First thing that comes to mind when you think of a gourmet recipe is all the preparation that goes with it. Not only the ingredients for some recipes are time consuming to prep, but also the cooking methods are tough to follow for first timers. But not all gourmet recipes have to be challenges that can be overcome by only chefs and seasoned professionals.

Here are five very easy to make gourmet recipes within half an hour, to be served as a main course

Easy to make chicken piquant: A slightly different variation of the traditional recipe which is easy to prepare. This recipe on average needs not more than thirty minutes divided into 10 minutes of preparation for the ingredients and 15 to 20 minutes to cook and serve hot. A tasty recipe to whip up for a family meal, or when guests come to your house unannounced. The Cajun chicken or spice chicken variant is good when served with rice.

Easy to make beef with broccoli: Beef in general takes a lot of time to roast, smoke or braise. But with this easy to make variant which does not take more than 30 minutes in total is easy to prepare. A delicious combination beef steak cooked with broccoli in a soy ginger broth which sounds fancy.

Easy to make garlic chicken: With minimal use of day to day ingredients like garlic powder, onion powder, butter and salt, sprinkled and coated on chicken breasts to be sautéed on each side until the chicken is cooked through. A very easy to make recipe for the busy office going parents, prepared with minimum effort for your night family dinner.

Easy to make cauliflower mac and cheese: A perfect and tasty way to incorporate some vegetables into your otherwise cheesy and fatty pasta dish. The veggies cut through the creamy sauce that oozes out of the elbow macaroni, with a dash of pepper and salt to give it that spice.

Easy to make grilled salmon: A beautiful fish when cooked perfectly tastes delicious, with soft pink salmon. The marinade is prepared using soy sauce and brown sugar to combine with beautiful salmon, to be kept refrigerated in a plastic bag letting all the ingredients infuse together.

All these recipes can be looked up online for detailed instruction on the preparation method.