One Pot Family Meals are Great

One pot meals are at the top of the evening meals list for busy moms. Not only for the fact that there are fewer dishes to wash, but moms could do other things while the one-pot is cooking away.

Maybe some surfing on the net; catching the sunset with a cold glass of wine, or just taking time to talk to a partner or help with kids’ homework projects.

Talking about net-surfing: There are just about thousands of one-pot dishes from every famous chef known on the planet on the web. Jamie Oliver does mean tray bakes with meat and vegs. Gordon Ramsey cooks up a great sausage and rice pot; Siba Mtongana fries up a 7 Colours Basmati rice recipe; Jenny Morris’ makes a North African tagine and Barbara Joubert finds inspiration in the Karoo for lamb curries and pies.

One pot meals are cooked all over the world: If you are Spanish, you have paella. If you are South African, a potjie will do. Traveling in the South of France, you may be swayed by a cassoulet or a coq au vin or a bouillabaisse. Traipsing through Mexico you could eat your way through a pot of chilli and beans. In Ireland, preferably with a cold wind outside, you may tuck into a rich lamb and potato stew. In India you could work your way through tens of different biryani’s, pulao’s pilafs and curries. In Tuscany you may eat a rustic chicken and rice casserole.

Or you could indulge from the Spekko Kitchen, in anything from a rice based lasagna; a mushroom risotto, a West African chicken and rice pot or many different Vietnamese street soups; Spanish frittatas or sticky slow cooked winter stews.

Here in South Africa, especially over this coming winter, we will be eating loads of one pot meals to save on our electricity bills.

One pot could mean a hearty soup, a warming casserole, a slow oven roast, a stir-fry, a pot roast, a layered bake, an all-in-one curry or even a salad.

The Spekko collection of recipes include one pot dishes from many well-known South African foodies and celebrities. We can recommend:

• Mynhardt Joubert’s Smoked and bottled Karoo bush salad;
• Jenny Morris’ Chicken and prawn fried rice;
• Karen Hart’s Turkish lamb pilaf;
• Dorah Sitole’s Mutton biryani;
• Deena Naidoo’s Fresh vegetable and Basmati pilaf;
• Khaya Slingile’s Easy chicken and chorizo paella;
• Lentswe Bhengu’s Moroccan rice salad with dates and preserved lemons;
• Isabella’s Spicy fish and brown rice soup;
• Siwe Hlope’s Creamy fish, mushroom and pepper rice bake;
• Manisha Naidoo’s Thai prawn and coconut rice;
• Siba’s Savoury cheese and rice muffins;
• Jodi Ann Pearton’s Rich beef and rice soup;
• Johnny Hamman’s Infamous butter chicken and oven baked rice.

In fact, you could choose from Greek moussakas, township one-pot peri peri stews, Bo-Kaap biryani’s; Durban curries and a whole lucky packet full of other delicious surprises.