Unfortunately, even the best chefs can run out of ideas for what to cook sometimes. And when you’re juggling the other aspects of your life, it can be easy to get a little repetitive with your meals. Fortunately, there are plenty of impressive meals out there that are surprisingly simple and easy to prepare. Here are 5 fancy recipe ideas to spice up your cooking.
Risotto
Substituting rice for risotto can instantly turn a kitchen staple meal into a restaurant-worthy dish. The starchiness of the risotto can give the flavor of your meal more depth and richness standard long-grain rice. There are also countless popular risotto recipes out there, so there is bound to be one that suits everyone’s pallet. Try squash as a staple ingredient for a seasonal autumnal risotto, or use peas and chorizo, for an enduringly popular recipe.
Steak
Steak is a sure-fire hit for any dinner party or special occasion. It also has the additional benefit of being simple to cook, yet still being an impressive dish. The most important things to remember when cooking steak are to properly season it and to be as strict as possible with your timings.
Another benefit of cooking steak is that you can choose the cuts of beef you serve to suit your guests’ tastes. For example, fillet steak is a popular choice, since it is one of the tenderest cuts, and has next-to-no fat. However, the lack of fat can also affect the flavor of the cut, so if you want something with a bit more depth, you could instead use sirloin or rib-eye cut.
Gnocchi
To mix up your midweek cooking, you can switch up your pasta for gnocchi, instead. The fluffy potato dumplings are a classic part of Italian cuisine and are also quick and easy to make from scratch at home. They can therefore make for a fun twist on your everyday cooking.
Paella
As with the gnocchi, paella can be an effective yet simple way of adding some cultural flair to your cooking. The national dish of Spain, paella has several variations but traditionally consists of round grain rice, green vegetables, paprika, saffron, and a variety of meats. However, the dish can also be made with seafood instead of meat, or be made entirely vegetarian. While it can take a while to cook, paella is all assembled and cooked in one pan. It is therefore very simple to make.
Crab Cakes
If you’re willing to splash out a little, crab can be a great, delectable way of giving your meals a luxurious edge. Crab cakes, in particular, are incredibly tasty, as well as nice and simple to make. They normally have few ingredients, as it’s important to make sure the taste of the crab is not overpowered. All you’ll need is some hot oil to fry them in, and some seasoning for the meat. Either chunk or flake crab meat can also be used, depending on your budget.
Now that you have a few ideas, get in the kitchen and spice up dinner.
