Kate Jenkinson Shares Two No-Fuss Dinner Recipes

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not “good enough” to cook, Half Baked, the debut cookbook from Kate Jenkinson, is here to change your mind. Packed with easy, no-fuss dinner recipes, it throws perfection out the window in favour of flavour, ease and a healthy dose of humour (and who doesn’t want a bit of that in the kitchen?).

Best known for her roles in Wentworth, NCIS: Sydney and Amazing Grace, Jenkinson started developing recipes during lockdown, filming herself cooking whatever she had left in the fridge. The result? Scrappy, improvised meals that proved you don’t need skill, time or perfectly curated ingredients to make something genuinely delicious.

“I hope that my cookbook inspires people to reject the idea that you have to be a good cook to get busy in the kitchen,” she told Sitchu. “You can create delicious meals no matter your skill set.”

Following the success of her ‘Lazy Girl’ cooking videos, Half Baked leans into that same ethos: low effort, no fuss, maximum payoff. Think approachable recipes, clever shortcuts and a refreshingly candid voice that encourages you to ditch the pressure and just get cooking. Because, as Jenkinson puts it, “food doesn’t need to be pretty or Instagrammable—it just needs to taste good.”

Below, she shares two of her favourite dinner recipes; Princess Pasta and Pimped Ramen with Tipsy Eggs. If you love these, there’s plenty more where they came from in Half Baked.

Princess Pasta

This recipe has been shamelessly stolen (with a few alterations)from Meghan Markle, who stole it from Martha Stewart who most likely stole it from a Nonna in Italy. I was sceptical that such a simple recipe would be this delicious but it most certainly is. Meghan claims this dish is devoured by her kids and I wish I could say the same, but for now this dish is made in my house JUST FOR ME. And I feel extremely regal indeed when I’m eating it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tbsp lotion (olive oil)
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tsp jarlic
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp crack seasoning (chicken or veg stock powder to boost flavour)
• chilli flakes, to taste
• 250g thin pasta like angel hair or spaghettini
• 1 litre (4 cups) boiling water
• 2 cups chopped silverbeet or spinach
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• chopped green things (I like basil and parsley), to serve

METHOD:

1. Heat a large, deep frying pan on low heat. Put the lotion in the basket.
2. Add your tomatoes, garlic and season with salt n peppa, let this sauté for around 3 mins until it smells incredible.
3. Increase heat to medium and add lemon zest, crack seasoning and chilli flakes, to taste.
4. Give it a stir and lay the raw pasta on top of this mix.
5. Add enough boiling water to JUST cover your pasta. Once the water is bubbling, cover with a lid and let cook for around 8-10 mins, stirring a few times throughout.
6. Once the pasta is just about ready, toss in your silverbeet, and let it wilt down slightly.
7. Add extra salt n peppa if you wish, a good drizzle of lemon juice and a mountain of grated parmesan.
8. Scatter with chopped green things and serve on your most princess-like fine china (in my case, the chipped IKEA plates I’ve had for 15 years)

Pimped Ramen with Tipsy Eggs

There is an elite ramen chain in Tokyo and New York called Ichiran and their Tonkatsu with jammy soy eggs lives rent free in my head. No ramen is complete without a jammy, umami, soy marinated boiled egg. In fact, no fridge is complete without Tipsy Eggs. This is my extremely bastardised version of that magical elixir.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp kewpie mayo
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 2 x 85g packet instant Ramen noodlesof choice (I love Indomie Mi Goreng)
• 2 tsp crack seasoning
• 2 Tipsy Eggs, halved (see recipe below)
• 2 tbsp sliced green onion
• crispy chilli oil and Everything Bagel Seasoning (optional), to serve

TIPSY EGGS: (Makes 6, Prep & Cook Time 15 mins)

1. For jammy eggs, place 6 cold eggs in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins.
2. Once the time is up, immediately transfer the eggs to an ice bath to stop them cooking. Peel.
3. Chuck½ cup light soy sauce, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 1 minced clove garlic or 1 tsp jarlic,½ tsp grated fresh ginger or ginjar and ¼ cup water in an airtight container large enough to fit the eggs. Add the eggs, put the lid on and gently jiggle it around so the eggs get thoroughly sozzled in the sauce. Stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving or up to 3 days.
4. TIP: No ramen is complete without an umami, soy marinated boiled egg. In fact, no fridge is complete without these eggs. Eat them on avo toast, in a salad, absolutely ANY noodle dish, o rjust on their own!

METHOD:

1. Bung the yolks, mayo, garlic and ramen seasoning sachets in a bowl. Mix thoroughly to form a paste.
2. Divide mixture between two serving bowls.
3. Half fill a small saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to the boil. Add crack seasoning to make a stock. Add instant ramen noodles. Cook following the packet instructions. Reserve 1 cup liquid.
4. Using tongs, divide the noodles between the two bowls, give a good stir with the paste to mix thoroughly. Stir ½ cup of the reserved noodle liquid into each bowl. This will create a sauce, it is not a soup.
5. Top noodles with halved Tipsy Eggs and green onion, add a generous spoonful of crispy chilli oil and finish with a scattering of Everything Bagel Seasoning, if you wish. Schedule an appointment with your cardiologist, and enjoy!

Half Baked by Kate Jenkinson is available to purchase here.

Writer

Lucy Cocoran

9 April 2026

Lucy Cocoran is the Sydney Editor for Sitchu. When she’s not following the scent of pastries, she enjoys reading fantasy books, finding zen at Pilates and smiling at dogs.