This week's meal plan kicks off with crisp pork cutlets marinated in honey, yogurt, and turmeric. On Tuesday, you’ll roast chicken once (using the super-easy sheet-pan method) and eat it twice. Midweek, a creamy coconut lentil stew gets you through while adding a clutch meal to the freezer. It’s followed by a hearty, low-maintenance chicken salad that leans on leftovers. You’ll close the week with a dreamy carbonara that has just enough cauliflower to feel healthy, especially when paired with a freestyle side salad. If you want to get a jump on things, marinate the pork cutlets on Sunday night and stash a double batch of rice in the fridge. You can also wash herbs and vegetables ahead of time.
Here's the grocery list:
Pantry:
- 2 cups rice
- ¼ cup honey
- Ground turmeric (if not using fresh)
- Vegetable oil
- Olive oil
- Brown sugar
- Ground cumin
- Cayenne pepper
- Coconut oil
- Curry powder (medium or to taste)
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Red lentils
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- Dijon mustard
- 12 ounces orecchiette
Produce:
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 (2-inch) piece turmeric (or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric)
- 4 lemons
- 3 small beets
- 3 small carrots, preferably with tops (or a small bag of baby carrots)
- 1 bunch chives
- 1 acorn or delicata squash (about 1½ pounds)
- 1 fennel bulb (about ½ pound)
- 1 pound seedless grapes
- 1 large bunch mint
- 1 onion
- 1 (2½-inch) piece ginger
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 lime
- 1 pound baby new potatoes
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 pound asparagus (about 1 bunch)
- 4 cups watercress or baby arugula (about 7 ounces)
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 1 bunch parsley
Butcher’s Counter:
- 1¼ pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), fat trimmed to ¼”, cut into 4 pieces
- 16 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
- 6 ounces bacon
Dairy & Eggs:
- ½ cup whole milk yogurt
- 5 eggs
- 4 ounces Parmesan, finely grated
Bakery:
- Naan or flatbread
Monday:Honey-Turmeric Pork with Beet and Carrot Salad
To save time, ask the butcher to portion the meat while you hit the produce aisle for trimmed beets and baby carrots (which you will triple, because they are, well, baby-sized.) If you didn’t marinate the cutlets overnight on Sunday, that's your first step. While the flavor develops, get a double batch of rice going and slice chives and vegetables. When the rice is halfway done, start searing the pork and dress the salad. Reserve half of the rice for tomorrow.
Tuesday:不怕孜然鸡大腿与南瓜、茴香, and Grapes
It’s Two-fer Tuesday! Tonight you'll make a double batch of chicken—half of it seasoned with cumin for tonight's meal, and half of it roasted with just salt and pepper for later in the week—so get out your extra sheet pans. After thecumin chickenis in the oven on a bed of squash, fennel, and grapes, place remaining chicken thighs on a tray of their own and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast skin-side up. While everything's going in the oven, try to hide half the grapes so they last until Friday. (If anyone gets to them, no problem. Other leftovers will work too.) Serve tonight’s chicken with the rest of last night’s rice. Hold salt-and-pepper chicken for Thursday.
Wednesday:Curried Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup
Double this recipe and serve half with warm naan or flatbread. Bank the other half in the freezer or keep it in the fridge, reserved coconut milk in a separate container, for the weekend. (To freeze, stir extra coconut milk into the bonus batch instead of storing separately to later drizzle on top. You won’t get the white swirls the second time around, but you can make up for it with fresh lime, cilantro leaves, and steaming naan.) In a pinch, skip the garnishes and serve soup with crackers or whatever bread you have on hand. This soup is phenomenal no matter how you serve it.
Thursday:Warm Chicken Salad with Asparagus and Creamy Dill Dressing
This full-meal salad is all about saving time. Lean on pre-washed greens and steam the smallest potatoes you can find, because they cook the fastest. Substitute Tuesday’s chicken thighs for the rotisserie breasts called for in the recipe and that’s it. Dinner done, one step closer to Friday.
Friday:Cauliflower Carbonara
Mmmmm, carbonara. The trick to making this dish is to scoop 2 cups of pasta water before draining, and to add the orecchiette to the egg-cheese mixture while it’s still hot. To balance the pasta's richness, improvise a quick side salad with what’s left from the week: Place the rest of the greens in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar, or juice from half a lemon, and a glug of olive oil. Toss together and top with leftover roasted veg or halved grapes, along with a handful of any remaining herbs, coarsely chopped or leaves plucked from stems. Pro tip: salt will counter acidity, a quick fix when the bottle of vinegar slips out of your hand. On to the weekend and more of thatspectacular coconut curry soup.
