A Table for One
By Paul Hayes
()
About this ebook
Be inspired by a fresh approach to cooking for one with this beautiful and engaging book, packed with more than 100 easy recipes, gorgeous photography and practical advice. From almost-instant dinners to help you through the working week to clever get-ahead time savers and delicious desserts, the emphasis is on great food with a minimum of fuss for maximum results. With metric and US measures.
Paul Hayes
Paul Hayes is a writer based in Melbourne, Australia. "Melbourne is one of the world's great food destinations – and one of it's best kept secrets," Paul says. "It is a city that truly loves its food. "The quality of produce here is spectacular, so the standard, even at an ordinary neighbourhood cafe, is very high. It's no surprise that Melbourne produces so many world-class chefs, or that chefs move here from around the world to open great restaurants. "For the home cook, access to perfect ingredients and endless inspiration is sheer heaven." The idea behind Paul's book, 'A Table for One', is simple. "It's the food I cook for myself," he explains. "I think our view of food is either too focused on trying to make restaurant food at home or being competitive or impressive. Real food, whether for one person or more, should be great but without fuss." Paul's writing has appeared in Vogue, GQ, The Australian Financial Review, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Related to A Table for One
Related ebooks
The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook: 175 Super Easy Recipes Made Just for You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solo: The Joy of Cooking for One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove Your Lunchbox Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Big Book of Easy Suppers: 270 Delicious Recipes for Casual Everyday Cooking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPantry to Plate: Kitchen Staples for Simple and Easy Cooking: 70 weeknight recipes using go-to ingredients Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoasting Pan Suppers: Deliciously Simple All-in-one Meals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sheet Pan 5-Ingredient Cookbook: Simple, Nutritious, and Delicious Meals Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Make It Easy Cookbook: Foolproof, Stylish and Delicious Do-Ahead Recipes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pestos, Tapenades & Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speedy MOB: 12-minute meals for 4 people Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeriously Good Salads: Creative Flavor Combinations for Nutritious, Satisfying Meals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weeknight Fresh & Fast: Simple, Healthy Meals for Every Night of the Week Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Beautiful Bowl of Soup: The Best Vegetarian Recipes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Weekly Meal Plan Cookbook: A 3-Month Kickstart Guide to Healthy Home Cooking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Cook Everything: Christmas: 20 Festive Holiday Recipes and 34 Variations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dinner Special: 185 Recipes for a Great Meal Any Night of the Week Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCooking Solo: The Fun of Cooking for Yourself Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hack Your Cupboard: Make Great Food with What You've Got Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bowls!: Recipes and Inspirations for Healthful One-Dish Meals Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Quick & Easy Cooking For One: A Guide to Cooking for Yourself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet's Fix Lunch: Enjoy Delicious, Planet-Friendly Meals at Work, School, or On the Go Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5152 non-sad lunches you can make in 5 minutes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Pan to Rule Them All: 100 Cast-Iron Skillet Recipes for Indoors and Out Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: 200 Gourmet Recipes for Any Budget Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassic Recipes for Modern People: A Collection of Culinary Favorites Reimagined Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This Is a Cookbook: Recipes For Real Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Clueless in the Kitchen: A Cookbook for Teens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Katie Chin's Global Family Cookbook: Internationally-Inspired Recipes Your Friends and Family Will Love! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Six O'Clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Cooking, Food & Wine For You
From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg's Kitchen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mediterranean Diet: A Complete Guide: 50 Quick and Easy Low Calorie High Protein Mediterranean Diet Recipes for Weight Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ultimate Mediterranean Cookbook Over 100 Delicious Recipes and Mediterranean Meal Plan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuick Start Guide to Carnivory + 21 Day Carnivore Diet Meal Plan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eat Plants, B*tch: 91 Vegan Recipes That Will Blow Your Meat-Loving Mind Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Plant-Based Cookbook: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free Recipes for Lifelong Health Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Carnivore Code Cookbook: Reclaim Your Health, Strength, and Vitality with 100+ Delicious Recipes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Medicinal Herbal: A Practical Guide to the Healing Properties of Herbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cook Once Dinner Fix: Quick and Exciting Ways to Transform Tonight's Dinner into Tomorrow's Feast Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Korean Home Cooking: Classic and Modern Recipes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mediterranean Diet: 70 Easy, Healthy Recipes Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Taste of Home 201 Recipes You'll Make Forever: Classic Recipes for Today's Home Cooks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cooking at Home: More Than 1,000 Classic and Modern Recipes for Every Meal of the Day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Back to Eden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taste of Home Instant Pot Cookbook: Savor 111 Must-have Recipes Made Easy in the Instant Pot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained in More Than 100 Essential Recipes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Snoop Presents Goon with the Spoon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Macro Diet Cookbook: 300 Satisfying Recipes for Shedding Pounds and Gaining Lean Muscle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everyday Slow Cooking: Modern Recipes for Delicious Meals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Small Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing and Entertaining Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tucci Table: Cooking With Family and Friends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Instant Pot® Meals in a Jar Cookbook: 50 Pre-Portioned, Perfectly Seasoned Pressure Cooker Recipes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for A Table for One
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
A Table for One - Paul Hayes
CONTENTS
Introduction
REAL-DEAL DINNERS
SMALL WONDERS
MAKE IT EASY
BRIGHT SIDES
CREATURE COMFORTS
WEEKEND WINNERS
JUST DESSERTS
D.I.Y. EXTRAS
Notes
Copyright
INTRODUCTION
Cooking for one person has a terrible reputation. If there’s an opinion about it, I’ve heard it: it’s too much trouble, a waste of time, effort or money. There’s the implication that cooking for yourself is either self-indulgent or, worse, just sad
.
All of these ideas point towards the same awful conclusion: feeding yourself when no one else is around is nothing more than a necessary evil and should be regarded as a strictly functional, joyless pursuit, like doing the ironing or sorting the recyclables.
Obviously, my point of view is very different. I want to celebrate the real sense of pleasure to be found in making – and eating – great food just for yourself.
More people than ever are living in what the census-takers call single occupancy households
, a number that is growing rapidly in cities all over the world – and we all have to eat. I’m aware that dinner from any number of world cuisines could arrive at my door with just a phone call, and that the shelves of supermarkets are lined with entire meals that require no more of my attention than a spin in the microwave.
But throwing money at a problem to make it go away isn’t a real solution. Besides, it is possible to create delicious, substantial food for yourself quickly and without fuss, and not just by reheating something made in a factory.
There are other benefits, too. After a day parked in front of a computer or in back-to-back meetings, the pleasures of the kitchen are very welcome. The simple act of making something to eat reconnects you to all of your senses, to your body and, by extension, the seasons and the world around you.
Of course there are times, usually during the working week, when the thought of coming home and making dinner from scratch can seem daunting. I have learned, however, that the moment the process begins – slicing a spring onion, putting water on to boil, washing some vegetables – it signals a line between the working day and a place that’s about comfort, relaxation and independence.
Some food requires no cooking at all – you just assemble a group of great ingredients. Sometimes the cooking is minimal and fast. Grilling a piece of fish and throwing together a salad with a zippy dressing takes no time and is always good. Sometimes it’s a quick snack or something speedy before heading out the door again.
At other times the siren call of comfort food needs to be answered, or there’s time for a mellow, slow-cooked dinner. Some nights I need the therapeutic zone-out of stirring a risotto or hand-rolling a batch of bite-sized meatballs, soon followed by the extreme comfort of eating them.
Because your freezer is really a time machine, it can be used to great effect if you cook what I call twofer dinners: half now, half another time.
The point is that the solo cook is able to manage the way they cook according to time, taste, mood and interest like no one else.
As this book demonstrates, the food I make isn’t in any way haute cuisine; indeed, I prefer simple, fresh ingredients and easy techniques without any fancy equipment – perfect even if you think you can’t cook.
When I have a friend over for dinner, I simply double the quantities of food I cook for myself rather than attempt something packed with foodie fashionability and exotic flash.
More often than not I’ll make something to nibble on while we have drinks at the kitchen counter, giving me time to potter and prepare something more substantial while we chat. If a friend knows how to use a knife or a spoon – and most, I’m pleased to report, can manage one or the other or even both – they will always find themselves chopping or mixing something. The food, and its preparation, is always secondary to the real glue of social eating: conversation.
I hope you’ll find some inspiration in these pages to help you make your life both easier and more pleasurable, and that these recipes will find a place at your own table for one.
Measurements are given in both metric and imperial units. For more information, please see the notes section.
Salt always means sea salt flakes. If using granulated table salt, use half as much by volume.
Pepper always means freshly ground black pepper.
Olive oil always means ordinary olive oil, not extra-virgin olive oil, unless specified. For more information on oils, please see the notes section.
REAL-DEAL DINNERS
These are my weeknight winners. With backbones of fresh and store-cupboard ingredients, they are easy to shop for, easy to make and very, very easy to eat. During the working week, when the prospect of making dinner can seem like a challenge, this collection of recipes will get you through.
Fusilli with artichokes, peas and mint
Lamb with port and redcurrant
Salad of roasted vegetables
Tarragon chicken
Radicchio and beetroot salad
Ocean trout with wasabi mayo
Pesto
Coconut and saffron mussels
Chicken laksa
Easy cheesy spinach lasagne
Daeji bulgogi
A steak, a lettuce, a lemon
FUSILLI WITH ARTICHOKES, PEAS AND MINT
Fusilli with artichokes, peas and mint
Here’s an easy, cool option for a hot summer’s day, or any day when you want fresh flavour, fast – and by fast I mean it’s ready to eat only seconds after the pasta is cooked. It’s perfect just as it is here or chilled as a pasta salad, making it a great portable lunch to take to work.
I don’t often sing the praises of vegetables which haven’t fallen fresh off the back of a farmer’s truck, still quivering with dew and dirt, but in two cases here they are doing you great favours, and not just in convenience.
As wonderful as fresh artichokes can be, they are a real fiddle to prepare properly. If you’re in the mood for all that business, be my guest, but otherwise, save yourself a ton of trouble and use artichoke hearts, marinated in olive oil, ready to eat from a jar or the deli.
Frozen peas are a must. Fresh peas seem to have the shortest shelf life of any vegetable and start to go starchy from the moment they’re picked. By the time they get to market and I get them home, they’re always a disappointment. Unless you have peas growing outside your kitchen door – and the patience to shell them, too – the frozen variety is always the smart way to go.
125g (5 oz) fusilli (or other short, curly pasta)
75g (3 oz) frozen peas
75g (3 oz) ricotta
150g (6 oz) marinated artichoke hearts
handful of fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon of the artichoke’s oil
salt and pepper
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water for the time recommended on the packet.
Three minutes before the pasta is done add the peas to the same pot – then they will both be ready together. Drain in a colander.
Slice the artichokes thickly – do not discard the oil – and place them in a roomy bowl. Add the mint, roughly chopped if the leaves are large, and crumble in the ricotta.
Tip the drained pasta and peas in with the other ingredients, add a tablespoon of the oil from the artichokes and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a quick toss and you’re done.
LAMB WITH PORT AND REDCURRANT
Lamb with port and redcurrant
Simple, delicious, elegant and fast: this is hard to beat, any day of the week.
This technique of searing on the stovetop and finishing for a short time in a hot oven (no plastic handles, please) keeps the meat tender and works with all sorts of cuts: backstrap, round or topside steaks and cutlets. You make the sauce in the same pan while the meat rests, so washing up is easy.
Baby spinach or soft, buttery lettuce leaves, simply dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, seasoned with salt and pepper, are the perfect accompaniment.
a lamb backstrap
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly
2 tablespoons port
½ teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped (or dried)
salt and pepper
Set your oven to 220°C (425°F).
Heat a small ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. Brush the lamb lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lamb needs salt, so don’t be timid.
Sear the lamb on both sides for 2 minutes, just until nicely browned.
Take the pan off the heat and pop it straight into the hot oven for 6 minutes to finish off the meat. Remove and let the lamb rest on a plate, tented loosely with foil.
Meanwhile, put the pan back onto low heat – not forgetting that its handle will still be hot – and pour in the port. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and rosemary, letting the sauce bubble down for a couple of minutes until reduced and nicely thickened.
Unwrap the lamb, slice it and pour over the sauce.
SALAD OF ROASTED VEGETABLES
Salad of roasted vegetables
This is more of