Cooked my first ever solo roast tonight… and I loved it!

[Hellonewyearnewme]

So tonight I made my first ever solo roast, and I am proud of myself! I know to a lot of people this won’t be a big deal, at all, but I don’t really cook and I am really pleased with how it turned out.

I also really enjoyed cooking it and it’s inspired me to start doing some more home-made cooking.

The thing is… I just don’t know where to start! I live alone so I don’t want to be cooking recipes that have lots of obscure ingredients. I also don’t want to do anything too daring (yet). But, I’ve got to start somewhere so would be grateful for any cook books / blogs / resources / tips for beginners like me.

Thank you!!

Oh wow well done OP! Bet it was delicious. I know they're often recommended on here but things like Gousto can be great for giving you the confidence to try new recipes, and they send everything you need in the right size portion! Maybe worth a go?

I highly recommend the Roasting Tin cookbooks: all fairly simple but tasty.

Well done! There are some good simple cookbooks out there with limited ingredients, like this one: https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/kim-mccosker/easiest-one-pot-cookbook-ever/9780648947738?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=19583702586&cq_con=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAqY6tBhAtEiwAHeRopYK-SRSF95dMh01mOigv6_5CKFkxR2Gh3lHNcbPhm2UOoHYzQIb03BoCNfsQAvD_BwE#GOR013144439

The Roasting Tin Cook Books are good too. I also use BBC Good Food. I live alone and enjoy cooking, so I’m not so concerned with buying ingredients as I know I’ll use them. You might too.

There is a whole world of 'cooking for one' videos on tiktok - many of which are very inspiring. There are also tonnes of basic beginner cooking vids if you need help with the basics (lots of people do!). Much better than YouTube as they're super quick and to the point

Congratulations

My advice would be to pick something that you really, really want to eat, google for 'easy' recipes. If it seems too complicated, pick something else.

Once you have done a new recipe once, do it a few more times, maybe tweaking whatever worked well or could be even better if... maybe try a few different variants, too

Once you are confident, pick a new recipe, rinse and repeat. Enjoy.

Gousto really gave me a lot of confidence in trying new recipes, really easy and great to have the leftovers for lunch the next day. I found it quite economical.

BBC good food chilli recipe

my bolognese recipe: brown mince and red onion
add finely diced pepper, mushroom, courgette
add a jar of passata, 2tbsp balsamic vinegar, one small pot of saclar pesto (I think it’s like 30g, not a jar!), and 1tsp garlic (I get frozen diced to save me a job) and a beef stock cube. cook Down to desired consistency.

cottage pie: brown mince and onion. Add mushrooms, sliced carrots and peas with 300ml beef stock. Cook right down. Add gravy granules to thicken. Top with mashed potato and you’ve got a cottage pie

burgers: 500g mince, one onion, pinch of salt and pepper and one egg. Smoosh together, separate into four and form into patties. Skillet fry until cooked and there’s homemade burgers.

all of which can be frozen in portions.

P.s I’d freeze the burgers before cooking.

Definitely gousto! Everything comes weighed and measured, recipes are easy to follow and meals are really good - a lot of the time I'd happily pay for them in a restaurant.

After a few goes, I just get the ingredients in and make them myself. My 13 year old can do the simple ones, has empowered him to cook.

Check out the good food app. So many easy and tasty recipes.

Do you have a freezer? Makes a massive different when cooking for one as every dish can be a batch cook. Curries, stews, pasta sauces, all very freezable and means you can cook a couple of times a week and after a few weeks you’ve built up a stash of varied meals to dip into. Continue to cook a few nights a weeks and you’re sorted.

Good Food also does meal plans, loads of different ones including a meal plan for one.

Thanks all!

One is Fun by Delia Smith, available from World of Books

I love taming twins recipes. She has 2 books but loads on her website/social media too. I never thought I'd be able to make pies etc but her recipes are so easy/well written!

Don't forget you could also do a bit of batch cooking, portion out and freeze for times when you don't fancy cooking but want some good home cooked food to eat.

Gousto is a company that will send you prepacked and measured ingredients and a recipe. They are really good. They have just started to do them for single people and it might be a good idea to look through their recipes, which are very very detailed, sign up with the discount offered and see how you get on. They are like little cooking lessons really.

So sorry, didn't realise that others had recommended Gousto as well!

Make a list of things you actually do eat regularly. Everybody has their preferences whether it’s made themselves or is a takeaway.

That means you will buy ingredients that will get used in a reasonable period of time as you repeat a meal. Think a jar of passata or something. After that you can start investing in specialty one off stuff.

Well done OP . I hope you enjoyed and have an incentive to carry on . Xx

This lady does one pot one portion recipes. Some quick & simple, some a bit more effort. Sweet stuff as well as main meals.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe6BoDtb/