What to Cook this Week is a weekly recipe series we publish most Mondays with weeknight meal ideas from the Grantourismo recipe archives. Suggestions include easy midweek dishes, ideas for upcoming holidays, and recipes that we’re developing and testing that we’d love you to try.
For our What to Cook this Week round-up of mid-week dinner ideas we have some comfort food recipes that you should enjoy whether you’re in the northern hemisphere where fall or autumn has just begun or you’re in the southern hemisphere where spring has sprung.
We’re sharing some of our best Irish recipes for St Patricks Day this week on Thursday 17 March, which include recipes for Irish stew, cottage pie, seafood chowder, and corned beef and cabbage. In the meantime we have a couple of incredibly delicious colcannon recipes for you.
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What to Cook this Week from Mid-Week Comfort Food Ideas to St Patricks Day Recipes
Monday Night – Chicken Stroganoff Recipe
I’m making my chicken Stroganoff recipe tonight. I know I’ve shared this before, but it’s so good and it’s an original recipe I’ve based on a combination of my Russian family recipes, original research and my imagination, so you won’t taste another Stroganoff like this.
If you have cooked and enjoyed my Russian beef Stroganoff recipe or creamy mushroom Stroganoff then you’re going to love this chicken Strog.
I’ve been cooking my family recipes with a heavy heart recently due to Putin’s war against Ukraine and the tragedy unfolding there, however, cooking Russian food and Ukrainian food and the food from the region is an act of remembering that enables me to spend precious time with the loved-ones I’m missing during this heartbreaking period of history. But don’t let my sentiments get you down!
This is just an incredibly delicious dish to enjoy. A classic garden salad is a great companion but if you’re cooking for family, you could start with my baboushka’s borscht and for dessert we have pancake recipes.
Chicken Stroganoff Recipe for a Rich, Spicy, Tangy Old Shanghai Style Stroganoff
Tuesday Night – Mushroom Noodle Soup Recipe with Handmade Pasta
On Tuesday I’m making my comforting mushroom noodle soup recipe with handmade pasta called ‘lapsha’, which is a centuries-old Russian vegetarian soup. Historically it was eaten during the Orthodox Great Lent period of fasting, when eggs and sour cream would have been forbidden, but these days this hearty nourishing soup with hand-cut noodles can be enjoyed at any time.
These handmade noodles are super-easy to make and there are few things more satisfying than eating rustic hand-cut noodles that you’ve made yourself so don’t be tempted to use store-bought. No matter how intimidated you might be if you’ve never made handmade pasta, make these.
I guarantee that you’ll get hooked on the act of making noodles, which is really very therapeutic, especially if you open a bottle of wine, which will also give you confidence. Make these noodles with loved-ones and you’re also making memories, which I guarantee will give you just as much comfort as this soup one day.
Whatever you do, don’t pop your noodles into the soup pot until you’re ready to eat, as they’ll be ready in a few minutes. You could leave them in there for longer, but note that they’ll continue to soften. It’s better to time things well instead. Serve with plenty of fresh fragrant dill and rye bread.
Mushroom Noodle Soup Recipe with Handmade Pasta for a Centuries Old Russian Vegetarian Soup
Wednesday Night – Russian Cabbage Roll Fried Rice
I have been experimenting with variations on Russian cabbage rolls recipes in recent months, as my traditional Russian cabbage roll recipe based on my baboushka’s recipe is one of our most popular on the site.
I’ve shared everything from Russian cabbage roll soup recipe to this most recent recipe for cabbage roll fried rice, and while I love the original cabbage rolls, I am completely addicted to this cabbage roll fried rice dish. It is so good.
Traditional cabbage rolls are super easy to make, so please do not be deterred by these recipes online that tell you it takes hours and is so time-consuming and complicated. It does not take long to make cabbage rolls at all. So rather than see this as an easier recipe, see it as its own uniquely enjoyable dish that offers the same flavours in a different form.
I suggest making a classic garden salad as a side and pop some dill pickles in a separate dish. If that’s not enough for you for a Wednesday night, then do browse my collection of Russian family recipes for more ideas.
Cabbage Roll Fried Rice Recipe for a Fragrant Fried Rice Inspired by my Grandmother’s Cabbage Rolls
Thursday Night – Salmon Fillet with Colcannon
Thursday is St Patricks Day when we cook Irish food and channel our Irish friends who we haven’t seen in years. We’ll be sharing recipes for Irish stew, shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, and corned beef and cabbage with you between now and Thursday, but one of our favourite Irish dishes is this salmon fillet with colcannon recipe.
This dish has been a favourite since we first tasted it at restaurant Banc in Sydney many years ago.
The crispy skinned salmon fillet was cooked to perfection, the colcannon (an Irish mash potato) was creamy and rich, and while the red wine sauce seemed an unusual choice, its acidity worked well with a mouthful of the other ingredients.
One of the things we love about this salmon fillet with colcannon is that you can prep everything beforehand and disappear into the kitchen for only 10 minutes to finish it if you’ve done your mis-en-place. Reheat the mash and add some butter to the sauce while you cook the salmon. So simple.
Another point in this recipe’s favour is that it can be adapted for non-pescatarians without deeply affecting the flavour profile of the dish. At a dinner party where two guests didn’t eat fish and one wanted red meat, I mated the colcannon and red wine sauce with a couple of cuts of decent sirloin. It’s brilliant.
Salmon Fillet with Colcannon Recipe and How to Get a Perfect Crispy Salmon Skin
Friday Night – Irish Colcannon Recipe with Fried Egg and Crispy Bacon
This Irish colcannon recipe with fried egg and crispy bacon is perfect for an easy casual and comforting dinner if you have some colcannon left over from St Patrick’s Day – especially if you’ve got a hangover. While we first shared it as a Weekend Eggs dish for breakfast or brunch you can really eat it at any time of day.
It makes a deliciously-rich traditional Irish colcannon dish of mashed potatoes with butter, milk, cabbage, spring onions, and bacon, and tops the colcannon with a fried egg and crispy bacon.
Our best tip to making this Irish colcannon recipe with fried egg and crispy bacon is one that every bacon lover should know. If you’re stir-frying any vegetables for a dish where bacon is also going to be fried, cook the bacon first. Bacon fat is magic.
When making your mash remember to slowly add the warmed milk a splash at a time over medium heat. Make sure each splash of milk is fully incorporated before adding the next. It really adds to the creamy texture. Having said that, Irish colcannon is not exactly silky smooth, but rather has a rustic texture.
So while we push the potatoes through the potato ricer we do not use the tamis to get the potato mash ultra fine as I normally would. If you add the milk slowly and use a strong silicone spatula to incorporate it (never ever use a fork for this; it’s useless) the mash will be quite smooth. It doesn’t need to be as creamy as a classic French mash as we’re adding the cabbage mixture to it which will give it texture. Enjoy!
Irish Colcannon Recipe with Fried Egg and Crispy Bacon for Weekend Eggs, the Irish Edition
Please do let us know if you’ve made any of our What to Cook this Week recipes in the comments below as we’d love to get your feedback and hear how our recipes turned out for you.
