Delicious one-pan meals to spare you the washing up, from creamy Tuscan chicken to chorizo mozzarella pasta

Do you want a tasty one-pan meal without any worries? Look no further than these beauties.

From a super simple risotto to tender roast lamb – and a delicious slow-cooked beef stew with dumplings – you get maximum flavor for minimum effort.

Better yet, there are no hours of clean-up afterwards!

One-pan chicken cacciatore

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4-6 chicken thighs with skin and bone
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 250 ml red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• parsley, chopped
• 2 cans of cherry tomatoes of 400 grams
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons capers
• green olives, pitted
• 300 g orzo, rinsed

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. Rub 1 tablespoon of oil over the chicken and season well, place it skin side up in an oven dish or roasting tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy but not cooked. the road does. Remove from the bowl and place on a plate.

Add the remaining oil to the dish and mix it with the chicken fat. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 5-8 minutes until tender.

Pour in the wine, stir it with the onions and let it evaporate slightly in the residual heat before adding the bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, parsley stems and tomatoes.

Dissolve the stock cube in 300 ml boiling water and add it. Then add the vinegar, possibly capers, olives and orzo. Stir well and season to taste.

Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, and roast for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened, the orzo is tender and the meat is cooked through.

Give it a stir and let it sit for 10 minutes so the orzo can absorb the excess liquid. Sprinkle with parsley leaves to serve.

Bacon and mushroom risotto

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 slices of pork belly, finely chopped
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 300 grams of risotto rice
• 1 liter hot chicken stock
• Grated parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onion and bacon for 5 minutes, until they soften.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until they start to release juices. Stir in the rice and cook until all the juices are absorbed.

Add the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring well and waiting for most of the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladle; this takes 20 minutes.

Season to taste and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Slow-cooked beef stew with dumplings

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 800 g stew meat, coarsely chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• 150 ml red wine
• A few sprigs of rosemary and thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 800 ml beef stock
• Parsley, to serve
• For the dumplings
• 150 g self-raising flour
• 70 g suet

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and brown the meat.

Remove, leaving any oil behind, and place in the slow cooker. Add the remaining oil to the pan, reduce the heat and fry the onion, carrot and celery until soft. Add to the slow cooker.

Pour the wine into the pan and let it simmer. Cook for 2 minutes before pouring into the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients for the stew and cook for 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low.

A good hour before the time is up, make the dumplings. Place the flour and suet in a bowl, season well and mix. Make a well in the center and pour in 3 tablespoons of cold water.

Stir and then add a teaspoon of water at a time until a soft dough forms. Make eight balls and place them on the stew.

Cook for another 1 hour. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Serves 4

• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 100 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 80 g sun-flowered tomatoes, cut into pieces
• 400 ml boiling chicken stock if using the conventional method or 200 ml (7 fl oz) if using the slow cooker method
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes
• Salt and pepper
• 100 g orzo pasta
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
• Crispy bread, for serving (optional)

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a high heat.

Add the chicken and fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the frying pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until translucent.

Return the chicken to the pan, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, stock, chilli and salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

Cook for 1 hour at the lowest temperature, then stir in the orzo and cook for another 1 hour.

Just before serving, stir in the spinach and crème fraîche until the spinach wilts. Serve with crusty bread if desired.

SLOW COOKER METHOD

Cook the chicken, onion and garlic as above, then place all the ingredients except the orzo, spinach and crème fraîche in the slow cooker, cover and cook over low heat for 6 hours. Stir in the orzo and cook for 1 hour. Add the spinach and crème fraîche as above.

Frying chorizo ​​and mozzarella gnocchi

Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 120 g chorizo, in cubes
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes of 400 grams
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 600 g fresh gnocchi
• 125 gram mozzarella ball
• Small bunch of basil, torn

Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic for eight minutes until soft. Add the chorizo ​​and fry for five minutes.

Add the tomatoes and sugar. Bring to the boil, add the gnocchi and cook, stirring, for eight minutes until soft.

Heat the grill to the highest setting.

Cut the mozzarella into pieces and stir three-quarters of it and most of the basil into the gnocchi.

Place in an oven dish, place the rest of the mozzarella on top and grill for three minutes until the cheese has melted. Sprinkle the rest of the basil on top.

One-pot lamb with hasselback potatoes

Serves 6-8

• 1 leg of lamb
• 2 garlic bulbs
• 15 sprigs of rosemary
• 15 sprigs of thyme
• 1.7 kg Maris Piper, unpeeled
• 14 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 lemon, squeezed

Make 30 small, deep incisions all over the lamb. Halve the garlic bulbs so that the cloves fall away at the top and remain attached at the bottom. Peel the tops, cut them into slices and then press them into the slots. Also insert the sprigs of rosemary and thyme into the slots.

Preheat the oven to 210C/190C fan/gas mark 7. Place each potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and cut crosswise (but not all the way through) every 3mm. Insert a bay leaf into the center slit of each potato. Place the potatoes in the roasting tin with the halved head of garlic and the rest of the rosemary and thyme. Drizzle with half the oil and season, then toss and turn so they are cut side up. Rub the lamb with the rest of the oil and lemon juice and season generously. Nestle in the middle of the tin, surrounded by the potatoes.

Roast for 1½ hours, basting the potatoes, until the lamb is cooked through and the potatoes are crispy. Let the lamb rest for 15 minutes. Serve with mint sauce.