Supper Club: Australian food stylist and author Donna Hay shares three tasty dinner recipes

Sweet chilli chicken meatball banh mi
Serves 4

My boys asked me for a meatball sub and this is what I made for them! Once their plates were completely empty, they asked, “Are there seconds?” Looks like this one is going to be on lunchtime repeat for quite a while! 

Ingredients

• 700g chicken mince
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
• ¼ cup (60ml) sweet chilli sauce, plus extra to serve
• 2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lime rind
• sea salt flakes
• ¾ cup (100g) sesame seeds, for rolling
• extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
• fresh baguettes
• mayonnaise
• sliced cucumber
• sliced carrots
• coriander leaves
• sliced long red chilli
• lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. Combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, coriander, chilli sauce, ginger, lime rind and salt and mix well to combine. 
2. Place the sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. 
3. Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs and roll each meatball in the sesame seeds until coated. 
4. Preheat air fryer to 200°C for 4 minutes. 
5. Brush the hot basket with oil. In batches, add the chicken meatballs to the basket and brush with extra oil. Cook for 8 minutes or until cooked through. 
6. To assemble, spread the baguettes with mayonnaise. Top with cucumber, carrot, meatballs, coriander and chilli. Serve with a drizzle of extra sweet chilli and lime wedges.

Chef’s note: To ensure your meatballs are light, fluffy and super easy to roll, be sure to mix them for at least 3 minutes to allow the protein in the chicken to bind all the ingredients together.

Smashed pea and prosciutto salad with halloumi crisps
Serves 4

Move over croutons… halloumi crisps are the new super-easy way to add cheesy, salty crunch. They transform this clever salad of humble frozen peas into the most elegantly irresistible dish.  

Ingredients

• 300g halloumi, shaved using a vegetable peeler
• 60g unsalted butter
• 500g frozen peas
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1½ cups (24g) mint leaves
• 150g rocket leaves
• 8 slices prosciutto
• toasted bread slices
• lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. To make the halloumi crisps, spread the halloumi on a large tray lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 10–12 minutes or until golden and crisp.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and cook until melted. Add the peas, lemon rind, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cook for 2–3 minutes or until the peas are heated through. 
4. Using a fork, roughly smash half the peas. Add the mint and rocket and toss to combine. 
5. Divide the bread slices between serving plates. Top with the smashed peas, prosciutto, halloumi and serve with lemon wedges.

Chef’s note: To ensure a crispy halloumi, it needs to be sliced super thinly – a vegetable peeler does the job easily. You can change up the prosciutto for rashers of crispy bacon if you prefer.

One-pan undone lasagne
Serves 6

If you love everything about lasagne except the time it takes to make it, then this is for you. This is not a traditional recipe for lasagne – it’s more for those wanting all the comforting gooey yumminess of lasagne but in an instant. Try it – you’ll love it!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 600g beef mince
• 1 litre good-quality beef stock
• 3 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 250g fresh lasagne sheets, cut into 5cm x 21cm strips
• ¼ cup (5g) chopped basil leaves, plus extra leaves to serve

For the mascarpone cheese topping:

• 350g mascarpone
• 1 cup (80g) finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
• 1 x 125g fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced

Method

1. Heat a large deep ovenproof frying pan over medium–high heat.
2. Add the oil and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and beef and cook for 6 minutes, stirring, until the beef is well browned.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 35–40 minutes or until the mixture has reduced by roughly one-third. The mixture should still be quite saucy.
5. Add the lasagne sheets, a few at a time, and gently stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the pasta softens. Remove from the heat and stir through the basil.
6. Preheat oven grill (broiler) to high.
7. To make the mascarpone cheese topping, combine the mascarpone, parmesan and pepper. Top the lasagne with small spoonfuls of mascarpone mixture and mozzarella. Grill for 10–12 minutes or until the lasagne is golden and bubbly.
8. Finish with extra basil and parmesan to serve.

Chef’s note: If you have dried lasagne sheets, pop them into boiling water for 30 seconds or until pliable, drain and use as you would fresh sheets.