Yotam cuts down the time with a trio of recipes you can make in half an hour (or so): fried tofu, a salmon and potato bake and a spicy bean brunch

The irony of a column about 30-minute dishes was not lost on me and the team, as we grinned, sheepishly, at such an apparently simple yet challenging task. We decided not to stray too far beyond our natural habitat by keeping the flavours complex and the ingredient lists, um, generous. So to stay within the time limit, we had to resort to microwaving potatoes (heaven forbid), opening tins and generally operating like cheetahs in the kitchen. So, here you have it: uncharacteristically easy, half-hour meals (give or take a minute or two).

Spicy cannellini beans, leeks and eggs (pictured above)

This take on a baked bean breakfast comes with a bit more spice than the British classic. Serve on toast, as is traditional.

Prep 5 min

Cook 25 min

Serves 4

105ml olive oil

300g leeks (about 1-2), trimmed and finely sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1 green chilli, roughly chopped (pith and seeds removed if you prefer less heat)

300g vine tomatoes (ie, about 4)

10g coriander

15g dill

2 x 400g tins cannellini beans

1½ tsp coriander seeds

¾ tsp ground allspice

1½ tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp caster sugar

Salt and black pepper

1½ tbsp lemon juice

8 eggs

Toasted sourdough, to serve

Pour four tablespoons of the oil into a large saute pan for which you have a lid, and put on a medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, fry the leeks, garlic and chilli, stirring occasionally, for seven minutes, or until softened.

While the leeks are cooking, prepare the other ingredients. Roughly chop the tomatoes, coriander and two-thirds of the dill, and put in a large bowl. Drain the beans, discarding the liquid, and add to the bowl. Roughly crush the coriander seeds in a mortar.

Stir the tomato mixture, spices, tomato paste, sugar, 375ml water, a teaspoon and a half of salt and plenty of pepper into the leek pan, bring up to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 12 minutes, crushing about half the beans with the back of a spoon, until the mix is thick and rich.

Stir through the lemon juice, then make eight wells in the beans (the back of a dinner spoon is the ideal tool for this job). Crack an egg into each well, sprinkle over a little salt and pepper, and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cover and leave to cook for five minutes, or until the whites are cooked through and the yolks still runny.

While the eggs are cooking, finely chop the remaining dill and put it in a bowl with the last three tablespoons of oil. Drizzle this over the cooked eggs and serve at once on toasted sourdough.

Black lime tofu

Dried limes are intensely sour and effective at giving dishes a uniquely earthy acidity. They are especially popular in Iran, Iraq, Oman and the Persian Gulf, and you can buy them online or in Middle Eastern food stores, and they come whole or ground, black or white (they also go by different names such as Omani limes, Iranian limes or noomi basra). Use the black variety here, if you can. I like to serve this dish with steamed white rice or warm flatbreads to scoop everything up.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yotam Ottolenghi’s black lime tofu.

Prep 10 min

Cook 20 min

Serves 4

1 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tsp caster sugar

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into thin rounds (use a mandoline, if you have one)

Salt and black pepper

600ml sunflower oil, for frying

2 blocks extra-firm tofu (560g), patted dry and cut into 2cm cubes

2 tbsp cornflour

2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

60ml olive oil

2 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar

10g dried black limes (about 2-3), blitzed in a spice grinder to get 2 tbsp

2 tbsp tomato paste

20g parsley leaves, roughly chopped

250g baby spinach

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar, the red onion and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, then leave to pickle while you get on with making the rest of the dish.

Heat the sunflower oil in a medium saute pan on a medium-high flame. In a bowl, toss the tofu in the cornflour until well coated. Fry the tofu in two batches, until crisp and lightly browned – about six minutes a batch – then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper, to drain.

While the tofu is frying, make the sauce. Pulse the onion and garlic in a food processor until very finely minced (but not pureed). Put the olive oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat, then fry the onion mixture, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned – about seven minutes. Add the cumin, lime powder and tomato paste, cook for a minute, then add 400ml water, the last teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon and a quarter of salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a simmer, then cook, stirring occasionally, for six minutes, until thick and rich. Add the tofu, parsley and another grind of pepper, stir to coat, then add the spinach in increments, stirring, until it has just wilted – about three minutes.

Transfer to a shallow platter, top with the pickled onion and serve.

Salmon and potato bake with wakame butter

Microwaving the potatoes may be a bit cheeky, but it’s a shortcut I happily admit to when I’m short on time. You could also bake them at 200C (180C fan)/gas 6 for about 45 minutes, until crisp and cooked through, but in the interests of time, we cheated.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yotam Ottolenghi’s salmon and potato bake with wakame butter.

Prep 5 min

Cook 25 min

Serves 4

7g wakame seaweed

2 medium baking potatoes (500g)

Salt and black pepper

200g frozen petit pois peas, defrosted and roughly crushed

150g baby spinach, roughly torn

2-3 tbsp coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra chopped leaves to garnish

1½ tbsp olive oil

90g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

2 limes, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, and juiced, to get 1 tbsp, the rest cut into wedges

40g capers, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

4 x 120g sustainably sourced salmon fillets, skinned and boned

Heat the oven to 270C (250C fan)/gas 9+. Put the wakame in a bowl, add boiling water to cover and leave to rehydrate.

Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, then microwave on high for 10 minutes, turning them once halfway, until cooked through. Cut each potato into four wedges, fluffing up the flesh lightly with a fork, and sprinkle each wedge with a pinch of salt and pepper.

While the potatoes are cooking, in a large bowl, mix the peas, spinach, coriander, olive oil, a third of a teaspoon of salt and lots of pepper.

Drain and finely chop the wakame, then mix in a bowl with the butter, lime zest and juice, capers, garlic, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper.

Arrange the spinach mixture in a high-sided, 30cm x 20cm baking dish and lay the potato wedges on top. Season the salmon, then nestle the fillets in between the potatoes. Rub the seaweed butter all over the top of the potatoes and salmon, then bake for 12-15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through and the dish has taken on some colour. Sprinkle over some extra coriander and serve straight from the pan with the lime wedges alongside, for squeezing over.