THE ART OF FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER

Savour this ‘personal dinner’ – the type of dish made to enjoy on your own

There is a scene in a truly terrible romcom called Because I Said So

that I have always loved. Mandy Moore (the casting alone tells you all you need to know) comes home to her shabby-chic Los Angeles apartment on a Friday night after a hard day, and begins to make herself pasta. Van Morrison’s Days Like This plays in the background as she drains a pan of steaming spaghetti, chops herbs and garlic, and adds Parmesan and olive oil from a height. Her shoulders visibly relax as she serves herself a generous helping in a beautiful bowl, pours a large glass of red wine, takes a sip and breathes.

At 16, this scene seemed preposterously glamorous. The idea of coming home to your own flat, making yourself a bowl of too much spaghetti and drinking red wine was deeply alluring to my romantic teenage brain. Now, I’m certain it’s exactly the sort of meal we should make more often.

The brilliant American food writer Alison Roman refers to this kind of dish as a “personal dinner” – a meal to be savoured entirely on your own, on a night when you need desperately to shake off the week and slow everything down. For me, this recipe satisfies on every level, from the salty crunch of the anchovy breadcrumbs to the creamy, lemony sauce and crucial sprinkling of chilli flakes. Eat it straight from the pan, or in your favourite bowl; at the table, or in front of the TV. Revel in your solo spaghetti exactly as you please. Just make sure to have extra breadcrumbs and Parmesan close at hand.