Quick ingredient fixes (+recipes)

Lazy days of summer are a time for throw-together meals that make the most of the season's goodies and a few convenient luxuries from the supermarket. Combine olives, pasta sauce and a hot cooked chicken from the deli, add crusty bread and a lettuce and you have a five-ingredient meal in about 15 minutes flat.
This is also a time when family members enjoy the outdoors and develop healthy appetites. Hearty, fast and nutritionally balanced meals are what they require. To save time and money, plan meals ahead so only one visit to the supermarket is necessary. For best flavour, nutrition and appearance, always choose top-quality ingredients.
Take the stress out of holiday cooking by storing some ingredients that have a dual purpose, such as a good-quality dressing that can be used as a marinade; mixed frozen veges; passata or a tomato-based sauce to combine with pasta or to use as a sauce for meat.
Other useful holiday ingredients to add interest to meals include pre-mixed green salads, assorted ready-to-roast mixed root vegetable packs, couscous, polenta, dried pasta, rice, chilli paste, herbs and spices, stocks, pickles and chutneys, Asian sauces, cheeses, yoghurt and eggs.
To balance your meals nutritionally, you may have to serve a crisp vegetable salad as a starter or a fresh fruit salad for dessert. Be sure to include two to three servings of fruit, at least four servings of vegetables and a couple of servings of low-fat milk products each day - in meals or as separate snacks.
A handful of walnuts or other nuts will provide healthy fats in your diet. If some meals are higher in sodium, choose lower-sodium foods for the rest of the day.
In this week's recipes I have not included salt or pepper, which are normally optional.
RECIPES
TROPICAL CHICKEN
1 cup unsweetened pineapple or orange juice
1 tbsp cornflour
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 small pawpaw, seeded, peeled and sliced
1 x size-16 hot roasted chicken
Reserve two tablespoons of the juice and warm the remainder in a saucepan. Combine the cornflour and reserved juice to make a paste. Stir into the warmed fruit juice. Simmer, stirring, until thickened. Add the peas and heat through. Add the pawpaw and heat through.
Place the hot chicken on a serving dish and spoon the pawpaw sauce over the top. Great garnished with herbs and served with rice. Serves 4-6.
FISH WITH PESTO VEGETABLES
4 medium potatoes, washed
300g round beans, trimmed
3 lemons
4 (600g) skinned and boned snapper fillets or similar
4-6 tbsp basil pesto
Cut the potatoes into eight wedges. Boil until tender.
Boil the beans for three minutes, until crisp-tender.
Drizzle the juice of one lemon over the fish and set aside. Slice the remaining lemons. Place each fish fillet on three slices of lemon on a baking tray. Grill under medium heat until cooked, about five minutes depending on the thickness.
Drain the potatoes and beans. Toss with the pesto. Place the vegetables on serving plates and top with the fish and lemon slices. Serves 4.
HOT POTATO & EGG SALAD
3 large eggs
4 medium potatoes, cubed
1 cup pitted black olives
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette, warmed
130g packet baby spinach leaves
Hard-boil the eggs, shell and cut into quarters.
Steam the potatoes until just tender. Combine with the eggs, olives and warm vinaigrette.
Toss with the spinach and serve immediately. Serves 4.
RAVIOLI SALAD
130g mesclun salad with herbs
4 tomatoes, quartered
300g pesto and ricotta ravioli
1/2 cup good balsamic vinaigrette
Place half the salad on four serving plates. Top with the tomatoes.
Cook the ravioli according to the directions on the packet. Drain and place on top of the salad leaves. Top with the remaining leaves. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve. Serves 3.
SUNDRIED TOMATO PESTO-STUFFED CHICKEN
3 tbsp each: sundried tomato pesto, cream cheese
2 large skinned and boned chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
4 large slices prosciutto
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Combine the pesto and cream cheese. Using a sharp knife, make a pocket in the sides of the chicken breasts. Stuff each breast with the pesto mixture and close up. Wrap each breast in prosciutto.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Great with a salad and crispy bread. Serves 4.
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