Orange fish

As much as I love cooking – which is fortunate, because I’ve spent a good part of my life toiling at it – there are still times when it just feels like an essential and annoying chore. Mostly it’s fine, as I tend to have very strong and specific food cravings and the skills to follow through. In fact, for me, one of the greatest things about running a restaurant is that I can indulge my hunger by creating dishes for the people and call it work. But that is a very different thing from having to think about what to eat for dinner every night, which is where cooking can become less of a pleasure. It’s even harder, I suspect, when you are just cooking meals to feed yourself.

I am quite happy to cook a one-person dinner. My go-to over the years has always been brown rice and steamed vegetables with some sort of chilli condiment. Or an omelette. Or cheese on toast. Something simple. If you have to cook for yourself every night, however, you’re probably looking for some inspiration and occasionally a bit more glamour – but also something that doesn’t involve too much preparation or washing up.

I have just the thing. It’s a sauce perfect for the depths of winter, when citrus is at its best, all zingy and bright and full of vitamin C to help alleviate grey days, gloomy weather and chills. All you need is some oranges, a bit of chicken stock – which should be an essential part of your freezer stores whether you are living on your own or with a crowd – and some butter. One could say quite a lot of butter for one person, but I think that’s okay.

The inspiration for this came when I started with the idea of a beurre blanc, a classic French sauce I am partial to, made using a vinegar reduction with a whole lot of butter whisked in. The acid and fat combine to give a silky, balanced little number that’s perfect with seafood. Here, the acid comes from the orange, the chicken stock is for some body, and the butter brings it all together.

I have suggested you cook yourself a nice piece of fish to pour the sauce over, but it would be equally delicious with chicken, if that’s more your thing. A sauce whisk is very useful here if you happen to have one, but a normal small whisk will work as well. All you need is a bit of salad on the side. I like a herby one or perhaps something with radicchio to add a hint of bitterness. Or maybe some blanched beans or broccoli or even frozen peas – whatever it is you have lurking around in the fridge to provide a bit of vegetal balance. Or, if you prefer, you can skip the greens and revel in a rich buttery sauce that is an excellent shade of orange.