So she has dedicated an entire book to them, The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook, giving inspiration for dishes on those days when people do not want the "faff".
"Instead, you want something where the mess stays in check and all the magic happens in one place."
O’Toole, who worked in pubs and homecare kitchens from the age of 16 working her way up to sous chef, admits she rarely cooks something regularly at home as most of her dinners end up as some sort of "one-plan or one-part meat and or rice or pasta or potato dish" that she throws together based on what’s in the fridge.
"I’ve just let my chef instinct take over and thrown a load of bits into a pot to let them do their thing."
So in her latest book she has tried to capture the "magic" of her home-style, frequent "one-pot" wonder dishes requiring her to actually write down what she is doing and measuring each step.
"One-pot cooking is absolutely my style of cooking at home. I love it. Once you get the combo of flavours, textures and ingredients right in one pot, the finished dish is guaranteed delicious."
O‘Toole started posting recipe videos online during the Covid pandemic which led to appearances on television and now her fifth cookbook after her potato recipes went viral.
So of course there are potato recipes in the book and she recommends using a 30cm hob and oven-safe cast-iron saute pan with a tight-fitting lid for most of the recipes in the book although sometimes a roasting pan or frypan will suffice.
"Most of the recipes work just as they come or with a hunk of bread or a flatbread for extra carbs, and a salad on the side if you feel the need for more greenery. Occasionally I’ve suggested rice, but it’s up to you."
She also extends the one-pot treatment to desserts with dishes like the oreo skillet cookie, a bakewell traybake and tarte tatin.
THE BOOK
Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious One Pot Cookbook by Poppy O'Toole, Bloomsbury Publishing, RRP$44.99
Shepherd’s pie with hasselback topping
Hasselbacks on a shepherd’s pie? I’m in love. I need to think of a name for this. Maybe a hedgehog pie? What about Hasselhoff pie? OK, make this and then tell me what it should be called. "The Absolutely Best Dinner Ever" might be an option too. As we’re making everything in one pan, this gets two goes in the oven — the hasselbacks in the pan on their own, then again on top of the filling. If you’re feeling naughty, reduce the overall cooking time by roasting the hasselbacks in a rule-breaking (shhh!) pan while you make the filling in the allowed pan on the hob (I won’t tell, if you don’t).
Serves 4
Ingredients
30cm ovensafe saute pan
1kg baby potatoes
light olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 leek, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
500g lamb mince
2 bay leaves
2 rosemary sprigs
2 thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons double-concentrate tomato puree
125ml any red wine
2 tablespoons plain flour
500ml lamb stock
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
200g frozen peas
50g cheddar, grated
Salt and black pepper
Method
1) Heat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
2) Cut your potatoes into hasselbacks — lay the handle of a wooden spoon either side of the potato you’re cutting and slice across to make slits along the potato’s length. The spoon handles will make sure you don’t cut all the way through. Drizzle the hasselbacks with olive oil, getting right into the cuts, then tip them into the pan and roast for 20–25 minutes, until golden brown and almost cooked. Scoop the potatoes out of the pan and set them aside for later. Leave the oven on.
3) Place the empty pan on the hob over a medium–high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Throw in the onion, carrots, leek, celery and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and fry gently for 4–6 minutes, until the onion is translucent and lightly golden brown.
4) Add the lamb mince and use a wooden spoon to break it up. Fry for a few more minutes, until the lamb is browned all over, then season well with salt and pepper. Throw in the bay, rosemary and thyme. Squeeze in the tomato puree and leave it to cook out for 2–3 minutes, until thick.
5) Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan, then sprinkle in the flour and cook it out, stirring, for 3–4 minutes. Pour in the lamb stock, season well with salt and pepper and add Worcestershire sauce to taste.
6) Bring the lamb mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer. Leave it to bubble away for 10–15 minutes, until thickened, then remove the bay, thyme and rosemary.
7) Stir through the peas, then top the lamb mixture with the hasselback baby potatoes, covering the filling in a layer. Sprinkle over the cheddar. Pop the pan in the oven for 20 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Glazed Asian-style pork chops
Glazing your pork chops Asian-style adds a twist if you’re used to having your chops in the classic, roasted way. The ginger and orange glaze brings all the specialness to this dish. It’s tasty. It’s tacky. It’s naughty. A bit like me. All the best things are naughty, tacky and good enough to eat.
Serves 4
30cm saute pan
Pork
4 thick pork loin steaks
Light olive oil
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
2 carrots, peeled and cut into fine batons
1 large red onion, sliced
300g straight-to-wok medium noodles
Salt and black pepper
Thinly sliced spring onion, to garnish (optional)
For the glaze
6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 oranges, juiced
3 garlic cloves, minced
15g ginger root, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons runny honey
2 teaspoons Chinese 5-spice
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons mirin
Method
1) Heat your pan over a medium–high heat. Drizzle your pork steaks with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Add the steaks to the pan and fry for 3–4 minutes on each side, until golden brown all over. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
2) Meanwhile, make the glaze by mixing together all the glaze ingredients in a jug. Set aside for later.
3) Add a drizzle of olive oil to the hot pan and throw in the broccoli, carrots and red onion. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, until they are all starting to colour. Add the noodles and stir through.
4) Add the pork steaks back to the pan and pour over the glaze.
Turn the pork over in the glaze and let the liquid bubble away for 3–4 minutes, until the glaze is sticky and the noodles are hot. Garnish with a scattering of sliced spring onions, if you like, and serve.
Orange chicken traybake
Orange and chicken is a revelation for me. It’s one of the best combos. The sticky orange sauce that coats your chicken adds so much flavour and tackiness. This is one of those traybakes that you think will leave leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch, but you’ll go back for seconds and then, with just a bit left, you might as well just finish it all anyway. We don’t judge seconds, thirds or picky-after-dinner-nibbles in this house.
Serves 4
Ingredients
30cm ovensafe saute pan
8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 orange, zested and juiced
4 tablespoons runny honey
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons chilli sauce, or to taste
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
7g ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon light olive oil
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
200g longstem broccoli
180g sugarsnap peas
2 spring onions, sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
20g cashew nuts,
roughly chopped 15g coriander, chopped (optional)
salt and black pepper
Method
1) Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Use a sharp knife to make a few cuts in the chicken thighs and set them aside while you make the glaze.
2) Heat your pan on a high heat. Meanwhile, mix together the orange zest and juice, honey, soy sauce, chilli sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic and ginger with a pinch each of salt and pepper.
3) Lightly rub the oil over the chicken skin and place the thighs in the hot pan, skin side down. Sear for 5–6 minutes, until the skin is golden, then turn the thighs over.
4) Spoon some of the glaze over each chicken thigh and add the sweet potatoes, nestling them around the chicken. Place the pan in the oven for 20 minutes, then baste over some more glaze and bake for another 15 minutes, until the chicken is dark golden and cooked through.
5) Throw the broccoli and sugarsnaps into the pan and pour over the last of the glaze. Give everything a good turn to coat and sprinkle over half of the spring onions. Pop the pan back in the oven for a final 15 minutes, until the veg are tender.
6) Sprinkle over the remaining spring onions, along with the chilli and cashews, and the coriander (if using), to serve.
