese
• 280g extra firm tofu
• 50g black olives
• 2 tbsp capers
• 500g pre-cooked gnocchi
• 150g couscous
• 200g orzo
• Olive oil
• 1 vegetable stock cube cube

Roast broccoli and orzo traybake

A quick and easy vegetarian pasta dish (Sorted)

This recipe also works well with diced courgette instead of broccoli.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

4 tbsp olive oil

1 broccoli (small)

200g orzo

2 cloves garlic

1 vegetable stock cube cube

100g mascarpone

1 lemon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C, then fill the kettle with water and get it on to boil - this will be for the tray bake.

2. Cut small florets from the stalk of 1 small head of broccoli. Finely mince the stalk.

3. Toss the prepped broccoli with 2 tbsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt in a large roasting tray. Spread it out into 1 even layer.

4. Roast for 10-12 minutes, until golden in places. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait.

5. Once the broccoli is ready, add 200g of orzo to the tray, then finely grate in 2 peeled cloves of garlic.

6. Crumble over 1 stock cube, tip in 500ml of boiling water, give everything a quick stir, and cover with tin foil tightly.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the orzo is nearly soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

8. Once the orzo is nearly soft and nearly all the water has been absorbed, remove the foil and bake again for 5-6 minutes, until the orzo is soft and all the liquid has been absorbed.

9. Give the orzo a quick stir once ready, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

10. Add blobs from 100g of mascarpone, then finely grate over the zest from 1 lemon and squeeze over its juice. Drizzle over the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and serve.

One-tray tofu caponata-style couscous

Tofu meets Sicilian caponata (Sorted)

If you aren’t a tofu fan, feel free to sub it out for another aubergine.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

280g extra firm tofu

1 aubergine

5 tbsp olive oil

200g cherry tomatoes

20g fresh basil

1 clove garlic

150g couscous

50g black olives

2 tbsp capers

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C - this will be for the tray bake later.

2. Cut 1 280g block of tofu into around 9-12 bite-sized chunks, then remove the green stalk from 1aubergine and cut the flesh into similar-sized chunks.

3. Toss the tofu and aubergine with 3 tbsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt in a large roasting tray. Spread everything out into 1 even layer.

4. Roast for 10-12 minutes, until golden in places. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

5. Add 200g of cherry tomatoes to a large measuring jug, along with 20g of basil, 1 peeled clove of garlic, 2 tbsp of oil, and a generous pinch of salt.

6. Blitz with a hand blender, until smooth - we will use this to cook the couscous in the next steps.

7. Once the tofu and aubergine are ready. Add 150g of couscous to the tray along with the cherry tomato broth. Give everything a quick stir and spread into 1 even layer.

8. Cover the tray tightly with tin foil.

9. Return to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the grains of couscous are soft and have absorbed all the liquid. Get on with the rest of the dish in the next steps while you wait.

10. Slice 50g of pitted olives crossways. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait for the couscous.

11. Once the couscous is ready, uncover the tray, and fluff the grains with a fork. Top with the olives, 2 tbsp of capers, and serve.

Creamy roast squash gnocchi traybake

Impress you guests with this gnocchi dish (Sorted)

If you can’t get your hands on mascarpone, try making this recipe with cream cheese instead.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (small)

3 tbsp olive oil

150g mascarpone

1 lemon

500g pre-cooked gnocchi

200g fresh spinach

50g hard Italian cheese

10g fresh basil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C - this will be for the squash in the next steps.

2. Peel 1 small squash, cut it in half lengthways, scoop the seeds from the centre, then cut the flesh into bite-sized chunks.

3. Toss the chunks with 3 tbsp of oil and a generous pinch of salt in a large roasting tray. Spread everything out into 1 even layer in the tray.

4. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until completely soft and golden in places. Crack on with a bit of washing up while you wait.

5. Once the squash is ready, add 150g of mascarpone to the tray. Finely grate over the zest from 1 lemon, squeeze in its juice, then mash everything together with a potato masher until semi-smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Add 500g of gnocchi to the tray along with 200g of spinach. Give everything a good mix, then spread out into 1 even layer.

7. Finely grate over 50g of cheese.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden, bubbling, and piping hot. Get on with the rest of the washing up while you wait.

9. Mix, top with leaves from 10g of basil, and serve straight from the tray!

In response to the rising cost of living, we have teamed up with Sorted Food to bring you easy, affordable, quick and (most importantly) tasty recipes once a month. Find out more about Sorted and their nifty meal-planning app Sidekick at sortedfood.com/sidekick.