quick oven recipes

Like most city dwellers, I unfortunately have a small kitchen and only room for one oven. If I had read more...

the space, I would go on a spree and buy two ovens, which I would place at face level so I don’t have to bend down so much, and a separate warming draw to keep food and plates warm. Roasting, baking or casseroling food in an oven is a very relaxed form of cooking. Once the food is in there, it is in a controlled environment, requires little or no attention and all you need to know, is how long it takes to cook. There is a meat roasting calculator at the side or the bottom of this page which can help you calculate roasting times.

Here are a couple of quick recipes to get you started:

Roast Chicken whole:
Preheat oven to 200°C
Rub some olive oil all over the Chicken and season generously with salt. Place in the oven in an read more...

ovenproof dish and reduce the oven temperature to 180° after 20 minutes. Remove from the oven when cooked, wrap in aluminium foil, cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. The general guideline for roasting a chicken is 20 minutes per 500g plus 20 minutes extra. If you have stuffed the chicken, weigh it again and calculate the cooking time for the total weight. Here is a little meat roasting calculator which you can use to calculate the exact time.

Roast Chicken legs:
Preheat oven to 190°C
Make 2 slices on each side of the legs. Rub some olive oil into the Chicken legs and season read more...

them generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place in an ovenproof dish and pop it into the oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in aluminium foil, cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Roast Pork Fillet in Puff Pastry:
Preheat oven to 190°C
Unroll the pastry and cover it with a thin layer of mustard or apple sauce, leaving about 2cm free all read more...

around the edge. Generously season the mustard or apple layer with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the fillet in the centre of the pastry, cover from both sides and tuck in the ends. Move the fillet onto a sheet of greaseproof paper making sure that the side with the seam is face down. Gently brush the surface with a layer of beaten egg yolk and place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven, cover loosely with aluminium foil and a tea towel and leave to rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing.

Finishing meat in the oven:
The reason we fry or grill meat is to achieve colour and the typical taste which is associated with read more...

browned foods. This is called the Maillard reaction or Maillard browning. The frying or grilling can be stopped as soon as the desired colour has been achieved and the rest of the cooking can take place in the oven where the meat can relax and gently reach the required internal temperature. You can of course do all of the cooking in a pan or on a grill but finishing your meat in the oven not only gives you more control over the finished product, it also gives you a few useful minutes in which you can complete whatever else needs to be done, attend to your guests or get up to all sorts of mischief.

Duck Breast in the oven:
Preheat oven to 120°C
Score the skin of the breast with a sharp knife diagonally, turn it around and then score it again read more...

in the opposite direction. Season with salt and pepper and place in a cold frying pan, fat side down, over a moderate heat. Fry for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden and then turn and fry for 3 minutes on the other side. Place in an ovenproof dish and pop it into the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in aluminium foil, cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to rest for 5-8 minutes before slicing thinly.

Chicken Breast in the Oven:
Preheat the oven to 220°C
Rub some olive oil and honey into the Chicken breasts and season them generously on both sides with salt and freshly read more...

ground black pepper. Place a pan over a moderate heat and fry the chicken until they are light brown on both sides. Place in an ovenproof dish and pop it into the oven on the top rack for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in aluminium foil, cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Beef Steaks in the oven:
Preheat the oven to 220°C
Rub some olive oil into the steaks and season them generously on both sides with salt and freshly ground read more...

black pepper. Heat a pan over a high heat until hot. Add the steaks and fry for 60-90 seconds on each side. Place in an ovenproof dish and pop it into the oven for 5-6 minutes (for medium rare) or longer for medium to well done. Remove from the oven, wrap in aluminium foil, cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to rest for 8-10 minutes before serving.

Pork Medallions in the oven:
Preheat the oven to 120°C
Cut the pork fillet into 3cm thick medallions. Rub some olive oil into the medallions and season them generously on read more...

both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place a pan over a moderate heat and fry the medallions until they are light brown on both sides. Place in an ovenproof dish and pop it into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in aluminium foil, cover loosely with a tea towel and leave to rest for 8-10 minutes before serving.