Pescatarian/veggie one-pot dinners?

[AwkwardPaws27]

I've got a newborn, 3yo and a DH with restricted diet (pescatarian, can't eat anything in the onion family except small amounts of garlic, & minimal legumes).

I'm looking for your best one-pot/tray dinners. We have been eating pasta bakes, orzo or paella type dishes on repeat for the last couple of weeks so hoping there are some other suggestions

I’d make a separate tiny one for the little one then. It really is the feta that makes it.

Unfortunately he is not a good cook. He has many other redeeming qualities thankfully but anything more complicated than curry/pasta bake (from a jar) or a stir fry is asking for trouble.
If I can dump ingredients in a dish and ask him to just stick in the oven and stir halfway through then at least it'll be edible.

Tricky, I use a lot of legumes for protein. I think egg/ tofu / egg based dishes would work... Stir fries, omelettes and frittatas, roast veg dishes (add a garlic soft cheese or block of feta to make it more special), vegetable stew or casserole (smoked tofu or veggie sausages for protein), if he can tolerate quorn then bolognaise/ lasagne (minus the onion).

Ooo yes I made something similar a lot last summer. DS wasn't that keen on halloumi then but will try again. I could stick the halloumi in the airfryer to minimise having stuff on the hob (as it'll need less direct supervision!).

Also, don’t feel guilty about the 3 year old having something much simpler. Eg - rice, plain veg and a bit of protein (hard boiled egg, quick omelette) whilst the adults have chilli and rice; pasta and cheese/pesto whilst the adults have a different pasta sauce etc.

Thank you! Just ordered a preloved copy on ebay

That sounds divine! Adding ingredients to the shopping list

Yes, all the alliums unfortunately, apart from small amounts of garlic.
He also can't eat sweetcorn and aubergine, & we have to limit things like cabbage to small portions.

That Jain website looks very helpful, thank you.

Thank you - thats doable, I have smaller pyrex dishes so could do an individual portion without.

Thank you - not so much guilt as not wanting to cook twice
I know making pasta or an omelette is quick but it doesn't feel that quick when you have a 3 year old trying to "help"/getting up to mischief and a newborn crying - so anything to make life easier once DH is back at work!
I will make a batch of hidden veg pasta & freeze in portions for 3yo though - that way if he won't eat what we are having/comes home starving and needs feeding early, I can just microwave a portion for him.

Good plan. When my daughter went through a particularly fussy phase, I sometimes resorted to just giving her good peanut butter on wholemeal toast plus carrot sticks etc. and yoghurt. So long as she ate some fruit and vege and a bit of protein, I decided it didn’t matter too much!

My dp also isn’t much of a cook but I invented a pasta dish which he likes and can cook. Personally I think it looks like cat sick and wouldn’t eat it if you paid me, but maybe your husband would like to try it!!

Cook pasta
Meanwhile melt a load of cream cheese in a frying pan
Add a handful of frozen peas
Add smoked salmon trimmings
Add lemon juice

It’s a Gousto classic!

Is it? Somebody told me about it a couple of years ago and I was ridiculously impressed by its cleverness!

I invented the two sides bit myself though, as far as I know 😂

Veggie shepherd's pie with leeks rather than onions? https://pinchofyum.com/vegetarian-shepherds-pie

Unfortunately leeks are in the onion family. I'm really looking for stuff I can just dump in one pan/tray and bake, so shepherds pie is a bit too much prep right now

You can do a fajita filling in a roasting tray - start with peppers and mushrooms and spices and then add drained sweetcorn and beans to warm through. Microwave tortillas. Soured cream. Cheese. Done. Can add quorn pieces if wished, with the peppers.

What about savoury tray bakes? You shove it all in, bake and eat. Obviously omit the onions/leeks etc

-https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/baked_salmon_00289
-https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cod_with_pesto_roast_14470
-https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/fragrant-coconut-salmon-prawn-traybake
-https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/greek-feta-traybake
-https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marmalade_haddock_80489

Unfortunately he is not a good cook

Is he willing to learn?
Usually people who aren't good cooks are because they don't want to become good cooks. Learning to cook is easy, but the interest has to be there.

Ratatouille, lentil bean stew. If you like combine the ratatouille with shell pasta and a cheese sauce then bake in the oven.

You can replace onions with celery chopped small.

Yes, it’s on my list of regulars after getting the recipe from Gousto. If you go onto the Gousto app there is a “cookbook” tab with lots of other variations if you search gnocchi. Also a good place for other one pot dinners - there’s a Malaysian prawn curry that is good, I love things you can just cook in the oven and clean up everything beforehand.

Red peppers work as a sub for onion (DD has to be careful with aliums but finds the green bits of leeks OK). And you can buy frozen mash. Sliced tinned potatoes also work as a cottage pie topping. When I make it I make double the veg and freeze half. It means that when I need a really quick meal I can defrost in the microwave, top with sliced potatoes or frozen mash and bang it in the oven in about 6 minutes.
Another quick fix is to cook twice as much salmon one night and then flake the rest into a frittata with peas or tenderstem broccoli. Four eggs, a couple of teaspoons of pesto and the zest of a lemon, beat it up in a jug and pour over the salmon and veg and bake for 25 minutes.

Honestly right now isn't the time I want him disappearing off in to the kitchen for an hour to learn (& potentially make a huge mess whilst producing something inedible). DD is a week old.
He has a tendency to go off track and add random items (marmite, mostly. He once added pickle juice - brine - to what was supposed to be loaded tortilla chips, resulting in an inedible vinegary mush).
If he can follow a simple "dump these ingredients in the cast iron dish and put in oven for 45 minutes" type recipe, I'll be very happy, rather than him being in the kitchen for an hour and making something his way