The first day after Yom Tov has arrived. For weeks we planned menus, searched for recipes, cooked in quantities and prepared extra portions, just in case. And now, as routine finally returns, we stand in front of the fridge asking the same simple question: what are we eating today?
After all the meat, fish and long seudos, a good toasted sandwich, a rich salad or a pan of shakshuka might be exactly what we're craving.
So instead of opening three pots again and starting to peel potatoes, here are five dinner meals you can make in 15 minutes at most. All are based on simple ingredients, and you can adapt them to what you already have at home.
1. Crispy tortilla with melted cheese and vegetables
Preparation time: 10 minutes | Serves: 2
Sometimes all you need is a warm tortilla, a bit of cheese and vegetables. On the outside it's golden and crispy, inside the cheese melts, and when you serve it with a small salad you get a dinner no one will complain about.
Ingredients:
2 large tortillas
100 grams grated yellow cheese
2 tablespoons white cheese or cream cheese
1 small tomato, diced small
Handful of spinach leaves or a few sliced olives
A little olive oil for greasing the pan
Method:
Spread a tablespoon of white cheese on half of each tortilla.
Scatter yellow cheese, tomato and spinach or olives on top. Fold the tortilla in half.
Heat a pan with a little olive oil and place the tortillas on it.
Fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the tortilla turns golden and the cheese melts.
Cut into triangles and serve immediately, alongside cut vegetables.
Small tip: Don't fill the tortilla with too many wet vegetables. Excess liquid can soften it and damage the crispiness.
2. Quick shakshuka in one pan
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Serves: 3-4
You don't need to chop ten tomatoes or cook sauce for an hour to make tasty shakshuka. When you use canned crushed tomatoes, you can reach an excellent result in a short time.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 can crushed tomatoes (400 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste
A little chopped parsley, optional
Method:
Heat olive oil in a wide pan and add the garlic. Fry for about half a minute, just until a fragrance rises.
Add the crushed tomatoes, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
Cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until the sauce reduces slightly.
Create four wells in the sauce and break the eggs into them.
Cover the pan and cook for about 4-6 more minutes, according to the desired level of doneness. Make sure the eggs are cooked thoroughly, especially when serving to young children.
Sprinkle parsley and serve with fresh bread.
Small tip: Want a richer shakshuka? Add a handful of olives or cubes of Bulgarian cheese to the sauce. You don't have to buy anything special.
3. Lemon pasta with garlic and olive oil
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Serves: 3
This meal proves you don't need cream, heavy sauce or a long list of ingredients to make tasty pasta. A little olive oil, garlic and lemon create a light sauce that coats the pasta without weighing it down.
Ingredients:
250 grams thin pasta or spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
Zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Handful of chopped parsley
3-4 tablespoons pasta cooking water, as needed
Method:
Boil a pot of water with a little salt and cook the pasta according to manufacturer's instructions. Choose pasta whose cooking time does not exceed 10 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a wide pan and add the garlic.
Fry over low heat for about a minute, without letting the garlic brown.
Add lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix.
Drain the pasta and save some of the cooking water.
Transfer the pasta to the pan, add a few tablespoons of the cooking water and mix well for about a minute, until the sauce coats it.
Sprinkle parsley and serve.
Small tip: The cooking water contains starch that helps the oil and lemon create a more uniform sauce. Don't skip it.
Want to turn the dish into a more filling meal? You can add a can of drained tuna or serve alongside a hard-boiled egg prepared in advance.
4. Quick couscous with vegetables and chickpeas
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Serves: 3-4 | Pareve
This is a meal especially suited for days when you want something warm, but really have no strength to start cooking. The couscous softens within minutes, the vegetables get a quick sear in the pan, and the chickpeas turn everything into a filling dish.
Ingredients:
1 cup instant couscous
1 cup boiling water, or according to package instructions
1 medium zucchini cut into small cubes
1 red pepper cut into small cubes
1 cup cooked chickpeas from a can, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
A little lemon juice
Chopped parsley, optional
Method:
Put the couscous in a bowl, add a little salt and a tablespoon of olive oil and pour the boiling water over it.
Cover and wait about 5 minutes, or according to package instructions.
Meanwhile heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and add the zucchini and pepper.
Fry over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables soften slightly but still maintain texture.
Add the chickpeas and spices and heat together for another 2 minutes.
Open the couscous with a fork, add the vegetables and chickpeas and mix.
Squeeze a little lemon over it and sprinkle parsley.
Small tip: If you have cooked vegetables left from Yom Tov that were stored safely, you can use them instead of frying fresh vegetables. Just heat them thoroughly and add to the couscous. This way you'll save a few more minutes and use food you already prepared.
5. Tuna and egg salad that becomes a complete meal
Preparation time: 12-15 minutes | Serves: 2-3
There are salads that serve as a side dish, and there are those that are the meal itself. When you combine fresh vegetables, tuna, eggs and croutons, you get a colorful and filling bowl that requires almost no work.
Ingredients:
2 cans drained tuna
3 eggs
2 cucumbers
2 tomatoes
1 red pepper
4 large lettuce leaves
¼ small red onion, optional
2 slices bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method:
Place the eggs in a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Cook until the eggs are completely hard, about 9-10 minutes from the moment of boiling.
While the eggs are cooking, chop the vegetables and transfer to a large bowl.
Add the drained tuna.
Cut the bread into cubes and toast in a dry pan or toaster until it turns golden.
Peel the eggs, cut into quarters and place on top of the salad.
Season with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper, scatter the bread cubes and serve.
Small tip: You can replace the bread with ready chickpeas or add a little avocado. And if the children connect less to mixed salad, serve all the components separately and let them assemble the plate themselves.
And still don't have strength to prepare even this?
You can also start with a simple dinner of good bread, cheeses, cut vegetables and eggs. Not every meal needs to be a recipe, and certainly not after a period when the kitchen worked almost without stop.
What's important is that there be something available, filling and varied, and that you don't find yourself standing in front of the fridge searching again for what to make.
After all the festive seudos, sometimes a quarter-hour dinner, a few simple plates and a kitchen that stays almost clean is exactly what we all need.
