Your new favourite chicken one-pot: ‘Anyone who eats this is bewildered by how delicious it is’

Sydney recipe writer Nicole Maguire’s speedy weeknight lifesavers and low-cost family favourites have earned her more than a million followers at her online hub, Simple Home Edit.

Now she’s released her debut cookbook, The Simple Dinner Edit, a collection of more than 80 easy and achievable dinners using everyday ingredients.

Here, Maguire shares three easy one-pot recipes to try at home.

One-pot Greek chicken and rice

I’m not one to spend hours in the kitchen. As much as I enjoy leisurely cooking,
most days I’m focused on getting dinner on the table before I’m too tired to
cook or the kids are too tired to eat! I factor that in when I’m meal planning, and meals like this one swoop in and save the day every time. Chicken fillets are
marinated in classic Greek flavours – think garlic, lemon and oregano – before
being cooked in one pan with rice. The rice steals the show, being cooked in
garlic and chicken stock while mingling with the chicken juices. Generous
handfuls of spinach top it off, so there is no need to fuss with any additional
sides. This is my favourite kind of home cooking. Anyone who eats this stares
at me bewildered at how delicious it is, and I stare back at them knowingly,
already getting ready to pass on the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 600g chicken thigh fillets, skin on (about 5-6 chicken thighs)
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp sweet paprika
• ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• zest of 1 lemon, plus 3 tbsp
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Rice

• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 300g (1½ cups) white rice (jasmine or basmati)
• 750ml (3 cups) chicken stock
• 130g (2 cups) roughly chopped spinach leaves (see note)
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or oregano leaves
• lemon slices and lemon zest (optional)
• crumbled feta (optional)

METHOD

1. Place the chicken thigh fillets in a large bowl with the garlic, dried oregano,
   paprika, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Use your hands to coat the chicken evenly.
2. Heat a large, heavy-based oven-proof sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken for 5–8 minutes until golden. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. For the rice, add 1-2 tablespoons water to the same pan and stir to deglaze
   and loosen all the sticky bits, then add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes, until softened. Add the rice, chicken stock, spinach and pepper.
4. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover, reduce the heat to the lowest setting
   and cook for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand with the lid on for 10 minutes.
   This will allow for any residual liquid to be absorbed.
6. Top the chicken and rice with the parsley or oregano, lemon slices, lemon zest and feta (if using), then serve.

Note: You can substitute the vegetables to suit your family’s tastes. Spinach,
kale, silverbeet, sliced green beans, diced zucchini, peas or broccoli florets all work well.

Serves 4

Rich red wine and tomato beef ragu

I am a massive fan of one-pot recipes as they mean less washing up, which
I always appreciate. But this one is extra special. Beef ragu has a wow factor.
Beef is slowly cooked in a luscious tomato and red wine-based sauce before
being piled on top of pasta and sprinkled with (a lot!) of parmesan. The best
part about this dish is that there are no complicated instructions or specialty
ingredients needed. I choose to make this on days when I’m pottering around
the house. I can put this on and have it blipping away in the background and
then come back to a big, delicious bowl of comfort. A bonus is that
this beef ragu can be made in bulk and frozen in batches, ready for whenever
it is needed.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 800g-1kg chuck steak, cut into roughly 2cm cubes
• 125ml (½ cup) red wine
• 125g (½ cup) tomato paste
• 700g jar passata
• 500ml (2 cups) beef stock
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• cooked pasta of your choice, to serve
• freshly grated parmesan, to serve

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3–5 minutes until softened.
2. Increase the heat to high, add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until browned. Add the red wine, tomato paste, passata, beef stock, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves and stir them through.
3. Bring the ragu to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cook for 2½ hours or until the beef is tender enough to be easily shredded with two forks (see note below). Shred the beef and serve with your favourite cooked pasta and the parmesan.

Note: If the beef is still tough after 2½ hours of cooking, it needs to cook for longer. Make sure the sauce is bubbling gently (you should still be able to see bubbles appearing in the sauce – if not, the heat is too low, and the beef will take a lot longer to cook). The beauty of chuck steak is that it is almost impossible
to overcook. The longer it cooks, the more it will soften and break down into
the sauce. Continue cooking in 30-minute intervals; if the sauce seems too
thick and is sticking to the base of the pan, add 125ml (½ cup) of water.

Serves 6-8

One-pan peanut chicken

A couple of months ago, I had some coconut milk in the freezer that I needed to
use up, and a hankering for chicken satay. I made this amazing one-pan peanut
chicken and we haven’t been able to stop eating it since. Chicken thigh cutlets
are an excellent quick dinner fix at the best of times, as they’re inexpensive and
relatively hands-off to prepare. In this recipe, the luxurious peanut and coconut
sauce is poured directly onto the chicken, which is roasted until juicy and crispy
skinned. It’s outrageously delicious and I’m left with only one pan to wash up.
The sauce is rich and there’s a lot of it (high sauce-to-chicken ratios are non-negotiable at my place!), so a big plate of steamed greens is the perfect
accompaniment. I’ve gone with bok choy; choose whatever’s in season.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.2 kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh cutlets (5-6 pieces)
• 1½ tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Sauce

• 1 tsp freshly grated garlic
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
• 90g (⅓ cup) natural smooth peanut butter
• ½ tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime
• juice (or rice wine vinegar)

To serve

• crushed peanuts
• coriander leaves
• sliced bird’s eye chilli (optional)
• steamed bok choy
• steamed jasmine rice
• lime wedges

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (220C conventional).
2. Pat the chicken dry using paper towel. Place it in a large bowl and sprinkle it with the salt, paprika, onion powder and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and use your hands to ensure the chicken is evenly coated.
3. Arrange the chicken on a large, deep baking tray and bake for 35 minutes. Spoon out/drain away any excess fat in the tray.
4. For the sauce, combine the ingredients in a bowl, then pour the mixture into the pan around the chicken. Bake for a further 15 minutes.
5. Top with the peanuts, coriander and sliced chilli (if using). Serve with the steamed bok choy and jasmine rice with the lime wedges on the side.

Serves 4

This is an edited extract from The Simple Dinner Edit by Nicole Maguire, published by Plum/Pan Macmillan Australia, RRP $39.99. Photography by Jeremy Simons. Buy now