Minimalist Meals
Simple dishes to make using five ingredients or fewer.
Since we do not live aboard, I often look for ways to minimize what we carry on and off the boat by cooking ahead or making simple dishes with few ingredients. These minimalist meal recipes, using no more than five ingredients (many of them shelf-stable), are some of my favorites. All recipes serve four.
Great Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, mashed
3 Tbsp. of your favorite salsa
4 tsp. lime juice
Optional: salt, pepper, chopped jalapeños, chopped cilantro
Mash avocados and with salsa and lime juice. Taste and add optional ingredients, if desired. Serve with chips.
French Fish Mousse
5 oz. canned fish in oil (or water), drained
(e.g., tuna, sardines, mackerel, trout, salmon)
4 oz. butter or cream cheese, softened
2 anchovy fillets
1 Tbsp. capers
½ tsp. lemon juice
Optional: sprinkle of pepper or paprika, chopped dill, or parsley
Drain fish and add to a bowl along with remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth. (While easiest done in a blender or food processor, a rustic version mashed by hand is equally delicious.) Serve at room temperature with crackers, bread, or raw veggies.
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Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
8 pineapple rings, fresh or canned
1 cup jarred teriyaki sauce (or optional teriyaki recipe, below)
4 cups cooked rice (brown or white or wild)
Marinate chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce for 2-3 hours in refrigerator. Heat grill on high (or sauté on the stove top or bake in oven on high heat), then remove chicken from marinade and place on the grill for 4-5 minutes. Turn chicken over and add pineapple rings. Cook chicken and pineapple for 5 more minutes, flipping pineapple rings halfway through. Serve with rice.
Optional Teriyaki Sauce Recipe
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup mirin (seasoned rice vinegar)
½ cup sake (or sherry)
Mix ingredients, heat, and simmer until thickened.
Fruit Slump
Topping:
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
4 cups fresh or canned fruit, drained
Optional: 2 Tbsp. sugar (if using unsweetened fruit)
Optional: ice cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop fruit into bite-sized pieces. Mix with 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of sugar (if using) and place in an oiled 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over fruit. Bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm with ice cream.
Three-Ingredient Nutella Brownies
5 eggs
3 cups Nutella
1 cup flour
Optional: ½ cup chopped nuts or 1 tsp. coarse salt
Optional: ice cream
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with parchment paper or foil and coat with oil. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl. Remove the foil top from the jar(s) of Nutella and place the jars in hot water on the stove top to soften. Add Nutella to eggs and mix well. Add flour and mix until no white streaks are visible. Pour into a prepared baking dish, stirring in optional nuts or sprinkling top of brownies with salt. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve brownies cold from refrigerator (they become fudge-like when cold) or warm with ice cream.
-by Lori Ross
