COPYRIGHT
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in the Netherlands by Uitgeverij Podium 2016
First published in Great Britain by HQ
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2017
Copyright © Janneke Vreugdenhil 2017
English translation © Colleen Higgins 2017
Janneke Vreugdenhil asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Hardback ISBN 978-0-00-825667-8
Ebook Edition © November 2017 ISBN: 9780008256685
Version 2017-11-30
Photographs by Floortje van Essen-Ingen Housz
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
DEDICATION
For me, myself and I
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction
7 tips for the solo chef
Your very own golden pantry
QUICK FIX
A kind of pisto Manchego
Spicy lamb pittas with hummus & garlicky yoghurt
Miso soup with noodles, shiitake mushrooms, spinach & an egg
Ridiculously easy spaghetti caprese
Frittata with red onion, baby kale & goat’s cheese
Griddled white tuna with cucumber, avocado & ginger salad
Tagliatelle with prawns & smoky whisky–tomato sauce
Lemon couscous with salmon & cherry tomatoes
Salad of butter beans, tinned tuna & shaved fennel
Good old steak sandwich
SMART COOKING
Baked sweet potato with olives, feta & chilli
Sweet potato soup with coconut & fresh coriander
Soft polenta with mushrooms & spinach
Polenta pizza with blistered cherry tomatoes & anchovies
Mash with baby kale & chorizo
Patatas a lo pobre
Warm lentil salad with grilled goat’s cheese
Spicy lentil soup with yoghurt & rocket
Cod in ginger–tomato sauce with gremolata & rice
Best-ever fried rice
Chinese egg noodles with steak & oyster sauce
Cold noodle salad with cucumber & sashimi salmon
NETFLIX DINNER
Quinotto with fennel, almonds & avocado
Gnocchi with broad beans, brown butter & crispy sage
Quick aubergine & lamb curry with warm naan
Pasta aglio olio my way
Green curry with chicken & peas
Warm salad of baby potatoes & peppered mackerel
Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, nutmeg & ricotta
Orecchiette with Tenderstem broccoli, anchovies & fennel seed
Courgette soup with tarragon
Bowl of rice with Chinesey vegetables
FREEZE YOUR FAVOURITES
Chilli con everything
All-round chicken soup
Comforting little casseroles
Roasted squash & carrot soup
Pasta sauce with fresh sausage & fennel seed
Pork loin stewed with red wine & bay leaves
Marcella’s sugo
Pesto at your fingertips
Ratatouille
Surinamese masala chicken
Basic nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice)
CLASSICS FOR ONE
Steak Béarnaise with chips & salad
Sea bass in a salt crust
Cheat’s pizza Margherita
Solo chicken with rosemary & Roseval potatoes
Cassoulet
10-minute pho
Caesar salad with crispy pancetta & avocado
Lamb chops with red wine & thyme sauce & green beans
Steak tartare
Risotto ai funghi
Too-good-to-share cheese fondue
BE SWEET TO YOURSELF
Blackberry mess
Instant mango–coconut ice cream
Lemon mug cake
Warm apple tartlet with vanilla ice cream
Coffee–ricotta parfait
La mousse au chocolat pour toi
Rosemary–honey figs with Gorgonzola
A fantastic raspberry dessert
Pear–yoghurt swirl
Tiramisu for one, please!
SOLO TREATS
Oatmeal congee
Parma ham–Taleggio toastie de luxe
Scrambled eggs, griddled asparagus & salmon on toast
Stir-fried prawns with harissa mayo
Potato gratin with a whole load of cheese
Calf’s liver sans etiquette
Party for one
Oysters, Champagne & a good book
A word of thanks
List of searchable terms
About the Publisher
INTRODUCTION
The high point
On the kitchen counter are a steak, two lumpy potatoes and a head of lettuce. My evening meal. I slice off a chunk of butter and drop it into the pan. Plop. Turn on the hob, sizzling sounds. The butter bubbles furiously and then, slowly but surely, the foam dies down and a hush descends over the pan. White flakes form on the bottom of the pan. I grip the handle and pour the contents on to a piece of kitchen paper that I’ve placed in a sieve. The glass measuring jug fills with clear yellow liquid. My laptop is on the counter, too, opened out and tuned in to Spotify. My fingertips conjure up the sounds of John Coltrane. I rinse out the pan and pour in a splash of white wine. An equal amount of vinegar. I peel and finely chop a shallot, pluck the pointed leaves from two sprigs of tarragon. I fill a glass with wine, and as I drink from it, I let the liquid in the pan evaporate until there’s no more than a tablespoon and a half left. I peel the potatoes, slice them into thick matchsticks, rinse them under the tap, then dry them in a tea towel. I put a frying pan on the hob, add a splash of oil, then the potatoes and cover with a lid. It’s a mild April day, the promise of summer, and I open the kitchen window. Coltrane blows his My Favorite Things , and I sing along. First softly, then louder. Louder and louder and more off-key. No one can hear me. I’m alone. I’m making myself steak Béarnaise with chips and salad. And then I don’t feel so bad .
I wash and dry the lettuce. Mix together a dressing of mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, pepper and salt. Hot and sharp. Probably too hot and too sharp for any guest who might taste it, but just the way I like it. I strain the reduced wine into a bowl. Crack an egg, separate out the white and drop the yolk into the bowl. Rinse out the pan again, fill it with water and bring it to the boil. Place the bowl over the pan. I start to whisk and then very gradually add the clarified butter in a thin stream. My finger glides through the custardy sauce and moves towards my mouth. Mmmm. A squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of salt, then some chervil and a little more tarragon. Take the lid off the potatoes, turn up the heat. Sputtering oil, sizzling chips. Coarse salt on the steak. Griddle pan on the hob. When the air above the pan begins to quiver, I place the meat on the steel ridges. One minute only – I like it bloody – then the other side. Beautiful black stripes burned into the dark red meat.
Man, do I love Coltrane. While the meat is resting, I hum as I look for my favourite plate, a flea-market find made of white porcelain and decorated with delicate blue blossom sprigs, a dragonfly, a butterfly and birds. I get a napkin from the cabinet, grab some cutlery from the drawer and lay the table. Even though it’s not dark yet, I light a candle. What do I care? This is my party. Dinner for one.
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