Weekly menu from September 7th to 13th, so your shopping lasts all week

The week alternates between pasta, fish, rice, legumes, meat, eggs, and vegetables, avoiding having two particularly heavy dishes on the same day. Another must-try new dish is arròs del paraigüer, a cod and black sausage rice dish, which we'll be serving on Wednesdays, as it's best enjoyed as soon as it comes off the stove. The weekend menu includes dishes that require a bit more time, while several dinners can be almost fully prepared in advance.

Monday

For lunch, we started with creamy pasta with zucchini and Parmesan. Some of the zucchini softened and blended with the Parmesan and cooking water, while other parts retained a bit more texture. It's best to combine it and serve it immediately, as the sauce thickens as it cools.

In the evening, we use some of the same groceries to make chicken with vegetables in a single pan: boneless chicken thighs, potatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, and onion. The chicken browns first and goes back into the pan at the end, so it's a complete dinner without having to cook multiple dishes one after the other.

Mars

The meal will be baked salmon with vegetables and potatoes. The potatoes and vegetables take longer to cook than the fish, so they're prepared first, and the salmon is added later to prevent it from drying out. It's an oven-baked dish that allows you to prepare the side dishes well in advance and finish the fish closer to lunchtime.

For dinner, shakshuka, with tomato, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and spices. The sauce can be prepared beforehand; the eggs, however, are added at the end and cooked covered over low heat until the whites are set and the yolks are still tender.

Wednesday

At midday, it's time for the arròs del paraigüer, with cod, black sausage, sofrito, and a finish that's somewhere between creamy and soupy. It's not worth cooking this too far in advance: the rice continues to absorb broth, so it's best to coordinate the time and bring it to the table freshly cooked.

Dinner slows down with chickpeas and spinach. The garlic, bread, cumin, and paprika paste gives them body without the need for a long stew. They also sit well and can be served warm, which is very practical for getting the evening practically sorted.

Thursday

For lunch, we're having beef with peppers, Chinese style. The beef is thinly sliced, and the stir-fry requires high heat and little time, so it's a good idea to have the vegetables, sauce, and beef prepared beforehand. It's one of those recipes where having everything ready before turning on the heat makes all the difference.

Dinner will be Turkish-style stuffed eggplants. The eggplants are roasted and filled with onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato, pine nuts, raisins, and spices. They can be assembled in advance and finished or warmed when it's time to eat.

Friday

The meal takes a different turn with the leeks with miso, which the recipe itself suggests can also be a main course. They are pan-fried, briefly cooked with miso and stock, and finished with toasted almonds and lime. It's a dish with a short ingredient list and a very distinctive flavor.

In the evening, we move on to the fig, cheese, and Serrano ham pizza. The dough needs to rise, but we can do that beforehand; then all that's left is to top it with figs and cheese, bake at a high temperature, and add the ham when it comes out of the oven. A savory way to enjoy seasonal figs.

Saturday

For lunch, we made homemade meatballs in tomato sauce. The sauce takes some time to simmer, and the meatballs finish cooking in it, so it's a great recipe for the weekend. It also has a clear advantage: it can be prepared the day before and gently reheated.

Dinner will be a vegan vegetable quiche with onion, carrot, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and a tofu filling. It works hot or cold and keeps well overnight, so we can bake it in the afternoon and forget about cooking at the last minute.

Sunday

Sunday deserves a meal that demands a table: grilled sardines with potatoes. The potatoes are cooked in their skins and the sardines are cooked whole, so it's best to coordinate both things so they arrive piping hot. And yes, sardines are much better freshly cooked.

For dinner, we finished with a green bean salad with potato, tomato, and egg. It can be prepared ahead of time and served cold or at a pleasant temperature—a great way to end the week with vegetables, potatoes, and eggs in a single dish without having to turn the oven on again.

Breakfasts and snacks for this week

The first one takes full advantage of September: fig cake, with fruit both inside the batter and on top. If you let it cool completely before storing it, you'll have breakfast or an afternoon snack for more than one day.

Another option is avocado toast, with three different combinations: smoked salmon, tomato and basil, or goat cheese with walnuts and honey. This allows you to change your toppings without having to prepare three different breakfasts.

And for something that will last in the pantry, try some oatmeal cookies. They're baked in one batch and keep for several days, so they're especially useful if you want to get a head start on some weekend snacks.

Useful articles for organizing your week

If we want to cook with fewer pots and pans without turning every dish into the same recipe, it's worth reviewing One-Pan Cooking: How to Cook a Complete Meal Using Just One Pan. It provides context for the logic of Monday's chicken and helps to distinguish which dishes truly fit this system.

It's also a good idea to review how to organize food in the refrigerator, especially after a weekly shop for vegetables, dairy, eggs, meat, and fish. Having each item in its proper place makes it easier to see what should be used first and prevents ingredients from getting forgotten.

For Sunday—or any barbecue—there's the perfect grilled meat: what to put on the grill first to ensure everything is cooked to perfection. The order of cooking isn't the same as the order of serving: larger cuts of meat go on first, and fish, seafood, or some quick-cooking vegetables are left for the final stage.

How to organize this weekly menu

The weekend before, we can get a head start on several things without ruining the dishes that really need to be made right away. The tomato sauce for the homemade meatballs, the tomato base for the shakshuka, and most of the stuffed eggplant Turkish-style can all be prepared in advance. We can also bake the oatmeal cookies and the fig cake.

There are five dishes that should be protected from the temptation of batch cooking. Creamy pasta with zucchini and Parmesan is bound at the end; the paraigüer rice continues to absorb liquid; the beef with peppers depends on a quick stir-fry; the eggs in shakshuka are cooked last; and sardines with potatoes are clearly better freshly cooked.

Shopping can be quite varied. Zucchini is useful for Monday's pasta, chicken with vegetables, and vegan quiche. Tomatoes, onions, and garlic reappear in several dishes, but with different preparations. This allows you to buy reasonable quantities and use up fresh produce without having to create fourteen separate shopping lists.

With fish, it's worth being more precise. Baked salmon goes on Tuesday and sardines on Sunday; if they won't be cooked soon, they need to be stored properly or bought closer to the day of use. For organizing the rest of your shopping, the article on how to store food in the refrigerator serves as a handy reminder.

Finally, let's allow for some flexibility. The green bean salad can go from Sunday to another dinner if there are leftovers; the vegan quiche works just as well cold; and the chickpeas with spinach can sit for a while. A useful weekly menu shouldn't be ruined just because of a change in schedule.