There’s no better way to finish the day than with a delicious and healthy dinner, full of nutrients and flavors! Therefore, here I bring you my 10 favorite recipes that I’ve gathered throughout the internet and eaten for dinner.
I don’t want to talk a lot because I know you’re hungry and looking forward to cooking, so just let me say 3 considerations:
- Feel free to adjust the amounts according to your needs. I often use more.
- I’ve translated Spanish recipes to English.
- Photos are mine, they reflect the result of the recipes when I cooked them.
Are you wearing your apron? And your chef hat? Ok, that’s optional (although advisable for motivation haha). Let’s cook!
Maybe the most simple of these recipes and yet it’s mouth-watering. It’s a great option for appetizers or snacks too.
Ingredients for 1:
-1/2 eggplant
-1 tomato
-25 g / 0,9 oz smoked salmon (*** see what I said about amounts)
-2 loafs of 10 g / 0,35 oz bread
-Green onion
-Salt
-Black pepper
-1 tbsp virgin olive oil
-Balsamic vinegar
Method:
- Roast the eggplant in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 180ºC / 356ºF. Once it’s cooled down, peel it and chop it into big pieces.
- Take advantage of the heat of the oven to toast the bread.
- Grate the tomato, dry the excess water and dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Mince the green onion and mix with the tomato. Set aside.
- Put the eggplant pieces on a plate, add salt and pepper, place the minced tomato on it and then the smoked salmon.
- Dress with a thread of olive oil. Accompany with the toasts.
Minimize the main ingredients; maximize the taste.
Ingredients:
-1 salmon fillet
-200 g pumpkin
-1/2 onion
-1 tbsp ginger powder
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp pistachios
Method:
- Chop pumpkin and onion. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes with 1/2 tbsp ginger.
- Place the veggies on a baking sheet with salmon, 1/2 tbsp ginger and soy sauce.
- Bake for 7 minutes at 360F – 180ºC.
- Serve the veggies with the salmon over them and garnish with pistachios to add crunchiness.
There are people who cringe at the mention of a savory pie, but try it first because you might be surprised… It’s a super yummy and warm dish.
-800 g potatoes
-600 g minced chicken
-300 ml tomato sauce
-milk
-30 g parmesan cheese
-garlic powder
-black pepper
-salt
-evoo
Method:
- Preheat oven to 400F – 200ºC.
- Cook the potatoes until they’re soft.
- Meanwhile, you can prepare the meat: season with salt, pepper and garlic.
- Sauté the meat in a frying pan. Once it’s cooked, add tomato sauce and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Make the potato purée in a food processor, adding milk little by little until you get a creamy purée.
- In a mould, place first a potato purée layer, then a minced chicken layer and then another purée layer. Top with parmesan cheese.
- Bake the pie in the oven for 10 minutes.
No one will say again that they don’t like veggies once they try them baked and with cheese.
Ingredients:
-pumpkin
-leek
-green bell pepper
-carrot
-egg
-cheese
-any spices you like
-evoo
Mehod:
- Bake the pumpkin in the oven for around 25 minutes.
- Once it’s cooked, empty it.
- Sauté the veggies.
- Mix the veggies with the content of the pumpkin, add spices and a beaten egg. Stuff the pumpkin with the mix and add cheese.
- Bake in the oven again until the egg is done and the cheese is melted.
It has nothing to do with buffalos, it’s called like that because, allegedly, this is the typical way of making a salad in Buffalo, New York. I don’t know if that’s true but, if it is, thanks for revealing the secret!
It’s kinda like lasagne, healthier than the usual ones they sell pre-cooked, and an awesome way to include more veggies in our diet while having fun.
Ingredients for 4:
-1 eggplant
-1/2 or 1 small zucchini
-2 tins of tuna (120 g / 4,2 oz)
-1 egg
-1 egg white
-100 g / 3,5 oz grated cheese
-100 g / 3,5 oz skimmed cottage cheese
-250 g / 8,8 oz crushed tomatoes
-1 onion
-1/2 red pepper
-Salt
-Black pepper
-Oregano
Method:
- Get the crushed tomatoes ready.
- Wash the eggplant and cut it into slices that aren’t thicker than 1 cm / 0,4 inches. Add salt and leave the slices in a strainer or paper towel for about 20 minutes for them to lose the bitterness. (You can skip this step if you’re in a hurry).
- Meanwhile, mince the onion and the pepper and sauté them over low heat in a frying pan with a drop of oil. Stir them from time to time until they’re soft.
- Add the tuna, pepper, a pinch of salt if you want, and the crushed tomatoes. Cover the frying pan and let them cook over low heat for about 5-8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the zucchini and cut it into thin slices. Grill it a bit and set aside.
- Rinse the eggplant slices (to remove some salt) and dry them with paper towel. Sear them.
- Turn on the oven at 180ºC / 360ºF.
- -Prepare this cream: beat the egg, the egg white, the cottage cheese, pepper and a pinch of salt.
-Grease the mold or tray and assemble the moussaka: eggplant and zucchini bed, 1/2 of the tuna and veggies stir-fry, 1/2 of the cottage cheese cream, 1/2 of the grated cheese. And repeat again the same 4 layers.
-Bake for about 40 minutes, sprinkle a bit of oregano and enjoy an incredibly yummy moussaka.
Chicken, veggies and avocados are staples in my diet. This recipe takes the basics to the next level, thanks to the mix of spices and dressings.
Ingredients:
-chicken
-zucchini
-broccoli
-onion
-mushrooms
-avocado
-honey
-mustard
-sesame seeds
-soy sauce
-garlic powder
-salt & pepper
-evoo
Method:
- Marinate the chicken with garlic powder, soy sauce, mustard, honey and sesame seeds. Sauté.
- Sauté the veggies with garlic powder, salt, pepper and soy sauce.
- Serve with avocado.
Do you want to feel as if you were having dinner at an exotic beach? Try this recipe. It’s an amazing mix of flavors.
A thermomix recipe that will turn your house into a high-end restaurant.
Ingredients for 4:
(although my husband and I ate the whole thing)
-20 g evoo
-50 g chopped parmesan cheese
-50 g onion
-2-3 garlic cloves
-fresh parsley
-40 g breadcrumbs
-400 g ground calf
-2 egs
-½ tsp black pepper
-2 tsp salt
-50 g gruyère or cheddar cheese, sliced
-25 g spinach
-450 g yellow pepper, chopped
-4-5 fresh basil leaves
-400 g crushed or chopped tomatoes
-200 g water
-pinch of sugar (optional)
Method:
- Grease the Varoma with evoo and set apart.
- Add parmesan cheese, onion, 1 garlic clove and parsley into the mixing bowl. Chop 10s/sp10. Use the spatula to move the ingredients towards the bottom of the bowl.
- Add breadcrumbs, ground calf, pepper and 1 tsp salt and knead 1 min/default speed. Pour the mixture over a 40x40cm baking paper, forming a rectangle. Add gruyère cheese and spinach leaves over it.
- Roll the meat to give it a cylinder shape. Throw away baking paper and place the meat on the greased Varoma.
- Add evoo, 1/2-1 garlic clove, pepper and basil into the mixing bowl. Chop 4s/sp5 and sauté 3m/120ºC-240F/sp1.
- Add crushed tomatoe, water, 1 tsp salt and sugar. Place the Varoma in its position and program 40min/Varoma/sp1.
- Remove the Varoma and let the meat cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grind the sauce 50s/sp8. Serve the meat pie along with the sauce.
You won’t get tired of them! Make sure you have enough sauce to dip all of them.
I hope all these recipes have inspired you to be creative in the kitchen and forget the false idea that you have to choose between enjoying and being healthy. If you try any of them, upload it to instagram and tag me (@paolapetrinut). I’ll love to see your creations!
