This chicken dish proves healthy doesn’t need to be boring says Good Food’s new columnist

Sarah Pound’s no-fuss, veg-forward attack to household cooking has won her a legion of online fans. Since launching her level successful October 2021, the Victorian nutritionist and look writer has developed a estimation for fresh, steadfast and flavourful meal ideas that anyone tin cook, careless of fund oregon clip constraints.

Now Pound has launched her archetypal cookbook, Wholesome by Sarah, filled with one-tray recipes, clever spins connected pantry staples and adaptable salads for each ages.

She’s besides travel connected committee arsenic Good Food’s caller steadfast look columnist. Each period Pound volition research a antithetic theme, specified arsenic gut wellness and fibre, and whip up 3 recipes for you to cook.

“I privation to amusement you that ... steadfast nutrient doesn’t request to beryllium boring and getting meals connected the array decidedly shouldn’t beryllium a struggle,” she writes.

Here are 4 to try.

One-tray cheesy herb and basil chickenhearted strips.Mark Roper

One-tray cheesy herb and basil chickenhearted strips

Oh however I emotion these beauties. These small pillows of eden are a truly casual and fantastic meal for the kiddies – large for adults, too. They instrumentality 10 minutes to prepare, past spell consecutive into the oven.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 chickenhearted tenderloins
• 125g (½ cup) store-bought pasta sauce
• 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
• 1-1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 100g (1 cup) finely grated parmesan
• 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
• salt flakes and freshly crushed achromatic pepper
• 1 fistful of basil leaves, finely chopped, positive other to serve
• 75g (½ cup) freshly grated mozzarella

METHOD

1. Essential prep. Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place the chickenhearted connected the tray. Spread the pasta condiment implicit the tenderloins, past sprinkle connected the panko breadcrumbs and drizzle connected the olive oil.
3. Season and bake. Mix unneurotic the parmesan, dried herbs, salt, capsicum and
   chopped basil successful a tiny bowl. Sprinkle this premix connected each tenderloin, past cook for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs commencement to brown. Remove the tray, sprinkle connected the mozzarella and cook for a further 5 minutes until the chickenhearted is cooked done and the food is aureate and bubbling. Scatter the other basil implicit apical and serve.

Serves 4

TIP

You tin besides usage 4 chickenhearted bosom fillets for this recipe. If they are precise thick, spot each chickenhearted bosom connected a chopping board, clasp your weapon parallel to the board, and cautiously portion done the mediate horizontally, separating the bosom into 2 thinner pieces. They volition necessitate 5-10 minutes of further cooking.

Mediterranean baked food with cherry tomatoes and olives.Mark Roper

Mediterranean baked food with cherry tomatoes and olives

This look – my ode to Sicilian cooks, their less-is-more mentality and their emotion of good-quality ingredients – shows however effortless it tin beryllium to hole a beautifully flavoured dish. Serve with immoderate crusty bread, arsenic the Sicilians do, truthful you tin soak up each the delectable sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 80g (½ cup) pitted greenish Sicilian oregon kalamata olives
• 3 ail cloves, finely chopped
• 1 fistful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped, positive other to serve
• 1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed and drained
• 80ml (⅓ cup) other virgin olive oil
• 125ml (½ cup) adust achromatic wine
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, chopped
• freshly crushed achromatic pepper
• 4 x 175g barramundi fillets, tegument connected (see Tips)
• 1 tbsp citrus and herb seasoning
• zest and foodstuff of 1 ample lemon
• cooked atom oregon pasta oregon steamed greenish beans, to serve

METHOD

1. Don’t hide to … Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional).
2. The joyousness of 1 pot. Place the cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, parsley, capers, olive oil, achromatic wine, food and a bully pinch of achromatic capsicum successful a ample baking crockery and premix good to combine. Sprinkle the citrus and herb seasoning onto the food fillets, past put the food connected top. Bake for 20 minutes until the food is cooked done and achromatic successful the middle.
3. Now for the finishing touches. Scatter connected the other parsley and the citrus zest and compression the citrus foodstuff implicit the fish. Season with immoderate much pepper, if you wish, and service with immoderate atom oregon immoderate tiny pasta signifier oregon simply with a broadside of greenish beans.

Serves 4

TIPS

You tin usage immoderate steadfast achromatic food you similar for this crockery – cod and snapper enactment well.

I’ve recovered 20 minutes is usually cleanable for this dish, but this is for fillets that are astir 5cm thick. If you person bladed food fillets, you whitethorn privation to cook the cherry herb basal for 10 minutes, past adhd the food and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Shortcut pork and fennel meatball rigatoni.Mark Roper

Shortcut pork and fennel meatball rigatoni

I’m a instrumentality of meatballs but sometimes conscionable can’t beryllium bothered to marque them – and that’s however this elemental and speedy crockery was born.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 good-quality pork and fennel sausages
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 aureate shallots, sliced
• 2 ail cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp herb paste
• 400g tin full peeled tomatoes
• 700g herb passata
• 350g dried rigatoni pasta
• salt flakes and freshly crushed achromatic pepper
• 1-2 ample handfuls of basil leaves
• 1 caller burrata oregon buffalo mozzarella ball, to serve

METHOD

1. Start with the easiest meatballs ever. Squeeze the pork from the sausage casings and signifier into astir 32-36 rustic meatballs.
2. Time to cook. Heat 1 tablespoonful olive lipid successful a large, deep-frying cookware implicit precocious heat. Add the sausage meatballs and brownish connected each sides for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a sheet and acceptable aside.
3. Now for the herb sauce. Turn the vigor down to medium. In the aforesaid pan, vigor the remaining olive lipid for 1 minute. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until softened. Stir successful the ail and navigator for 1 infinitesimal until fragrant. Add the herb paste and disturbance to combine, past adhd the tomatoes and passata and springiness everything a bully stir. Place the meatballs successful the sauce, crook the vigor close down to debased and simmer mildly for 25-30 minutes until the condiment is reduced and heavy and the meatballs are cooked through. (The condiment tin spit, truthful consciousness escaped to screen the cookware with the lid somewhat ajar.)
4. Meanwhile, navigator your pasta. Bring a ample saucepan of salted h2o to the boil, adhd the pasta and navigator until al dente. Drain, reserving 250ml (1 cup) of the pasta cooking water.
5. Season the pasta condiment well. Add fractional the basil leaves, past extremity successful the cooked rigatoni and mildly disturbance to combine. Feel escaped to adhd a small of the reserved pasta cooking h2o if you similar a thinner condiment consistency.
6. Time to crockery up. Serve successful the cookware with the burrata successful the mediate to interruption unfastened astatine the table. Or service successful idiosyncratic bowls and teardrop the buffalo mozzarella implicit the top. Scatter connected the remaining basil leaves for colour.

Serves 4

TIP

You tin usage chicken, lamb oregon beef sausages successful this crockery alternatively of pork if you prefer.

Syrian chickenhearted with lemon, currants and ginger.Mark Roper

Syrian chickenhearted with lemon, currants and ginger

This is my saltation of a Karen Martini look that I’ve made for years and it’s irresistible. The flavours are a refreshing instrumentality connected a accepted chickenhearted casserole.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp brackish flakes
• 2 tsp crushed cumin
• 2 tsp crushed cinnamon
• 1 tsp crushed turmeric
• 1 tsp freshly crushed achromatic pepper
• 1kg boneless and skinless chickenhearted thighs, chopped into 4cm chunks
• 100ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 3cm portion of ginger, chopped into matchsticks
• 4 ail cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 agelong reddish chilli, divided and de-seeded
• 2 tomatoes, astir chopped
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 5 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• finely grated zest and foodstuff of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp honey
• 100g currants
• 2 tsp chickenhearted banal powder
• 1 ample fistful of coriander leaves, finely chopped

Quick couscous

• 280g (1 ½ cups) instant couscous
• 375ml (1 ½ cups) boiling water
• pinch of brackish flakes
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 1 fistful of coriander leaves and/or mint leaves, finely chopped
• 80g (½ cup) pistachios, toasted
• juice of ½ lemon

METHOD

1. Combine the salt, crushed spices and capsicum successful a ample zip-lock bag. Add the chickenhearted pieces, seal the container and shingle to overgarment the chickenhearted successful the spices.
2. Place a large, heavy-based saucepan implicit precocious heat. Add the olive oil, then, erstwhile hot, adhd the chickenhearted successful batches (you don’t privation to overcrowd the pan) and brownish connected each sides. Remove from the cookware and acceptable aside.
3. Now to physique immoderate flavours. Reduce the vigor to medium, past adhd the onion, ginger, ail and chilli to the pan. Cook, stirring present and past and adding a interaction much lipid if needed, for 3 minutes until the bulb starts to soften. Add the tomato, cumin seeds and thyme, disturbance and navigator for 2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Return the chickenhearted to the pan. Add the citrus zest and juice, honey, currants and banal powder, past capable h2o to conscionable screen the chicken. Cover with the lid and bring to the boil, past simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the condiment is reduced and the chickenhearted is cooked through.
5. Meanwhile, marque the speedy couscous. Place the couscous successful a ample bowl, determination connected the boiling h2o and adhd the brackish and butter. Cover and acceptable speech for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff the couscous with a fork. Stir done the herbs, pistachios and citrus juice.
6. Serve it up. Stir the coriander leaves done the chicken, past service with the couscous.

Serves 4

Photo:

This is an edited extract from Wholesome by Sarah by Sarah Pound, published by Plum, RRP $44.99, photography by Mark Roper. Buy now. Follow Sarah Pound’s Good Food column. Each period she’ll research a antithetic theme, specified arsenic gut wellness and fibre, and see 3 recipes.

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