THE COOL CLUB
As food is the language of love, there’s no better way to celebrate the special bond you have with your partner than with a romantic meal for two. But if the thought of complicated recipes kills your vibe, the good thing is there are loads of quick and easy starters for 2 to set the mood.
Here, you’ll find our top starters for 2 that you can rustle up in no time. The best bit? They taste divine and will leave you wanting more.
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An easy starter for goat’s cheese lovers: Griddled peaches with goat’s cheese, figs and parma ham
If you love a bit of sweet and savoury, this easy starter will leave you thinking you’ve found the one.
Drink pairing: A Courtside or a Rum Punch.
Ingredients
1 peach, washed and halved
125g soft goat’s cheese
80g parma ham
2 ripe figs
2 handfuls of rocket
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method
Drizzle olive oil onto your griddle pan and heat until slightly smoking.
Place each peach half flat-side down and cook for around five minutes.
Take the cooked peach and pop onto a plate, alongside a fig sliced into four and half the parma ham.
Crumble the goat’s cheese on top of the other ingredients and serve with a handful of rocket and a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Enjoy!
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A quick starter for fish fans: mackerel pate with melba toast
Whizz up this fish dip which makes an easy starter that’s also scrumptious! Whether you like a chunky pate or one that’s super smooth, it’s tongue tantalisingly tasty.
Drink pairing: A Cucumber Collins or Icy Pink Lemonade.
Ingredients
140g smoked mackerel
300g soft cheese
3 tsp. horseradish
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
8 Melba toasts
Method
Flake the mackerel fillets into a mixing bowl.
Add the soft cheese, horseradish and lemon juice.
Use a hand blender to smooth the ingredients. You can either make a chunky fish pate or ultra-smooth, depending on your preference.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper and serve with crunchy melba toasts. Yum!
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A quick starter for avo’ addicts: Guacamole and toasted sourdough
Love them or hate them, the world’s obsession with avocados is here to stay. This makes one of the tastiest vegan starters for 2, so double up on ingredients if you want to make enough to have leftovers.
Drink pairing: A Pink Pineapple Passion.
Ingredients
2 large avocados
2 red chillies
3 cherry tomatoes
Small bunch of coriander
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh sourdough bread
Method
Destone the avocado and chop into 1cm cubed pieces before adding to a mixing bowl.
Deseed the chilli and chop into tiny pieces. Add to the avocado.
Cut the tomato into pieces, each around 5mm and add to the mixing bowl.
Roughly chop the coriander and add to the mixture along with the juice of 1 lime.
If you like rough guacamole, use a fork to mash the ingredients – or for a smoother dish, use a hand blender.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Serve with warm, toasted sourdough. Enjoy!
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An easy starter for tapas fans: Garlic and chilli prawns
There’s something particularly romantic about the nature of tapas food, and this garlic and chilli prawn recipe does not disappoint.
Drink Pairing: A Fruity or Apple Cider Sangria.
Ingredients
60g butter
Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
1 small handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
350g raw prawns, deveined
To serve – 1 lemon, halved
Method
Melt the butter in a pan and add a dash of olive oil.
Add the garlic, chilli and parsley and cook for a few minutes, until softened.
Add the raw prawns and cover them thoroughly in the mixture in the pan.
Keep on the hob until the prawns are cooked. They should be pink all the way through.
Serve in a small bowl with lemon wedges.
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A vegetable-based quick starter: Pan-fried asparagus with mushrooms and boiled egg
Vegetable-based starters are seriously underrated. This easy recipe and quick starter is one of the tastiest veggie starters we’ve tried, but don’t forget the thyme as it really sets the dish off.
Drink pairing: A Raspberry Martini Fizz or Vanilla Pleaser.
Ingredients
300g chestnut mushrooms, washed and thinly sliced
125g asparagus tips
10g fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2-4 eggs (depending on whether you want one egg or two)
Sourdough bread
Method
In a bowl, place the crushed garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, destalked thyme and olive oil and mix well.
Heat up a saucepan of boiled water and cook the eggs for around three to four minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the ingredients in the bowl in a pan.
Toast the sourdough and place the cooked pan ingredients on top.
When the eggs are done, remove from the pan and cut lengthways, placing them on top of the vegetable mix. Season with salt and pepper and most of all, enjoy!
So, now you have some easy starter ideas, you can start thinking about your mains and desserts!
