Cooking for 1

While the Netherlands has never had so many people living alone, supermarkets act as if households still mainly consist of two to four people. And they’re not the only ones. How many cookbooks actually cater to the solo cook? Very few, cookbook author Janneke Vreugdenhil discovered.

After a divorce, followed by a period of living on smoothies, bananas and soup, Vreugdenhil got back on her feet by starting to cook for herself. And solo cooking turned out to be a whole new skill, even for a professional cook.

The new together

Anyone worried that the cookbook that emerged from this, Solo Food, is a divorce survivor’s ego document: not at all. After all, more and more people are living solo. Young, old and everything in between. In a country with more than three million one-person households, solo is the new together. And solo cooking is the new cooking.

That a solo cookbook is no unnecessary luxury is also demonstrated by consumer research showing that people who cook for themselves eat less healthily and throw away more than families. Makes sense, with all those multiperson packages.

A recipe for 4 divided by 4 is not yet a recipe for 1

More importantly, solo cooking requires a different approach. Because a recipe for four divided by four is not yet a recipe for one. Vreugdenhil’s challenge was to make something decent with fewer ingredients (because that means less waste) in not too much time.

Solo cook

The biggest advantage of cooking for one? The solo cook is their own ideal guest. After all, they know exactly what they like and don’t have to make any compromises on taste. And if, as a solotarian, you occasionally open a can of beans or a bag of pre-cut lettuce, nobody will notice.

The solo cook is their own ideal guest

Vreugdenhil also has some practical advice for the solo chef. Such as: Cherish the versatile egg. With eggs in the house, you’ll never go hungry.

Solo sex

Then it’s time for 72 recipes for all the usual solo moments. Starting with a quick fix of grilled tuna with cucumber, avocado and ginger salad, moving through Netflix Dinners (pasta aglio olio my way) and Classics For One (Caesar salad), and ending in a kind of solo sex with oysters and champagne—for Vreugdenhil the ultimate me-time.

Do you really have to break up with your loved one before you can start on this cookbook? Of course not—aren’t we all at least part-time solo?

Hardcore or part-time solo, try this recipe now for soft polenta with mushrooms, egg and spinach.

Solo Food
Janneke Vreugdenhil
€ 19,99
Published by Podium

Image: Floortje van Essen-Ingen Housz; from Solo Food.