Being on your own, for whatever reason, can make it difficult to motivate yourself to cook and eat well. The easiest option is just to put on a slice of toast or get a takeaway. Giving yourself a treat, no matter what the circumstances, is important. Loving food and cooking can be cathartic. I know that after a hard day, cooking dinner can be soothing, eating it comforting and afterwards the world feels just that little bit better.
These recipes are simple. I’m using tins where possible, not only to make the dishes easier to cook but also to prove you don’t have to make everything from scratch. At home, I use my store cupboard as often as possible, sometimes you just don’t have the time or the inclination to be soaking pulses. The dishes can be worked up for two very easily as you will have some leftovers.
The lentils will happily sit in the fridge for another couple of days, then they can be strewn over a salad or eaten on a crostini with some crisp streaky bacon. The beans are so moreish that you might be tempted to come down in the middle of the night in your nightie, sit on the stairs like Nigella and polish them off.
I love corned beef. I’m talking, of course, about the real thing. If you’re reading this in the real capital, spiced beef would be a wonderful substitution. The hipsters can use pastrami as a very worthy swapout.
My go-to fish is hake if I’m looking for a white fish, but you can happily substitute cod, ling, plaice, Pollock, haddock or even whiting. As ever, the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the fish.
I’m a massive fan of a big butch bacon chop. I’m not talking about a wimpy cut off the loin, but a regal praetorian guard of a chop heralding time for dinner.
Recipe: Papardelle with corned beef, cabbage and Coolea cheese
Recipe: Baked hake with lentils, English mustard and thyme butter
Recipe: Grilled bacon chop with Parmesan creamed cannellini beans
