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Privacy NoticeGone are the days of using a microwave merely to heat up a bowl of baked beans or warm up some leftovers from yesterday’s takeaway. For 2023, the humble microwave (or “micro-wav-ay” if you’re Nigella Lawson!) meal has been given a new lease of life thanks to food expert and bestselling author Justine Pattison. In her new book PING!, Justine shares 100 fresh and modern recipes that can be whipped up in popular kitchen appliance. What’s more, besides being quick and easy to make, they’re bursting with flavour in every bite. From fragrant curries to creamy soup, give your microwave meals a makeover with our pick of Justine’s delicious recipes…
Justine Pattison’s book PING features over 100 microwave recipes
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Thai chicken coconut curry
Thai chicken coconut curry can be cooked in under 20 minutes
(Image: Supplied)
Serves three, ready in under 20 minutes A fool-proof Thai-style coconut curry that’s a doddle to prepare. Serve with rice or noodles alongside. Ingredients 6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced 1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced 25g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated 3 tbsp good-quality Thai red or green curry paste 1 × 400ml tin coconut milk 175g mixed mangetout or sugar snap peas and baby corn, halved diagonally 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (around 350g total weight), cut widthways into 5mm thin slices Small bunch of fresh coriander (around 15g), roughly chopped, plus extra to serve Method Mix the spring onions, red pepper, ginger and curry paste in a large microwaveable casserole or wide-based bowl – it will need to hold at least 2.5 litres of liquid. Stir lightly. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 mins (1000W) or 3 mins 40 secs (800W). Stir in the coconut milk, mangetout or sugar snap peas and baby corn, cover and cook on HIGH for 4 mins (1000W) or 5 mins (800W). Stir in the sliced chicken and chopped coriander, cover and cook on HIGH for 3 mins (1000W) or 3 mins 40 secs (800W). Stir well, cover and cook on HIGH for a final 2 mins (1000W), 2 mins 30secs (800W), or until the chicken is cooked through. Take care as you remove the dish from the oven as the sauce will be very hot. Leave to stand for 5 mins. Add seasoning to taste and scatter with extra coriander, if using, to serve. Tip: Add any other vegetables you like – fine green beans also work well – just keep the weight roughly the same. A few makrut lime leaves or sliced fresh red chillies are good additions too. Cream of tomato soup
Cream of tomato soup is a delicious and warming dish
(Image: Supplied)
Serves two, ready in 15 minutes An utterly delicious soup that makes the most of fresh tomatoes and is almost as easy as opening a tin. Use any kind of tomatoes – those soft ones in the fridge that aren’t quite good enough for a salad will shine. Ingredients 350g fresh ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed 1 tbsp tomato purée 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 tsp caster sugar 250ml hot vegetable stock (made using ½ stock cube) 2 tbsp double or single cream, plus extra to serve Method Put the tomatoes in a large microwaveable bowl or jug. It will need to hold at least 2 litres. Cover and cook on high for 4 mins (1000W) or 5 mins (800W), until well softened, stirring them well halfway. Stir in the garlic, tomato purée, oil and sugar. Season with salt and ground black pepper, cover and cook on HIGH for 1 min (1000W) or 1 min 10 secs (800W). Stir in the hot stock, cover and cook on HIGH for 2 mins (1000W) or 2 mins 30 secs (800W). Blitz with a stick blender until as smooth as possible. Stir in the cream, check the seasoning and serve drizzled with a little extra cream. Tip: If you don’t want to use cream, simply leave it out or add a few fresh basil leaves before blitzing for a fresh-tasting alternative. Breakfast muffins
Breakfast muffins are a great way to kickstart the day
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Makes four, ready in under 15 minutes A breakfast bowl of yoghurt, granola and fresh blueberries can be turned into light and fluffy muffins. Ingredients 50g butter, cubed 50g soft dark brown sugar 1 medium egg 50g Greek-style yoghurt 50g self-raising flour ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp ground cinnamon 50g granola, clumps broken up 50g fresh blueberries 15g mixed seeds Method Line four medium ramekins (around 175ml each) with paper muffin or cupcake cases. Put the butter in a large microwavable mixing bowl. Cover and cook on high for 20 secs (1000W), 30 secs (800W), or until melted. Add the sugar, egg and yoghurt to the melted butter and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and beat until smooth. Stir in the granola and blueberries, and divide the batter between the prepared ramekins. Don’t overfill the ramekins; the muffin batter should rise roughly halfway up the cases. Sprinkle with the seeds and place the ramekins in a circle straight onto the turntable or base of the microwave oven, leaving plenty of space in between each one. Cook uncovered on high for 3 mins 30 secs (1000W), 4 mins 30 secs (800W), or until risen and just firm. If the mixture appears uncooked, continue cooking in 20-sec increments until done. The muffins will continue cooking for a short while once out of the microwave, so if they look just a little damp around the sides, that’s fine. Leave the muffins to stand for 5 mins in the microwave before turning out. Serve them either warm or cool. Tip: Making just four at a time, instead of baking a tray of 12 in the oven, is quick and easy, but you could double or triple the quantities and cook them in batches, if you prefer. Extracted from PING! Cook, Bake, Create Using Just Your Microwave by Justine Pattison (HQ, HarperCollins, £20), out now. READ MORE: Click here for today’s top showbiz news Get your digital voucher for £5 off £30 spend in-store at Iceland or The Food Warehouse Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnFood
