Quick and Easy Romantic Dinner for Two

A romantic meal doesn't have to be overcomplicated. All it requires is just fresh ingredients, a simple recipe paired with some nice wine. You can also set the mood with some dimmed lights and candlelight. This Pan-Fried Cod with Citrus Hollandaise (recipe below) is a light and elegant, yet rich and flavoursome offering that will make your honey go weak at the knees. This is not the time for skimping or dieting: yes, this dish has a lot of butter, but that is what makes it taste and feel rich and luxurious. Pairing the citrus hollandaise sauce simply with a firm, white fish keeps it succulent and light.

The fish is served with the delicious, crispy skin on top. You must have a good non-stick pan to achieve this! I love my Woll Diamond Lite saute pan – it has a diamond enforced non-stick surface, meaning you can use metal utensils with it (with care of course!). It is also relatively lightweight, despite having a 6mm thermal base, which heats up very fast and cooks evenly. The pan is also oven resistant to 260°C, whereas most non-stick pans have a 200°C threshold. What does this mean for your cooking? It means better searing and faster cooking with a nonstick that will last years. such is the quality you can expect from Woll cookware that is made in Germany Served on the side of the plate is a delicate salad of paper-thin sliced cucumbers, which are brined in salt for 10 minutes, rinsed and drained. This looks so elegant, is so fresh and light, and could not be simpler. All you need to make this salad is a mandolin slicer. For this recipe I decided to use the Benriner mandolin because it requires no setup, is easy to clean, and cucumbers are generally pretty easy and straightforward to slice (if I were slicing something a little fiddlier, I might choose the Progressive PL8 which is more safety conscious and has a container to help hold odd shapes.)

If you feel like you would have some extra food on hand, then consider serving some roasted mixed vegetables on the side. This is simple and easy in the Swiss Diamond Roasting Tray, which helps brown food better and has a special non-stick coating made from diamonds. Don’t think too much about this side dish, just chop a selection of vegetables into similar sized pieces, add a little oil, generously salt and pepper and add to the tray. Bake in a medium/hot oven for about 40 minutes for crispy edges and tenderly cooked on the inside.

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Pan-fried Cod, Citrus Hollandaise and Cucumber

For the Cucumber Salad Garnish:

• 1 long cucumber
• 1 tbsp salt
• mandolin slicer

Using a mandolin, finely slice the cucumber as thinly as possible. Cover and mix with salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Rinse very well under cold water, drain well and set aside. (This can be done up to a few hours in advance.)

Made in Japan, the Benriner mandoline is a staple for food preparation in many restaurants' kitchens across Australia

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To make the Citrus Hollandaise:

• 100g butter (7 tbsp)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1tsp dijon mustard
• 1 long peel slice of lemon zest
• 1 long peel slice of orange zest

Using a vegetable peeler, take a long slice from the lemon and orange zest. Separate the eggs and put the yolks into a medium sized bowl with the lemon juice, mustard lemon and orange zest. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Heat another pan with some water and place the egg yolks on top of the pan. Whisking continuously, add the butter a splash at a time into the eggs until all incorporated.

Note: Have some small ice cube chips ready on the side in case the sauce starts to separate. Whisk one in to cool it down instantly in case this happens Cover and set the sauce aside in a warm place while the fish cooks. You can turn the heat and leave it over the warm water -just remember to whisk occasionally.

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For the Pan-Fried Cod:

• 1-2 pieces each of Blue Eyed cod, skin on
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper
• 200g baby spinach

Heat a fry pan to very hot, add the butter and when foaming, place the cod skin side down. Cook for about 3 minutes untouched, then lift up one corner to check the skin is crispy and brown. Leave for a couple more minutes if needed. Turn over and tilt the pan and spoon the butter over the fish a few times, leaving in the pan for another couple of minutes or so until the flesh is just cooked through.

Place the cod onto a cutting board, skin side up and place the spinach into the pan. Cook for a minute or two and squeeze the excess moisture out using a spoon and the side of the pan. Pour any juices from the fish resting into the hollandaise sauce.

To serve:

Finely chopped chives Remove the zest from the hollandaise sauce just before serving, and stir. Use a few drops of white vinegar if the sauce has thickened up and needs to be loosened. Spread a large dollop of hollandaise onto each plate and top with half the spinach, and then the fish, skin side up.

Sprinkle with some chives. Place a neat pile of brined cucumbers on the side.

Serving food

Becky Gilhespie is a food writer and former Masterchef semi-finalist. Her blog, www.eatwhatweeat.com provides inspiration for meals that both kids and adults love. They are elegant yet simple, easy to follow recipes that are fast to get on the table and use everyday ingredients. Becky is originally from the US but lived in London for 15 years and now resides in Sydney with her husband and two little boys. Her food is inspired a lot by her travels (and desire to travel more).