"Single Serve" - Let penny Oliver revive and revolutionise your mealtimes.

Even when you love good food and do your best to eat well, cooking for one can be something of a chore. It’s all too easy to fall into having the same thing all the time, or even to resort to a takeaway dinner !  

In her fifth book food writer Penny Oliver shows you how single-serve meals can be stylish, quick and affordable – all you need is a small repertoire of recipes, a little bit of planning and some smart buying. Penny also demonstrates how to make best use of your freezer, halving your labour in the kitchen so you can take a night off whenever you need to.

With a wealth of easy, flavoursome recipes for one, tips for reducing your time spent cooking and smart substitutions to vary the flavours, Single Serve may well become your new bench top bible.

The publishers have kindly allowed me to reproduce one of the recipes from the book, here it is:

Pork Cutlets with Minty Peas

This juicy, meltingly tender cutlet with a crispy coating is perfect for occasions when you deserve a special treat.

Preparation and Cooking Time:

30 minutes

Serves 1

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 x 200g pork cutlet, rind removed

2 tablespoons flour for dusting

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup frozen peas, cooked according to packet instructions

1 teaspoon butter

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, chopped

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

lemon wedges to serve

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest on a plate and mix well to combine.

Dust cutlet with flour. Dip in the egg to coat well, then into the breadcrumb mixture and coat both sides, patting the crumbs onto the cutlet.

Heat oil in a small ovenproof non-stick frying-pan over a medium heat and cook cutlet for 2–3 minutes on each side.

Transfer cutlet to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through to your liking.

Combine cooked peas with the butter and lightly crush with a fork. Add mint and seasonings and serve with cutlet and lemon wedges.

Cook’s Note

Try adding some chopped fresh rosemary to the pork crumb, or mixing cooked peas with broad bean kernels and fresh basil leaves.

Copyright line

Reproduced with permission from Single Serve  by Penny Oliver. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $40.00. Copyright text © Penny Oliver, 2013.

Copyright photography © Manja Wachsmuth, 2013

Penny Oliver_Copyright Manja Wachsmuth