Inspiration for dinner is hard to come by, especially on a Monday. Use this list as a guide for five quick and delicious dinners for this coming week, including a meat-free butternut option for Monday, tangy fishcakes, Thai noodles, easy pasta and a South African steak.

Roasted butternut and feta couscous salad

Couscous is highly underrated, but so affordable and nutritious, and everybody loves roasted butternut. (Or are you more of a potato fan? Check out our battle between the two for the title of SA’s favourite vegetable.) This tasty meat-free recipe will be comfort you even after the bluest Monday.

Hake and potato fish cakes with tomato salsa
“This is a clever way to get the kids to eat fish,” says recipe developer Hannah Lewry. You can also make these fishcakes with sweet potato, and prawns or salmon instead of hake. The creamy fish flesh is dusted with bread crumbs for crunch before being gently fried.

Chicken pad Thai
Saucy, spicy and nutty, this is a real crowd-pleaser. The brown sugar balances out the sourness of the tamarind and, along with chilli, ginger, fresh coriander, spring onions and crushed peanuts, create a really flavoursome but light weekday meal.

Spinach and duck pasta
Calling for fresh spinach, parmesan and rich duck sausages, this pasta recipe is simple and scrumptious. The duck sausages are from Dargle Duck, winner of the 2012 Eat In DStv Food Network Produce Award in the Paddock category. You can, however, substitute the duck for pork sausages instead.

Rump steak with Amarula and mushrooms sauce, rösti and caramelised onion
This is a great truly South African steak recipe for a lingering night in. It features buttery mushrooms in a white sauce spiked with Amarula, garlicy baby spinach, golden brown onions, a home-made rösti, and rump steak. Open a few bottles of wine and enjoy the end of your week.

By Linda Scarborough

Need more ideas? Read our previous installments of a week’s meals – beans, beef curry and fancy burgers  and one-pot wonders and pantry-raid pastas – or visit our tips and tricks page for ideas with soup and hot desserts, a lesson on how to make paella, cooking with winter fruit and other great kitchen tips.