--- The Cook Up with Adam Liaw airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.00pm, or stream it free on SBS On Demand. ---
"Traybakes, they're a wonderful way to get food on the table," says Adam Liaw, who hosts SBS Food program The Cook Up With Adam Liaw.
"They're short on effort, short on washing up and excellent bang for buck. Just load up the tray, whack it in the old oven, and let that clever thing on the wall do all the work."
If you need a little midweek inspiration, here are four traybake dinners with a cooking time of 40 minutes or less.
Source: Adam Liaw
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Baked broccolini and sausage spaghetti
Broccolini and sausage spaghetti
"Broccolini is one of my favourite ingredients, it didn't exist before 1994," explains Liaw.
"It's a genetic hybrid between broccoli and gai-lan, Chinese broccoli, that occurred in 1993, and they trademarked it in 1994."
Liaw roughly cuts broccolini, squeezes out the insides of some Italian sausages, and tops them with anchovies, olive oil, chilli and a little bit of salt.
Meanwhile, he cooks spaghetti in a saucepan. Once the broccolini and sausage have baked for 15 to 20 minutes, he mixes the spaghetti into the traybake.
Melbourne-based chef Raymond Tan, who is an expert when it comes to anything in the oven, has amassed a cult Instagram following for his stunning (mainly sweet) baked goods.
"Though not many Asian dishes are baked, one of my go-to adapted traybake dishes is fish curry," he tells SBS Food.
"It's very comforting during winter and one of the easier dishes to whip up in no time. Also, it's a great way to get rid of all the odd bits and pieces left in the fridge so you can easily substitute with any seafood and vegetables."
It's very comforting during winter and one of the easier dishes to whip up in no time.
Tan preheats the oven to 190°C and greases an oven tray. He slices red onion, chilli, eggplant, okra and tomatoes and places them on a tray with the fish.
He then places coconut cream, curry paste, water, lime rind and juice in a large jug and stirs to combine. After that, he pours the mixture over the fish and vegetables and bakes this for 10 minutes.
"Add the curry leaves and bake for a further five minutes or until the fish and vegetables are just cooked through."
You can garnish it with coriander and chilli and serve over a hot bowl of rice or as it is.
Saffron salmon
Hamed Allahyari is the owner of refugee-run eatery Cafe Sunshine & SalamaTea, a Persian eatery in Sunshine in Melbourne's west. Saffron salmon is one of his favourite baked dishes.
"I make garlic paste and use it to marinate the salmon, with saffron, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper," says Allahyari.
He puts the salmon in the oven for 40 minutes at 180°C. "Sometimes, I also put some unpeeled potatoes in the same tray," he says. Once complete, he drizzles the salmon with a dressing of lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and tahini, but you can use the dressing on the whole dish too.
Allahyari enjoys the richness of the tahini, which contrasts with the sweet and sour flavours in the pomegranate molasses.
Go all-in with this pantry staple bake. Source: Adam Liaw
Chicken and date traybake
Myffy Rigby national editor at Good Food, shares her friend's 'chicken all in' recipe on The Cook Up, which is so easy absolutely anyone can cook it.
She says to leverage shelf-stable pantry ingredients and those that "live in your fridge forever". Rigby uses olives, dates and preserved lemon for her chicken traybake.
Rigby marinates the chicken in oil, salt and thyme. However, the beauty of the dish is being able to create your own seasoning. Place your traybake creation in the oven and cook for 20 minutes at 220°C.
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All-in chicken
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