These 3 easy autumn dinners make busy weeknights much easier

October is having an identity crisis. The calendar says it is time for stews, roasting tins and something involving a suspicious amount of melted cheese; the weather, meanwhile, is still flirting with the high 20s.

It leaves dinner in equally awkward territory. Nobody particularly wants a heavy winter supper when it is warm enough to have the windows open, but salads have rather lost their charm. What does work is food that sits somewhere in the middle: comforting without being cumbersome, easy enough for a weeknight and, crucially, capable of feeding the whole family without requiring a separate children’s menu.

These recipes from Abel & Cole, the organic food delivery company, land neatly in that gap. There is smoky chicken roasted with sweetcorn and feta, a baked tomato and feta pasta requiring very little attention and a lentil and mushroom bolognese sharpened up with lemony gremolata. All three are built for the midweek juggle, with enough familiar territory to keep children on side and enough flavour to stop the adults feeling short-changed.

They are also a useful reminder that autumn cooking need not mean immediately reaching for the slow cooker. A roasting tin, a handful of vegetables and a decent amount of cheese will get you quite a long way.

One-pan chicken, feta and sweetcorn tin roast

Rustle up a one pan, midweek roast that’s full of flavour with this recipe for organic chicken thighs and drumsticks coated in a smoky tomato sauce and roasted with juicy sweetcorn cobs. Topped with crumbled feta, shredded spring onions and with wedges of lime to squeeze over, it makes a hearty family dinner with a side of basmati rice.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

50g tomato ketchup

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 garlic cloves

4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken drumsticks

2 red onions

4 corn on the cobs

2 spring onions

1 lime

120g feta

Basmati rice, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Pour the tomato ketchup into a large mixing bowl and add 1 tsp smoked paprika. Peel and grate or crush the garlic and add it to the bowl. Pour in 3 tbsp olive oil, add a good pinch of salt and pepper and mix well.

2. Make a few shallow cuts in each chicken thigh and drumstick with a small, sharp knife, then add them to the bowl of smoky sauce. Turn the chicken over a few times to coat it, then place the chicken in your largest roasting tin. Slide the tin into the hot oven to roast for 15 mins.

3. While the chicken roasts, peel and thickly slice the red onions. Pull the leaves and silks off the sweetcorn. Cut the cobs in half with a heavy cook’s knife (no big knife? Just leave the corn cobs whole). Pop them into a clean bowl and dust over the remaining 1 tsp smoked paprika. Drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Rub the oil and paprika into the sweetcorn cobs.

4. When the chicken has cooked for 15 mins, remove the tin from the oven. Arrange the corn around the chicken and tuck in the onion slices. Slide back into the oven and roast for 30 mins. The chicken should be golden and cooked through and the corn charred and tender.

5. While the chicken and corn roast, trim and thinly slice the spring onions. Cut the lime into wedges.

6. After 30 mins, remove the tin roast from the oven. Crumble over the feta and scatter over the sliced spring onions. Serve the chicken and roast veg with cooked rice and wedges of lime to squeeze over.

The right tin for the job: We recommend using your largest roasting tin for this recipe. If you think it looks a little overcrowded, divide the ingredients between a couple of tins – this way the roast will cook more evenly. The tin placed lower in the oven will need a little longer cooking time, or you can swap the tins round halfway.

Get ahead: You can marinate the chicken thighs and drumsticks in the smoky sauce overnight. Make the sauce, add the chicken and turn to coat it, then cover the bowl with food wrap or a plate and leave in your fridge for up to 24 hours. Take out of the fridge around 30 mins before you want to roast the chicken.

Baked feta and cherry tomato pasta twists

This easy baked pasta sauce is super simple to make – just roast cherry tomatoes in the oven with a block of feta till tender and caramelised, then crush together, add a few herbs and spices and toss with pasta twists. Simple, satisfying and full of flavour.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

500g cherry vine tomatoes

200g feta

2 garlic cloves

1 lemon

A handful of thyme

360g fusilli

A handful of flat leaf parsley

A pinch of chilli flakes

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Tip the cherry vine tomatoes into a large, ovenproof dish, discarding the stalks.

2. Nestle the whole block of feta in the middle of the tomatoes. Drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil and crack over a little black pepper. Slide into the oven. Bake for 20 mins.

3. While the feta and tomatoes bake, fill a large pan with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Set on a high heat, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Finely grate the zest from the lemon. Pick the thyme leaves off their woody stems.

4. When the tomatoes and feta have baked for 20 mins, check the pan of water and, if it’s boiling, add the fusilli. Simmer for 8-10 mins till it’s cooked but still has a little bite.

5. As soon as the pasta is in the pan, take the feta and tomatoes out of the oven. Sprinkle in the chopped garlic, lemon zest and thyme leaves with a pinch of chilli flakes, (they’re spicy, so add as much or as little as you prefer).

6. Use a fork or a masher to crush the feta and tomatoes and muddle them together. Return to the oven and bake for the rest of the time the pasta is cooking. This should be about 7-9 mins. The feta and tomatoes will brown and caramelise a little.

7. Take the dish out of the oven. Drain the pasta and tip it into the dish. Fold together. Taste and add more salt, pepper or a pinch of sugar, if you think it needs it. Scoop the pasta into warm bowls and tear over the parsley to garnish.

Love your leftovers: The pasta and sauce will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in airtight tubs. Reheat in the microwave till piping hot. The pasta and sauce can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight before reheating.

A spoonful of sugar: Seasoning tomato-based sauces with a pinch of sugar can help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes, giving you a smoother tasting sauce. You can use any sugar, or even a dash of maple or agave syrup – just add it at the end, stir to mix, then wait 30 secs before tasting to check the sauce has a balanced mix of flavours.

Veggie spag bol with zingy lemon gremolata

This veggie bolognese is made with an umami-rich mix of tender green lentils and chestnut mushrooms bubbled in a smooth tomato sauce to make a hearty vegan version of the Italian classic. You’ll make a zingy gremolata to top it off – a tangy mix of fresh parsley, lemon juice and garlic that enhances the flavours. A sprinkling of pine nuts is the final finishing touch.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 15-20 minutes | Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 onion

2 carrots

2 celery sticks

200g chestnut mushrooms

4 garlic cloves

A handful of rosemary

690g passata

400g tin of green lentils

360g wholewheat spaghetti

A handful of flat leaf parsley

1 lemon

25g pine nuts

Method:

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Trim the carrots, then peel and dice them. Trim the dry ends off the celery sticks and dice them, too. Rinse the mushrooms and slice or tear them into small pieces.

2. Warm a large pan over a medium-low heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chopped veg. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pop a lid on the pan, or use a baking tray if you don’t have a lid. Fry the veg, stirring often, for 10 mins till the veg are glossy and starting to soften.

3. While the veg fry, peel and crush or grate 2 of the garlic cloves (save the rest for later). Pick the rosemary leaves off their woody stalks and roughly chop them. Stir the garlic and rosemary into the veg. Cook and stir for 2 mins till the pan smells aromatic.

4. Pour in the passata. Drain the lentils, then add them to the pan. Add a pinch more salt and pepper, and a pinch of sugar if you like. Give it all a good stir, then bring to the boil. When the sauce is boiling, turn the heat down, pop the lid back on and simmer for 20 mins, stirring every so often, till the sauce has started to thicken.

5. Meanwhile, put a large pan of salted water on to boil. When the sauce has 10 mins cooking time left, check the pan of water – it should be boiling. Add the spaghetti and simmer for 10-12 mins till it’s cooked but not too soft. It should still have a little bounce and bite to it.

6. While the spaghetti cooks, peel and finely chop the remaining 2 garlic cloves. Scoop them into a bowl. Finely chop the parsley leaves and stalks and add to the garlic. Finely grate in the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice from half the lemon. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to mix. This is your gremolata.

7. The bolognese sauce should have thickened and the lentils should be tender. Taste the sauce and add a pinch of salt, pepper, sugar, or a squeeze of lemon juice, if you think it needs it. Drain the spaghetti and divide between four warm bowls or plates. Top with the bolognese sauce, spoon over the gremolata and scatter over the pine nuts to serve.

Love your leftovers: The spaghetti bolognese will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in airtight tubs or can be frozen for up to 3 months. Mix the pasta and sauce together, then divide between the tubs and seal. Reheat in the microwave or on the hob, with an extra splash of water or stock, till piping hot.

For more recipes and to shop Abel & Cole’s organic produce boxes, visit Abel & Cole.