In 2001, Rachael Ray introduced the world to 30 Minute Meals, dinners that you could pull together and get on the table in half an hour. She didn’t come up with the concept, per se, but she definitely branded it with a super catchy name.
That was then and this is now. Yet, we still get riled up at the possibility of a meal that you can start and finish cooking during the course of one 30-minute Netflix episode. Since Rachael’s TV debut, so much of the way we cook, eat, and watch television has changed. Netflix was but a fraction of the behemoth that it is today and our lives, it seems, are only moving at increasingly rapid paces.
So in honor of meals that taste good and feel good to make, as well as my own personal desire to marathon the second season of GLOW—a retelling of the inception of a female wrestling league in the '80s—I give to you five dishes that you can make in the time it takes to watch a 30-minute episode. Which is great because that leaves even more time for binge watching. Isn’t that nice?
These silky sauce-soaked ribbons are layered with a rich, tomatoey ragù. Dive right into that Netflix queue and hunker down with this bowl of papardelle.
With the help of some fish sauce and a handful of spices and herbs, you'll be serving this larb lickety split.
A sheet pan is a 30-minute meal's best friend, its number one confidante, the wind beneath its speedy, speedy wings. Layer all your goodies—sweet, sweet apple, chicken, and a sprinkling of herbs—and you're good to go.
Hard-boil some eggs and you're halfway there. Spooned over rice, this South Indian curry is a definite crowd pleaser.
Toss salmon in the oven. Toss barberry and walnut mixture on top. Toss yourself onto the couch.
What TV show do you binge while you cook? Let us know in the comments below.
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
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Written by: Valerio Farris
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2nd bowl: 1 or 2 med/large heirloom tomatoes (1" chunks) or 12 cherry tomatoes halved drizzled with balsamic, flaky salt, fresh ground pepper, lots of fresh basil. Take 2 ears of sweet corn and shave kernels into microwave bowl, add 3 T butter, flaky salt, fresh pepper, microwave on high 2 minutes. Stir warm corn into tomatoes and basil. The butter from the corn completes the vinaigrette. Prep time under 15 minutes, rave reviews
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