Your favourite 'meals for two' recipes

[OMGitsnotgood]

Looking for some new ideas for meals for 2 adults. We do make a lot of the same things we did for family (eg spag bol, shepherds pie, curries, chilli, casseroles etc) and freeze in portions. We do lots of stir fries and pasta dishes.

Doing my meal plan and shopping list and would appreciate some inspiration for some different meals just for two. What are your favourites?

Here are a couple of dishes I’ve made recently:
duck with plum and star anise sauce

salmon, avocado, watercress and sugar snap peas

good old fashioned steak Diane

Thank you

might have the wrong end of the stick, but it sounds like you are looking for interesting meals, that feel a little special, and don't need to be kid friendly? Ixta Belfrages style suits that perfectly for me - chicken with pineapple and nduja, prawn habanero lasagne, and cheesy polenta with curried onions (I serve this with sausages) are all fabulous and give you a good idea of her signature style and flavour combos, though you will need to half to serve 2. Her book Mezcla has some weekday friendly recipes too.

Thank you @SummaLuvin , all those recipes sound lovely and I will go them a go.

I did struggle to write the OP to convey what I was trying to ask 😂

I guess recipes where you can easily make 2 portions without having to freeze leftovers, which we already do with chlli etc but want some alternatives that only make two portions And yes a little bit special, definitely interesting.

this miso buttered greens pasta is a weekday staple in our house. I enjoy Meera's recipes a lot, her books and her guardian column, they are typically written to serve 4 but halve easily and work halved.

I also love Marions Kitchen, again she writes for 4 but the recipes work well halved, her Kung Pao chicken noodles, beef and broccoli, and fried rice are top hits for me.

Ethan Chlebowski seems to have moved his focus into deep dives on ingredients (comparing various soy sauces for instance) which is a shame as I loved his recipes. There's never a time I don't want to eat his spicy cumin lamb burger and the green goddess salad is a brilliant adaptable and filling salad blueprint.

Lamb chops. I have about 100 different ways to do them but they're such a great one to do for a set small number of people. My favourites are:

With some hummus and roasted tomatoes.
A quick warm sort of salsa made with peppers, chilli and tomatoes (char grilled) and a bean mash
With mashed potato and green vegetables
With new potatoes and salad
with couscous and whatever veg I can find to turn the couscous into a warm salad.
With asparagus

Tonight DS and I are having fresh tuna, seared, served with fried rice using all the bits of veggies that are left in the fridge! It's a nice meal for two as it cooks best in relatively small amounts.

I like steak cooked for two. I can do nice fat chips in the airfryer, a mushroom sauce and some tenderstem broccoli or asparagus.

DS and I quite like something in a wrap when it's just the two of us - eg chargrilled greens with some lemon/honey sauce and some halloumi.

What about a burger? When I make burgers for the whole family it tends to be simple to accomodate everyone's preferences etc, but if it was just me and DH I could do big flat mushrooms on the grill, crispy onions etc etc.

Thank you all so much, exactly the sorts of things I was looking for

https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/quick-and-easy/easy-dinner-ideas-for-two-33652/

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?cm_sp=SearchF--topnav--Results&ds=20&kn=Womens%20weekly%20two&sts=t

@TheSandgroper

Thanks! Coming across your link I found some recipes for one!

Thank you @TheSandgroper

I was really hoping for people's personal recommendations - I can of course Google for ideas but other people's favourites help narrow it down a bit.

This book is great, most of the recipes are for two and work really well https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/nigel-slater/30-minute-cook/9780718137526?gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAADZzAIBMuu-r9s6EyIE6QQ37zJekt&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwO20BhCJARIsAAnTIVRRQtSLwOHkwA6zt9mN9XGCVUcmcNfp2bx6IDGI8IK7b2IQf4WI7FMaAqprEALww_wcB#GOR001392515

good food website has some great ideas

i have a menu given to me:.

It’s easy, it’s green, what’s not to like?!

Serves 1 generously (or 2 with some rice/spuds/bread). You will need…
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 large courgette, chopped into quarters and sliced
1 large leek, finely chopped
1 x 240g tin butter beans, drained
150ml stock
100g ricotta
A handful fresh basil leaves
100g cherry tomatoes on the vine
Olive oil

1. Firstly, heat your oven to 200’C, place the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish and slosh a little olive oil, salt and pepper over them.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over a low heat, and add the garlic, courgette and leek. Cook for 5-10 minutes until softened, stirring regularly.
3. Check your oven and put your tomatoes in for 15 minutes when it hits 200’C.
4. In the meantime, add your butter beans to the pan with the softened vegetables, along with the st. Stir together and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the basil leaves, stirring until they wilt, then add the ricotta and stir well until it’s totally combined with everything. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Once the tomatoes are cooked, plate up the beans and add the tomatoes on top. Enjoy ✨

I usually use cannelloni beans and recently used feta or otherwise cream cheese or even creme fraiche, have not tried with ricotta.
i serve with rice

Simply Cook is good as you can get recipes that are just for 2. You choose the recipes you like, they send you the spice/ paste pots, a recipe instructions card and you buy the fresh ingredients. The meals are quick to make and really tasty. And there's no waste!