Well… I found myself spontaneously left to my own devices for dinner last night and the pull towards cheap takeaway Indian was great. Not nearly as much home cooked food loving went on in our home over the weekend, nor for the last 2 weeks to be honest. I had a beautiful lunch on Sunday at Blancmange in Petersham with some wonderful girl friends. I have a huge amount of love for this restaurant and highly recommend checking it out. The food, service, ambiance and value for money are hard to beat at this little gem.

I digress. So last night I sensibly decided to utilise my kitchen and make myself something tasty that I would enjoy… alone… sniff sniff! Just quietly I really do adore a nice quiet night in with the house to myself and with so many awesome things to cook oneself out there, it’s not hard to find the inspiration in the end.

I did a twirly take on fish, chips and salad. The flathead has been layered with butter and parsley then rolled and secured with a toothpick for grilling with lemon juice and served with a green salad and chili salt hand cut baked chips.

Fish

2 small flathead fillets
1tbs butter
2 tbs finely chopped italian parsley
juice of half a lemon
clove of garlic (crushed) – optional

If you have used garlic now is the time to mix it with the butter. Layer the butter along one flat side of the fish fillet, sprinkle with parsley then roll up fairly tight into a spiral and secure with a toothpick (or a couple of toothpicks if your fish fillets are larger). Grill for approximately 2-4 minutes on either side depending on the thickness of the fish. Serve with melted lemony butter drizzled over the top.

Chips

1 large potato in chunky slices
sprinkling of chili powder mixed with seasalt
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Coat potato slices with oil then sprinkle with chili salt and pop into a hot oven preheated to 220ºC. Take out and shake once or twice to get an even crisp brown.

Salad

Fresh lettuce, coriander, rocket and avocado mixed in bowl with a drizzle of balsamic.

A perfect quick dinner for one.

Enjoy!