One-pot meals are; cosy, familiar, and easy to throw on. They offer us all the pleasure of home cooking with minimum fuss and hardly any washing up, they nearly always contain a starch, protein and vegetable all rolled into one flavoursome dish

Most cultures have their version of the one-pot meal. The Italians have their creamy risotto, the Spanish paella and the French serve a perfect cassoulet, to name but just a few. Versions of this these dishes pop up all around the world but the defining factor is in its name: it requires only one pot. That pot may be a wok, saucepan, a skillet, slow cooker or tagine, but everything is prepared in that one vessel and the melded flavours combine to produce something extraordinary.

The benefits of one pot cooking

Many of us find ourselves “time poor” and not everyone has time to prepare three different dishes- a starch, protein and vegetable- every night. The one pot meal allows for diversity in food and flavour while still keeping things simple.

While every dish might not contain a perfectly balanced meal, its all-in-one method of preparation lends itself to sneaking a vegetable or two into the pot or pan which the children or picky eaters might not see.

Cleaning is kept to a minimum, because most meals do not require more than a chopping board and knife, beside the cooking pot, of obviously!

One-pot meals are perfect dishes for batch cooking. Recipes can be doubled and a portion frozen for a later date so when you’re running late there is always something there to pull from the freezer.