How to serve up a special supper for two

Bavette with avocado mash and quick pickled onions with chilli
Bavette with avocado mash and quick pickled onions with chilli - Haarala Hamilton & Valerie Berry

Just when you think your life has settled into a ‘new phase’, it becomes apparent that things aren’t clear cut. The kind of cooking that goes on in my kitchen these days varies. My sons ‘left home’ last year – supposedly – but come back often, sometimes with girlfriends in tow. That means family meals at the weekend. The rest of the time I’m just cooking for myself, or me and a friend.

I didn’t manage the empty nest situation very well at first. In fact, a line drawing of me sitting at the kitchen table by myself (it can seat 10) was an image I couldn’t banish. I found myself blubbing down the phone to an old colleague one day because I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was sad more than depressed. It took about six months to get used to this new state.

Eventually I started asking friends over for supper. Supper for two is a specific kind of cooking. It’s not like cooking for yourself but doubling the quantities. I know how I would feel if I travelled down the Northern Line and was served frittata.

I had to cook meals that were special and put flowers on the table. I started to make a list of dishes that would be a treat but that didn’t require too much work. A bit of luxury – scallops, steak, wild mushrooms – was in order. A bowl of pasta, unless it was unusual (linguine with prawns, hot ’nduja and cooling chunks of ricotta, for example), wouldn’t cut the mustard.

Before you tell me I clearly don’t have good enough friends, it isn’t just about the friend, it’s about what’s good for me as well. Cooking dishes that aren’t run of the mill makes your home buzz. With scallops sitting on the counter by the cooker and the smell of the sea filling your kitchen, you aren’t just at home, you could be on holiday.

You have to decide, depending on who is coming, whether to make a dish that requires last-minute cooking or low and slow. Beef cheeks braised in sherry can be cooked several days ahead and will taste better for a rest in the fridge, especially if you scatter on a final shower of flavour (grated orange zest, parsley, chopped walnuts).

I’m not going to cook cassoulet for two, but I can make a simple version – the sobronade above – for four, putting half in the freezer. If you’re going to cook last-minute dishes – the most obvious kind when there’s only two of you – make sure they’re not too demanding. There’s nobody (a partner or grown-up child) to make a Martini, you have to do everything, so don’t make things difficult.

What about the touches that make this a meal, not just a dish for two? There are small things you can offer to nibble on: smoked almonds, good olives, little dishes of tinned sardines, anchovies on buttered bread.

Offer small plates and forks so that picking doesn’t become messy. I’ve put together a plate of crispy radishes, bowls of tapenade or anchoïade and good bread more often than I’ve brought a roast chicken to the table. It has been a constant, an assembly you don’t have to think about, but which adds so much.

Pudding? You don’t need one but good chocolate, Middle Eastern pastries or dates – all good with strong coffee – will give you a sweet hit. If you want to cook, offer rice pudding (made on the hob and served at room temperature) with a soft-set preserve, or bake some fruit (pears with Marsala, for example).

The watchword is ‘special’. You have to thank your friend for coming in the best way, with food.