The best easy dinners for two to cook tonight
Dinner à deux? Use the best-quality ingredients and serve with love to make any meal a special occasion
16 April 2021 • 3:00pm
Cooking for two has its merits; for one, you can really go all-out with ingredients
Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry
Because lockdown has been a kind of limbo, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the past. We’re rarely in a holding bay in life – we’re too busy actually living. I didn’t think I’d ever contemplate my past life – or lives – until I was in my late 70s, and yet here I am, suspended, marvelling at how many different periods make up an existence.
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
400g fine green beans
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 x 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
Parmesan shavings, to serve
METHOD
Remove the steaks from the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Season the oil with salt and pepper and drizzle a little over both sides of each steak.
Meanwhile, heat a large griddle pan over a high heat. Toss the green beans in a little of the seasoned oil. Chargrill the beans in four batches for 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly charred in places. Set aside.
Heat a sauteÌ pan over a medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until they start to lose their shape. Add the garlic and butter beans and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the mustard, lemon juice and green beans. Warm through briefly, adding a splash of water if dry, and season to taste. Cover the pan with a lid and set aside.
Rainbow recipes to perk up Blue Monday, from citrus salads to seared steak
Banish Blue Monday woes with vibrant dishes packed with ingredients – nourishing nuts, greens, and oily fish – to lift sagging spirits
Nothing brightens the day like a vibrant bowl of something delicious
Credit: Masha Davydova
Today is officially “Blue Monday”, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Although it was actually created by a holiday company in 2005 using a formula that factored in weather, credit-card debt and our faltering motivation to continue with New Year resolutions, it’s true that this time of year can leave us often feeling rather down in the dumps – and that s without even factoring a global pandemic into the equation.