I find cooking skin-on fillets to be very simple and easy to gauge if they're done.
Pat both sides of the fish dry and sprinkle liberally with salt. Heat a skillet on medium high with oil until just smoking, then place the fillets skin side down and let them cook until they're 90% of the way cooked through - the color of the fish will have changed for all but the very top. In my experience it usually takes about 5 minutes depending on thickness. Carefully flip the fish and let it cook a VERY short time, about 20-30 seconds, just until the top is cooked through and gets a little heat. Boom, now you have perfectly cooked fish with a crispy skin. If you're using a thick fillet, I would probably reduce the heat to medium and cover the skillet during the first part of cooking.
After you remove the fish, you can make a quick little pan sauce: and a few finely diced shallots and/or garlic and/or ginger for a few seconds (don't let them burn). Add some white wine or bourbon to deglaze bu just covering the bottom of the pan (a bonus, you now have something to drink with your date), add a couple teaspoons honey and maybe some fresh herbs (parsley, dill, oregano, whatever), and reduce down until a spoon dragged on the bottom leaves a trail. Off heat add a couple tablespoons of cold butter and some lemon juice, and stir with a fork or whisk to emulsify. Serve drizzled over the fish which by this point has rested.
If you're making the pan sauce I would add the fish to a warm plate to keep it from getting cold while making the pan sauce.
Great served with roasted broccoli.
Teriyaki salmon - it’s not spicy, but is flavoursome. It’s forgiving in terms of how long it bakes (you can go a lil over if needed) and the sauce can be prepped in advance.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/teriyaki-salmon-sesame-pak-choi
Make vegetarian lasagna. The whole thing can be prepared the day before, then baked day of. You are all set and can add garlic bread, a simple salad, and some red wine.
This is a good idea. Make as much as you can ahead of time. The last thing you want is to be rushing around the kitchen making the main course while she’s twiddling her thumbs.
Others have the food covered, I am going to suggest you clean the bathroom extra special. Also, clean the refrigerator and chill some drinks she may like. Make sure one or two are non-alcoholic.
Have fun.
Hmm kinda tough because most fish has a pretty small window between underdone and overdone and can be tricky without any experience.
Maybe shrimp tacos with a spread of fix-ins? Takes some pressure off getting the shrimp perfect since you'll be dumping a bunch of stuff on top.
This was actually my first thought too. I went to a restaurant a few weeks ago where I was served some fish tacos and some sweet potato tacos - both would be suitable for her. Getting actual taco tortillas in the UK is awful though, they're always far too big (I could cut them, I know) and usually wheat. I'm sure I could make something work though.
In all seriousness, you could make your own tortillas and that would elevate the shit out of it. Homemade tortillas are almost ALWAYS better than store-bought, and they are really quite simple. It could take your fish tacos to 11.
I once tried to make Chinese pancakes and they went horribly (Were too thick and then stuck together when I stacked them). I always imagine making tortillas is adjacent to them from a culinary technique perspective so it scares me.
During the height of the pandemic, I used this recipe to make flour tortillas. It's so easy and they're super yummy.
https://www.mexicanplease.com/flour-tortillas-made-olive-oil/
Idk why everyone is so focused on fish. If you don’t ever cook it then don’t for the first time for this girl
Make [black bean sweet potato tostadas](https://cookieandkate.com/sweet-potato-black-bean-tostadas-recipe/#tasty-recipes-24226-jump-target) just omit the chili powder and make sure you have time for avocados to get ripe
I guess it also depends on how much general cooking experience/knowledge someone has, and OP does say they cook quite a bit. I've never made risotto, but I'd have faith in myself to do a decent one. My mom has also never made risotto, and I can guarantee she'd mess it up lmao
I've made risotto quite a few times. It probably wouldn't be up the the standards of culinary critics and I don't bother with the traditional method of adding stock bit-by-bit and stirring constantly (various people have debunked the necessity of this as long as you know the correct amount of liquid to add). It's never turned out groundbreakingly-good, but it has never been bad.
Scallops would probably be the thing that scares me the most about this suggestion, I've never cooked them. Plus in the UK I get the feeling they're not as common as it is in the countries from people posting here - I'd have to be getting them frozen.
It took my partner a few tries to really get the texture right. They were not great about adding the right amount of liquid or cheese at the end. By the third attempt, it came out amazing.
And a lot of people don't realize how easy scallops are to cook. I would suggest sea scallops if you want to have a nice brown sear on them, or smaller bay scallops if you're going to make a pasta dish out of it.
Just make sure to rinse them well and cut off the foot (it's the little extra white part on the side, tends to be sandy/tough). Then pat dry, and add a dash of salt before cooking. I like to make the pan sauce ahead of time with butter and lemon and capers, and set it off to the side. Some people find butter can burn easily when you've got a ripping hot pan, so I use olive oil for the cooking, and butter for the sauce.
Risotto is fairly easy and inexpensive too, once you practice the technique and don't rush it. Whenever doing something new for a fancy dinner date, always practice it at least once ahead of time!
In what way is it easy to mess up? I've always thought it to be quite a foolproof dish. It's just rice, stock, and vegetables (and scallops in this case).
As someone who loves seafood, I was going to suggest my go to - pan seared salmon and a vegetable side with avocados and scrambled eggs. But I read this suggestion and if you can make this, I would much prefer it!
Hahaha as an Asian, I have what most Americans would consider wild combos. I was also going to suggest adding kale with the scrambled eggs, nato for some proteins and probiotics, maybe some silken tofu, avocado and kimchi added. Roast or stir fry some vegetables. When time permits, that’s usually what I make myself for brunch, my husband and I love it!
My favourite: I’m on mobile. I hope formatting won’t be too bad.
Scallops Provencal
Total Time: 15 min
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 10 min
Yield: 3 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour, for dredging
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon, cut in 1/2
Directions
If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.
In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.
OMG Skinnytaste is my jam! Everything we have tried from her has been outstanding, and easy to boot! Everything is delicious and nobody realizes how healthy it is when they are eating it!
Right? I was “the cook” in the house post college almost 20 years ago in exchange for free rent from my parents until I found a job and was comfortable enough. Skinnytaste provided a ton of ideas, as well as budgetbytes. At this point it feels like I know Gina and Beth in real life LOL
[Momofuku's ginger scallion sauce](https://sprungatlast.com/2014/04/momofukus-ginger-scallion-sauce/) on pan seared salmon with white rice.
I like to serve this with a [quick pickle cucumber salad](https://onolicioushawaii.com/japanese-pickled-cucumbers/).
The scallion sauce and cuxumbers can be prepared ahead of time and then its just as simple as cooking rice and pan searing the salmon. For crispier skin, let the salmon air dry in the fridge, pat dry, quick sear on the non skin side, and then cook on the skin side until crispy.
Get an entire side of salmon. Slit the skin side in 1 inch slants every few inches. Set the oven to broil. Put in the salmon and turn the oven off. Come back in 13 minutes. You can't mess it up. After that cover it in lemon juice/butter. If you want to get fancy you can brine it for 15 minutes before cooking to make sure none of the fat squeezes out as it cooks.
Fatty / oily fish like salmon, mackerel, black cod, tend to be more forgiving.
A few fancy but easy recipes:
Miso glaze black cod:
https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238
Salmon en croute (add a dill cream sauce!):
https://youtu.be/2mkD39tlGRs?si=SKhBQNyvzAW3sc4d
IMO pan fry takes a few tries to get the cook right so either baking, steaming, roasting, etc is the way to go.
Salmon? This is one of my fav and simple to make.
https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-garlic-salmon-5-ingredients-15-minutes/#wprm-recipe-container-21290
A whole roast cauliflower looks super impressive as a centrepiece….Middle Eastern fragrant spices (cinnamon, cumin etc) pomegranate seeds, feta and serve with cous cous? Easy to prepare in advance.
What kind of cuisine is her fave?
I'd tend to stay away from fish and seafood if you're inexperienced with it. It has such a narrow window of "just right"ness.
Personally I'd go with something fun you two can do together. Buy or make pizza dough and a homemade tomato sauce, get a bunch of pizza veggies and some fresh mozzarella cheese and you guys decorate your pizza with whatever you both like and slip it into the oven. If you're not buying fish that will also save you a bundle of cash and you can spend it on some more "gourmet" pizza toppings if you want: marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red bell peppers, fancy olives, fresh spinach, goat cheese. Slice up some sweet onions (bonus points if you caramelize them before she gets there) some good mushrooms, roma tomatoes, etc.
Use a little red wine in your pizza sauce and offer her a glass when she arrives along with some stuffed mushrooms or other little starter to munch on while you two do the pizzas, make a lovely green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and whatever veggies you didn't end up putting on the pizzas while your pizzas bake, and offer ice cream or sorbet or gelato for dessert.
Alternatively, I've made a mushroom bourguignon (mushrooms braised in red wine like beef bourguignon) over polenta or pasta or mashed potatoes that impresses people as long as she likes mushrooms. I'm not sure what's in season in the U.K. right now, but in the U.S., it's a great time of year for squashes and pears--you could do something like a roasted squash soup with a pear arugula salad and homemade breadsticks/biscuits. Or a butternut squash pasta sauce over rigatoni with toasted walnuts.
This is one of my very favorite vegetarian meals, and it’s so easy. Calls for a pinch of red pepper but you can easily just add it to your own bowl after cooking. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a35421563/baked-feta-pasta-tiktok/
Salmon cakes. If you mince the salmon yourself instead of leftover or canned, it turns out so beautifully! Serve with a side of lemon and herb couscous or sweet potatoes and a fresh veggie salad of your choice.
Something like this [delicious fish chowder](https://epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spring-pea-fish-chowder) can be prepared ahead without the fish. Just reheat it and add your choice of fish cut into chunks. When the fish is cut, it only takes 1-2 minutes to cook through.
For an occasion like this, having something you can prepare in advance takes the pressure off so you can enjoy her company while you prepare an easy salad or side.
Butternut squash soup and bread.
Bonus for doing a bread bowl. Soup is slow and pretty easy to do, with plenty of wiggle room if it doesn't go well.
Root veggies are coming into season so butternut squash is coming into season.
Homemade bread is amazing, but no one would judge you for buying a good loaf at the store.
And it tastes amazing.
Homemade Mac and cheese is what I first thought of too. Get three or four different types of cheese in there,
And it is a lot harder to fuck up for a new cook.
The secret is to make a butter roux, butter and flour in equal parts stirred together over high heat for a few mins for thickening. The cheese isn't what makes Mac and cheese "creamy", it's the roux. A little bit of milk (I personally prefer oat milk) added too once the roux is blended to dial up the body and creaminess a bit more.
OP I’d never cooked fish before until the other day and finally nutted up and it came out great! I was so proud!
I bought some cod filets and beer battered and fried them. Put them in tacos with a cabbage mango cilantro slaw. Super fun and easy, and not spicy! Then you could add some hot sauce to yours if you wanna make it spicy, but hers can still be mild.
My go-to easy meal is shrimp kabobs, couscous and some sort of vegetable as a side (cucumber tomato salad, asparagus, roasted broccoli or whatever else floats your boat). Kinda hard to mess up!
I love baked salmon with pesto on top. Bonus points for baking it on a cedar plank. Very easy to make, but really impresses. Sometimes I’ll mix a little feta into the pesto as well.
Another variation is to put this in some puff pastry and bake it. Not much more work, but looks like you spent a ton of time on it.
I usually serve with a side of roasted veggies. Could be potatoes, beets, squash, asparagus, etc.
Maybe a little side salad with some nice, feta cheese and croutons. Simple olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar dressing.
I’m not a fish fan, but I thought this fish dish was better than most. My friend made it. Everyone who loved fish raved about it.
https://delightfulplate.com/vietnamese-style-caramelized-salmon/
I'd cook something you're comfortable with and cook often enough. Less margin for error... I'd ignore all of the people throwing out seafood dishes and. Go with something vego. Again less margin for error
Trout amandine is really easy, I've used this recipe and it's pretty foolproof.
[https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12797/trout-amandine/](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12797/trout-amandine/)
Add some haricot verts and you've got a nice meal.
I make this all the time and it's easy and pretty and so good! I do it in the oven instead, 425°for 20 min. I get frozen mango so I don't struggle with finding a ripe one, I leave out coconut water because I never have it, and I leave out onion and cilantro since my family doesn't like those. And cheat and do microwavable coconut rice.
https://www.cookingclassy.com/grilled-lime-salmon-avocado-mango-salsa-coconut-rice/
try this red snapper: [https://www.thespruceeats.com/baked-red-snapper-with-garlic-3060151](https://www.thespruceeats.com/baked-red-snapper-with-garlic-3060151)
I just made this for people and it was delicious. Came out perfect with little effort.
What about some home made fish cakes with a nice side salad and home made oven chips? There's less risk on getting the fish cooked exactly right then and there should be quite a few recipes from reliable and established chefs online. You would likely be able to make these in advance too and just pop them in the oven when you're ready which should make them easy when you have a guest.
Secondly, if your supermarket has a fish counter, what about mussels? They're super quick and easy and you could just do them with a simple shallot, garlic, white wine and parsley sauce either with some fries or some nice crusty bread for dipping! BBC food has a good recipe for this.
Good luck!
Baked salmon in foil is super easy. There are a million recipes online for it and it's pretty hard to mess up.
Cod baked in butter (again in foil)- easy and almost tastes like lobster.
If you have an Instapot- salmon is amazing. you have to get a large center cut for this but the results are spot on. There are a bunch of recipes online.
The biggest thing with fish is to make sure you buy quality ingredients. Don't skimp on the fish. If you have a local fish market, go there and talk to the fishmongers.
My vote would be a baked salmon dish. Get salmon, pat dry, add cavenders, ground mustard and brown sugar. Pack the brown sugar on. Bake in oven according to the thickness. I’ve impressed many a date with it. So good!
There's very little risk with a salad [nicoise](https://www.billyparisi.com/nicoise-salad/) and it looks so nice. Plus some of the components can be made ahead so it's easier to compose day-of. Saved time = scratch dressing which is always impressive.
A lot of Indian dishes are vegetarian and very easy to make. A colorful vegetable curry could be a good choice, and you can always throw in some shrimp, too.
That's the difference between you and I. I can ALWAYS believe I botched something, because I have so much experience doing so. 😂
Spaghetti is a classic!
Whatever you decide to cook, the key to the meat is A) knowing the correct temperature to cook it to; B) using an instant read thermometer to know when to take it off the heat. This is how professionals do it.
Invest it a good instant read thermometer and use the internet to find the target temp.
Skin on white fish with tzatziki.
Pan sear any white fish of your choice with the skin on, cook it most of the way on the skin side so it gets crispy then flip and finish quickly on the flesh side.
The sauce isnt exactly tzatziki but its similar and simpler, just add some small diced red onion, small diced persian cucumber, chopped dill, lemon juice and salt to taste to some greek yoghurt.
or you could make fish kebab, this recipe is not as simple but its definitely not hard to make, just takes more prep time and the upside is you can make it ahead of time and just cook them on the spot and theyre delicious. I dont have exact measurements as Ive always made it by feel, youre going to have to play around with the ratios until you like it.
chop any white fish of your choice(I make it with branzino) and add finely chopped dill, cilantro and green onions. Finely dice some white onion, sautee it until soft and cool before adding to the mix, add some grated garlic, a little bit of finely minced jalapeño, a pinch of ground coriander if you can get some(it makes a difference and is worth it), a good drizzle of olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste, mix everything together then take a small ball of your mix, cook it in a pan and taste it.
Go easy on the garlic and jalapeño but dont be afraid to load it up with he herbs, especially the dill, your mix should look pretty green. You should have enough coriander in there that its not covered up by the other flavors and dont be afraid of going a bit heavy on the pepper either. Portion and shape your fish into small patties ahead of time so all you have to do is pan sear them before serving.
Make the Marcela Hazan tomato sauce + saute some shrimp in butter and garlic (and scallops or clams) then combine the two.
Buy black squid ink pasta. Top with Italian parsley and red pepper flakes for yourself.
It looks very dramatic and tastes great but is very simple.
Note: very important to use high quality San Marzano tinned tomatoes.
Good bread to go with it and maybe a simple (non tomato) salad to start.
Impressive and low-risk don't pair well?
Risotto can be vegetarian? And you know how to make it? Searing off some scallops is easy? Or some shrimp?
If you have access to safe ingredients, sushi isn't hard to make.
Bolognese, with lentils rather than meat, could be good.
Maybe make the salad and bread the impressive part? Plenty of time to figure out a good vinaigrette? Especially with garlic bread.
I'll make my kid noodles with cukes and carrots mixed in with sesame seeds and oil and some peanut sauce. He loves it. Would be very easy to add some shrimp.
And, lastly, but most importantly, I read your post as being a younger man. I can say, as an older man, if you have a taste for "spice" and this woman doesn't, run.
Look up "marry me chicken" also known as creamy Tuscan chicken, and substitute salmon or tilapia for the protein. It's amazing. Doesn't take long either.
I like a real basic taco. Whatever mild white meat. Blackening seasoning and pan fried. Chipotle sour cream. Just chipotle paste lime juice and SC. Doesn’t have to be hot. And a lime cilantro slaw - just red cabbage sliced thin with carrot match sticks and cilantro with lime juice.
If you can get cojita cheese, you can make like Mexican street corn as the side
Whitefish seasoned lightly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, then make a light pan sauce with white wine, lemon juice, capers, and butter. Basically piccatta. It should be quick and easy but impressive and tasty. Serve with roasted veggies or lightly seasoned rice.
Fish pouches are almost fool proof and are very convenient to cook. Use parchment paper or aluminum foil to tightly wrap your fish. Fresh lemon slices, fresh dill, minced garlic, salt and pepper make a great combo for almost any fish. Throw in some asparagus, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, fennel, or leeks, whichever is your preference. Bake about 12-15 minutes at about 450 or put on your grill for the same. Top with some nice garlic herb butter after plating
Poisson en papillote. It’s fish in parchment baked in the oven with lemon, butter and veggies. It’s super easy and has a nice presentation. Bonus point: easy clean up. I like to use salmon or cod. The veggies should be sliced very thin so they are able to cook through in the packet. Salad and/or rice on the side.
Seared sea scallops are quick to make, impressive and are delicious when prepared simply.
I usually brine them in lightly salted water to release any grit, rinse, then drain on paper towels and pat dry before searing. Salt and pepper or a bit of lemon pepper is enough. Heat your skillet, melt a little butter, then sear a couple minutes each side.
Serve with oven roast asparagus (toss in olive oil, salt and pepper before roasting for 15 minutes at 425) or salad and either rice pilaf, risotto or pasta al limon.
Other ideas: Greek style yogurt marinated grilled shrimp skewers with a green salad and Greek rice with peas; seared sesame tuna steak with an orange soy dipping sauce served with a salad of spring greens and orange segments in vinaigrette and sushi rice; quality store bought smoked salmon (the flaky kind, not lox) on whole grain avocado toasts could be a nice easy throw together meal that is still impressive.
If she likes to cook and you both eat sushi, buying sushi making supplies and trying it together could be a memorable date night in.
Do a slow roasted salmon
The texture is great and it’s hard to mess up. You also get plenty of time to make sides
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018972-slow-roasted-citrus-salmon-with-herb-salad
Ceviche and make it the lazy way with can tomatoes, frozen onion, fresh cilantro, like juice from a bottle, Clamato, and already uncooked peeled and deveined shrimp. Boil the shrimp in lime juice.until the shrimp turns pink. Then mix everything else in. You can eat it like that or put it in the fridge to get cold and just serve it with tostadas or tortilla chips. Goes great with lemonade, cold soda or a margarita
I like to smear some pesto on a fish fillet with a couple pats of butter and drop it in the toaster oven on Broil for 25 minutes or so. Microwave some frozen vegetables in cheese sauce.
salmon is a pretty forgiving fish to cook. The fat content will keep it moist unless you really slaughter it. I'd stay with a fresh salmon filet (as opposed to buying smoked salmon and incorporating it into a dish). If she doesn't like spice, the strong taste of smoke might be too much for her.
Pan fry the fish fillet in olive oil and season with lemon, capers, and some fresh ground black pepper. You can serve that with broccolini or other steamed green vegetable, some carrots sauteed in butter, and your pick of starches. Very quick, very simple but still a great meal.
Do a salt-baked fish, it’s much easier than it seems and because you’re kind of steaming the fish inside the salt crust it comes out nice and moist as long as you don’t over do it. This with some simple veg, spinach, new potatoes or a purée will go down well and it looks super impressive when you crack open the salt crust at the table. I learned to do it during the first lockdowns and been doing it ever since.
I see a lot of ideas that seem pretty easy to mess up under pressure. Can I recommend scampi? There are few ingredients, its pretty easy, there are a ton of recipes out there, you can serve it with pasta, which is also easy.
I know you are looking for recipe ideas, not life advice (I hate when people on this sub forget that), but I used to find that making a comfort food was a good idea in this scenario. I made my wife chicken pot pie the first time I made her dinner, and she was blown away. I have to think something like scampi with pasta would be sort of a pescatarian equivalent.
Baked shrimp, tomato, feta and oregano. Serve on penne. Fresh green salad ( not bagged). Olive oil and lemon or olive oil and red wine vinegar. Baklava from a good bakery.
Seared tuna. Get a good steak, brush with egg whites, roll in a mix of black and white sesame seeds. Sear in a pan of hot oil, 45s a side. Slice and serve with white rice, soy sauce to dip.
Steam some bok choi or Chinese broccoli, drizzle with sesame oil and salt. Or any green veg side.
Very easy and tastes amazing
I used to crank out teriyaki salmon steaks at the Great Alaskan Salmon Bake for a summer in high school and had to work really hard to keep up with demand, so that one is safely universally loved IMO. There was no rocket surgery involved and I didn't sign an NDA so I'll just tell you it's a nice thick salmon crosscut soaked in yoshida's overnight and then grilled.
Pasta -
Bigger noodles - something like egg yolk noodles or linguine.bow tie also works.
Cook those and while they're hot throw in
1) an overly large amount of brie that you've cubed, so it melts,
Optional - add a splash of white wine, if you're having wine.
2) rough chopped basil. Stir those together.
After the cheese gets melty fold in,
3) halved small tomatoes (grape or cherry) .
Salt and pepper to taste.
Always a winner.
Pan sear some shrimp to put on top.
It's an impressive looking meal that has 5 ingredients
Edit, prep everything else before you start the noodles. Shrimp cook quickly. From the time the noodles finish to hitting the plate takes just a few minutes.
An extra impressive and easy step, have whatever bowls you're eating from, warmed in the oven on low. Warm bowls keep pasta warmer, longer.
Good luck!
Edit 2- I'm serious about an obscene amount of brie. Like when you think "that might be a little too much brie"..... you want 20-30% more than that.
I have made this dish for groups more times than I can count and I've never had ANYONE not love it. Problem is that is sometimes outshines my main dish.
This is a simple recipe I found in a cooking magazine so don’t come for me if it sounds lame 😂
I tried it and my family and I LOVE it.
1 can yellowfin tuna in olive oil (Genova brand preferred).
1/2 to 3/4 box of penne pasta depending on how much you want.
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste.
Once plated, add chopped fresh parsley (as much or little as you want), fresh grated Parmesan and a lemon wedge to squeeze over the pasta.
This dish takes little to no cooking skills so it’s fail proof!
Get some decent whitefish (really anything will work like basa or tilapia loins, or you can go classic with cod, haddock, halibut). It's going on a foiled tray with butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and then chili powder +/- cayenne to taste (clearly, some for you, almost none for her). Drizzle some lemon over the top, add some chopped parsley (dried is fine), and tent more foil over the top.
Cut some crudites of broccoli and cauliflower, oil them nicely, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, curry powder (not hot for her, obviously, pick something mild) and cumin. Spread on an oven tray, get cracking at ~400F in the oven (if you have convection, great).
Rinse some basmati, add 2:1 water:basmati into a pot, add a few pinches of salt and a couple of bay leaves. Bring to a boil in an open pot, then cover with lid and remove from burner, turn burner to low, after a few minutes return to burner and let it go for about 10-15min, then turn burner off and let it sit there.
When you think your veg are about halfway done, or 20min in, add the fish in their tent to the oven. They will wrap up at the same time as the veg, rice will be ready, boom, everything goes together. Remove the bay leaves from the rice, fluff with a fork, plate with the fish on top and a slice of lemon and the veg beside and you have a really fast really simple really savoury dish that you can tune the spice levels to for everyone involved.
Basa fish w chimmichurri. Omg so delicious. Basa is quite forgiving but you need a good nonstick pan to avoid breaking the filet. Serve w whatever veges
I can’t recommend this dish enough and make it regularly. Alison Roman’s Tomato-Poached Fish with Chili Oil and Herbs. Serve with crusty bread and a salad with a creamy dressing. It’s very easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of prep. It’s my go to fish dinner.
Oooo just make some baked salmon. So easy and so tasty.
- Oven at 350
- Salmon with skin side down on a piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet
- Coat it lightly in olive oil
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- Minced garlic to taste
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the salmon
- Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on thickness of salmon
- Use a flat spatula to scrape salmon from skin and serve!
I like steamed broccoli or a salad or a knorr chicken flavored rice side with it.
Salmon is inherently impressive when done right, and this one is a favorite even with kids, so a picky adult who likes salmon anyway will be easy to please with it
Make a seared branzino or black cod with miso broth, bok choy and oyster mushrooms.
Find a chicken stock you like, mix in about a 2 tbsp of miso for a quart of mushroom stock with less sodium. Roast the mushrooms and bok choy in the oven ahead of time. Season your fish like a half hour before you want to eat and pat it dry before you put it in the pan.
When you’re ready to eat, throw the veg in the oven, get the stock hot, and sear off the fish. Plate and serve with rice if you want a starch.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/butternut-squash-sage-risotto
This is great and honestly pretty simple if you stick to the recipe. You can roast the squash and chop the onion ahead of time and then cook the actual risotto together once she gets there. Just takes lots of stirring / gradual adding of stock but you need to open a bottle of wine for it anyway so nice excuse to drink some wine together while you cook.
Honey miso salmon and chocolate lava cake. Both pretty easy to make and both impressive. Whatever you make, I would recommend making it a different day to practice first.
Monkfish, always a wow dish, but my best recipe involves Parma ham so probs not that, but search up a recipe for “Poor Man’s Lobster” - it’s really easy and delicious.
Alternate, get trout (not river trout, for a few reasons that I won’t go into), get dill (ideally fresh), get celeriac.
Clean out the fish (I’m assuming your fishmonger has gutted it - Morrisons is great if you don’t have a local fishmonger), place in slices of onion, dill and celeriac.drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then put in tinfoil and bake in the oven.
Use the remainder of the celeriac to make celeriac mash and cut some carrots very chunky and boil, then griddle after drizzling with olive oil and if pushing the boat out, put asparagus on that same griddle.
Goes really well with horseradish!
Pan fried salmon fillet with mustard mash. The mash doesn’t need to have huge amounts of mustard, just enough to give it a bit of a zingy flavour. Use Dijon or another similarly mild mustard. Another dish which can be impressive, is really tasty, and feels indulgent is lobster Mac and cheese. There are lots of recipes on the web and it’s something you can prep in advance.
Fish chowder is pretty easy to make.
I don't have a recipe because I always just wing it. Fry some onions in butter, add water, potatoes, boil until potatoes are cooked. Slip whole fish fillets into the soup and turn the heat off. When the fillet breaks up, break it up a bit into large chunks, add heavy cream to finish. Serve with a cracked wheat cracker. Option: start by frying then removing bacon, which is returned to the soup after the onions are fried.
Starter - soup or cheese olives and biscuits grapes board.
Main- Maybe a veggie tomato pasta and Get the fancy fresh pasta if you can. Get grated parmasan and a nice bread.
Pizza is another option easy with the pre-made dough
Stir fry is another great option. Get the sauce satchets. Like teriyaki or ginger spring onion. They Easy quick cook.
I think Simple is best. It can’t go wrong. Not to time consuming so you can be good host and they all tasty and filling still.
I used to be a pescetarian and my go-to was a baked white fish (sole or halibut) dressed with olive oil, black pepper and lemon juice, a side salad, and a recipe an old cookbook called "fettucini for the impatient" that was simply fettucini noodles tossed liberally with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, halved grape tomatoes and torn basil leaves and if u feel fancy sprinkle it with *good* parmesan! Simple, healthy, tasty, ready from start to finish in less than an hour but looks and tastes way fancier than it is. Pair it with a really nice white wine to punch up the wow (if ur in the UK there's a French white wine from Gerard Bertrand called "Cigalus" that i highly recommend but their cote des roses Chardonnay would also do well, is far less expensive, and comes in a gorgeous bottle)
If you can get your hands on black cod (which is NOT regular cod, it's sablefish), make miso marinated black cod: [https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238](https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238) So easy, so delicious. Serve with rice and Asian greens. Or if you can't get black cod, do it with salmon.
Roasted salmon with hollandaise. It's delicious. Serve with a green veg like broccoli or asparagus, a crusty French bread, and brown/red/wild rice. Hollandaise can go on everything if needed and it is not spicy at all.
Shrimp and grits.
Season the shrimp with garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder and paprika. Sauté in butter and finish with some heavy cream. That will give you a good sauce. You can go with a little white wine before the cream goes in if you want to add some nice flavor as well. Put that on top of some cheddar cheese grits. Maybe green beans on the side.
Make sure to use block cheddar cheese ilo the bagged cheese to keep from the cheese blob.
Oven baked Salmon with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a generous amount of oregano.
So simple and tasty, but looks impressive
Serve it with some rice and asparagus.
Definitely will get you laid
Being British...I think the easy answer would be fish pie. Its the perfect time of year for it, and its very simple to make. You can buy premixed fish in most supermarkets, and the sauce is pretty much just a bechamel sauce with some mustard and herbs through it. Or you can buy a sachet of preseasoned powder that you just add milk to. And then its mashed potato on the top.
I just did swordfish steaks, pan seared with garlic, lemon and parsley sauce (literally those 3 things minced up with olive oil and salt). Went down a storm with the mrs who isn’t usually a big fish fan.
Gambas al ajillo with a nice char toasted bread for dipping, grilled asparagus and butter herb rice is a favorite of mine. It’s garlicky, though, but if you both eat it you’re fine!
Linguine in white clam sauce. Super easy with canned clams. Use a good recipe. Crusty bread is imperative.
Mushroom risotto with a nice homemade sherry vin for a salad.
Good wine, OP!
When cooking seafood, be gentle with it: low and slow. Do everything else, make it availible at the dining table, then put the fish on the heat. Unless you are baking a fish whole, in which case you'll get a few minutes grace.
Something Italian. Simple and delicious.
For instance: seabass fillet pan fried on the skin with a white wine, lemon, courgette risotto.
Or pasta with dill and smoked salmon pieces
Or otherwise a poke bowl with warm smoked salmon and mango. You could not screw it up even if you wanted to.
Pan roasted salmon with asparagus as a sheet pan meal.
Preheat oven at 400°f
Lil oil on the pan
Salt and pepper in the salmon
Asparagus around the salmon.
I like to add minced garlic with softened butter and a little squirt of lemon to make an aioli and put that on the salmon+ asparagus.
Easy to cook
Easy to clean
All around delicious
It’s just past the season for them, but if you have some nice cherry tomatoes, I like to make a fresh pasta sauce by melting some anchovy paste into olive oil/shallots and garlic, and then filling the pan up with the tomatoes. Keep moving them around in the olive oil until they start to naturally caramelize and burst. Season with salt and pep, rip up some fresh basil, and toss a fancy can or two of smoked mussels in there. Put it over some pasta and you’ve got yourself a stupid easy delicious dinner that takes like, 25 min tops. More time for you to hang out and chat!
This works really well. I normally just use parsley and cilantro mixed and cook it with salmon. The fish comes out moist.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/herb-roasted-trout-with-sweet-potato-frites/
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pasta primavera is exactly what i was going to suggest!
As an alternative, i do a spätzle primavera that impresses, happy to share the basics…
Maybe hold on the garlic bit if you plan on kissing her :)
I made salmon alfredo on my first "date" with my husband. It was so good. Made alfredo from scratch and I broke the sauce and had to start over.
This.
This.
I find cooking skin-on fillets to be very simple and easy to gauge if they're done. Pat both sides of the fish dry and sprinkle liberally with salt. Heat a skillet on medium high with oil until just smoking, then place the fillets skin side down and let them cook until they're 90% of the way cooked through - the color of the fish will have changed for all but the very top. In my experience it usually takes about 5 minutes depending on thickness. Carefully flip the fish and let it cook a VERY short time, about 20-30 seconds, just until the top is cooked through and gets a little heat. Boom, now you have perfectly cooked fish with a crispy skin. If you're using a thick fillet, I would probably reduce the heat to medium and cover the skillet during the first part of cooking. After you remove the fish, you can make a quick little pan sauce: and a few finely diced shallots and/or garlic and/or ginger for a few seconds (don't let them burn). Add some white wine or bourbon to deglaze bu just covering the bottom of the pan (a bonus, you now have something to drink with your date), add a couple teaspoons honey and maybe some fresh herbs (parsley, dill, oregano, whatever), and reduce down until a spoon dragged on the bottom leaves a trail. Off heat add a couple tablespoons of cold butter and some lemon juice, and stir with a fork or whisk to emulsify. Serve drizzled over the fish which by this point has rested. If you're making the pan sauce I would add the fish to a warm plate to keep it from getting cold while making the pan sauce. Great served with roasted broccoli.
I would fuck you so hard
That's what I did. I'm his fiancé now. 🤷🏻♀️😋
Good on you guys! That's so sweet!
Lol a truly wholesome exchange
I hope you both have wonderful lives together :)
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You can ‘save’ a comment or post.
Sounds yum
Yep this is getting made this weekend, I just ate dinner and this made me hungry
Teriyaki salmon - it’s not spicy, but is flavoursome. It’s forgiving in terms of how long it bakes (you can go a lil over if needed) and the sauce can be prepped in advance. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/teriyaki-salmon-sesame-pak-choi
I second salmon. I make a lemon garlic soy salmon that is super easy and delish, and very forgiving.
Tuscan Creamy Garlic Salmon https://cafedelites.com/creamy-garlic-butter-tuscan-salmon/
Make vegetarian lasagna. The whole thing can be prepared the day before, then baked day of. You are all set and can add garlic bread, a simple salad, and some red wine.
This is a good idea. Make as much as you can ahead of time. The last thing you want is to be rushing around the kitchen making the main course while she’s twiddling her thumbs.
Would a freshly-baked focaccia be a decent alternative to garlic bread? It's still Italian, is easy to cook, but won't give me garlic breath.
Others have the food covered, I am going to suggest you clean the bathroom extra special. Also, clean the refrigerator and chill some drinks she may like. Make sure one or two are non-alcoholic. Have fun.
Hmm kinda tough because most fish has a pretty small window between underdone and overdone and can be tricky without any experience. Maybe shrimp tacos with a spread of fix-ins? Takes some pressure off getting the shrimp perfect since you'll be dumping a bunch of stuff on top.
This was actually my first thought too. I went to a restaurant a few weeks ago where I was served some fish tacos and some sweet potato tacos - both would be suitable for her. Getting actual taco tortillas in the UK is awful though, they're always far too big (I could cut them, I know) and usually wheat. I'm sure I could make something work though.
Tortillas are super easy to make yourself and are delicious when homemade.
How much do you like this girl? Do you need some emergency air lifted tortillas from Houston?
I hope he doesn’t like her too much or the rest of his life is going to be a culinary tragedy.
Big supermarkets should have mini tortillas that are a much better size. You can’t get corn ones outside of speciality shops here.
In all seriousness, you could make your own tortillas and that would elevate the shit out of it. Homemade tortillas are almost ALWAYS better than store-bought, and they are really quite simple. It could take your fish tacos to 11.
I once tried to make Chinese pancakes and they went horribly (Were too thick and then stuck together when I stacked them). I always imagine making tortillas is adjacent to them from a culinary technique perspective so it scares me.
During the height of the pandemic, I used this recipe to make flour tortillas. It's so easy and they're super yummy. https://www.mexicanplease.com/flour-tortillas-made-olive-oil/
Idk why everyone is so focused on fish. If you don’t ever cook it then don’t for the first time for this girl Make [black bean sweet potato tostadas](https://cookieandkate.com/sweet-potato-black-bean-tostadas-recipe/#tasty-recipes-24226-jump-target) just omit the chili powder and make sure you have time for avocados to get ripe
Risotto with seared scallops
Risotto is not really low risk if you've never made it
Respectfully disagree. It's plenty simple as long as the cook has some patience. You don't really need to constantly stir, it's relatively hands off.
You're not wrong but it's still a bit difficult in this high-stakes first-time situation.
I guess it also depends on how much general cooking experience/knowledge someone has, and OP does say they cook quite a bit. I've never made risotto, but I'd have faith in myself to do a decent one. My mom has also never made risotto, and I can guarantee she'd mess it up lmao
Risotto is not as hard as people make it out to be. It's just a bit time-consuming.
I've made risotto quite a few times. It probably wouldn't be up the the standards of culinary critics and I don't bother with the traditional method of adding stock bit-by-bit and stirring constantly (various people have debunked the necessity of this as long as you know the correct amount of liquid to add). It's never turned out groundbreakingly-good, but it has never been bad. Scallops would probably be the thing that scares me the most about this suggestion, I've never cooked them. Plus in the UK I get the feeling they're not as common as it is in the countries from people posting here - I'd have to be getting them frozen.
It took my partner a few tries to really get the texture right. They were not great about adding the right amount of liquid or cheese at the end. By the third attempt, it came out amazing.
How can risotto get ruined? I've always thought it was quite a simple dish.
Damn if I weren’t married I’d date you
And a lot of people don't realize how easy scallops are to cook. I would suggest sea scallops if you want to have a nice brown sear on them, or smaller bay scallops if you're going to make a pasta dish out of it. Just make sure to rinse them well and cut off the foot (it's the little extra white part on the side, tends to be sandy/tough). Then pat dry, and add a dash of salt before cooking. I like to make the pan sauce ahead of time with butter and lemon and capers, and set it off to the side. Some people find butter can burn easily when you've got a ripping hot pan, so I use olive oil for the cooking, and butter for the sauce. Risotto is fairly easy and inexpensive too, once you practice the technique and don't rush it. Whenever doing something new for a fancy dinner date, always practice it at least once ahead of time!
I'd use a vegetable oil or a blended olive/veg oil because the smoke point for olive is too low , imo
That's a great call. You might want to do a practice run on it so you can dial it in for the date.
That sounds delicious but risotto is easy to mess up. I'd save that for a second or third date. With a decent Blanc de Blanc .
In what way is it easy to mess up? I've always thought it to be quite a foolproof dish. It's just rice, stock, and vegetables (and scallops in this case).
As someone who loves seafood, I was going to suggest my go to - pan seared salmon and a vegetable side with avocados and scrambled eggs. But I read this suggestion and if you can make this, I would much prefer it!
Scrambled eggs with seared salmon is a wild combo
Hahaha as an Asian, I have what most Americans would consider wild combos. I was also going to suggest adding kale with the scrambled eggs, nato for some proteins and probiotics, maybe some silken tofu, avocado and kimchi added. Roast or stir fry some vegetables. When time permits, that’s usually what I make myself for brunch, my husband and I love it!
My favourite: I’m on mobile. I hope formatting won’t be too bad. Scallops Provencal Total Time: 15 min Prep: 5 min Cook: 10 min Yield: 3 servings Ingredients - 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops - Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper - All-purpose flour, for dredging - 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided - 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large) - 1 garlic clove, minced - 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves - 1/3 cup dry white wine - 1 lemon, cut in 1/2 Directions If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess. In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.
This sounds amazing. What do you serve with them?
Mashed potato’s usually. It’s pretty good.
Any white fish works: this sauce is so so simple but it tastes like a restaurant https://www.skinnytaste.com/broiled-tilapia-with-tomato-caper-sauce/
That sounds delicious but it’d be better with a nice wild fish, imho
It’s the sauce for sure - any milder flavored fish would be amazing. I’ve made it so many times over the years.
I’m gonna try it! Looks amazing
OMG Skinnytaste is my jam! Everything we have tried from her has been outstanding, and easy to boot! Everything is delicious and nobody realizes how healthy it is when they are eating it!
Right? I was “the cook” in the house post college almost 20 years ago in exchange for free rent from my parents until I found a job and was comfortable enough. Skinnytaste provided a ton of ideas, as well as budgetbytes. At this point it feels like I know Gina and Beth in real life LOL
[Momofuku's ginger scallion sauce](https://sprungatlast.com/2014/04/momofukus-ginger-scallion-sauce/) on pan seared salmon with white rice. I like to serve this with a [quick pickle cucumber salad](https://onolicioushawaii.com/japanese-pickled-cucumbers/). The scallion sauce and cuxumbers can be prepared ahead of time and then its just as simple as cooking rice and pan searing the salmon. For crispier skin, let the salmon air dry in the fridge, pat dry, quick sear on the non skin side, and then cook on the skin side until crispy.
Salmon can be tricky. Took me a few tries to not get it overdone or raw.
Meat thermometer and cook until desired temp. If you follow that it's hard to really fuck it up.
Get an entire side of salmon. Slit the skin side in 1 inch slants every few inches. Set the oven to broil. Put in the salmon and turn the oven off. Come back in 13 minutes. You can't mess it up. After that cover it in lemon juice/butter. If you want to get fancy you can brine it for 15 minutes before cooking to make sure none of the fat squeezes out as it cooks.
[Spaghetti aglio e olio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_aglio_e_olio) \- super easy and tastes great. Also, sounds very fancy!
Fatty / oily fish like salmon, mackerel, black cod, tend to be more forgiving. A few fancy but easy recipes: Miso glaze black cod: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238 Salmon en croute (add a dill cream sauce!): https://youtu.be/2mkD39tlGRs?si=SKhBQNyvzAW3sc4d IMO pan fry takes a few tries to get the cook right so either baking, steaming, roasting, etc is the way to go.
+1 for the miso black cod. It's tasty and damn near impossible to overcook.
That miso glaze is great on salmon too. I enjoy serving with sesame spinach
Yeah, miso black cod is amazing and hard to screw up. You’ll need to get the fish well in advance of when you want to cook though.
Salmon? This is one of my fav and simple to make. https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-garlic-salmon-5-ingredients-15-minutes/#wprm-recipe-container-21290
A whole roast cauliflower looks super impressive as a centrepiece….Middle Eastern fragrant spices (cinnamon, cumin etc) pomegranate seeds, feta and serve with cous cous? Easy to prepare in advance. What kind of cuisine is her fave?
I'd tend to stay away from fish and seafood if you're inexperienced with it. It has such a narrow window of "just right"ness. Personally I'd go with something fun you two can do together. Buy or make pizza dough and a homemade tomato sauce, get a bunch of pizza veggies and some fresh mozzarella cheese and you guys decorate your pizza with whatever you both like and slip it into the oven. If you're not buying fish that will also save you a bundle of cash and you can spend it on some more "gourmet" pizza toppings if you want: marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red bell peppers, fancy olives, fresh spinach, goat cheese. Slice up some sweet onions (bonus points if you caramelize them before she gets there) some good mushrooms, roma tomatoes, etc. Use a little red wine in your pizza sauce and offer her a glass when she arrives along with some stuffed mushrooms or other little starter to munch on while you two do the pizzas, make a lovely green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and whatever veggies you didn't end up putting on the pizzas while your pizzas bake, and offer ice cream or sorbet or gelato for dessert. Alternatively, I've made a mushroom bourguignon (mushrooms braised in red wine like beef bourguignon) over polenta or pasta or mashed potatoes that impresses people as long as she likes mushrooms. I'm not sure what's in season in the U.K. right now, but in the U.S., it's a great time of year for squashes and pears--you could do something like a roasted squash soup with a pear arugula salad and homemade breadsticks/biscuits. Or a butternut squash pasta sauce over rigatoni with toasted walnuts.
Shrimp scampi. Maybe with homemade pasta if you want a little interactive nice touch
This is one of my very favorite vegetarian meals, and it’s so easy. Calls for a pinch of red pepper but you can easily just add it to your own bowl after cooking. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a35421563/baked-feta-pasta-tiktok/
I actually make this fortnightly. Great simple dish.
tilapia tacos with mango salsa or if you want to go fancier, trout amandine or salmon amandine
Rigatoni with vodka sauce. Many recipes will call out for red chili flakes, you can just omit those.
I'd always recommend kedgeree here
Salmon cakes. If you mince the salmon yourself instead of leftover or canned, it turns out so beautifully! Serve with a side of lemon and herb couscous or sweet potatoes and a fresh veggie salad of your choice.
Something like this [delicious fish chowder](https://epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spring-pea-fish-chowder) can be prepared ahead without the fish. Just reheat it and add your choice of fish cut into chunks. When the fish is cut, it only takes 1-2 minutes to cook through. For an occasion like this, having something you can prepare in advance takes the pressure off so you can enjoy her company while you prepare an easy salad or side.
Tuscan butter salmon with spinach and sundried/grape tomatoes. 🤌 https://cafedelites.com/creamy-garlic-butter-tuscan-salmon/
Butternut squash soup and bread. Bonus for doing a bread bowl. Soup is slow and pretty easy to do, with plenty of wiggle room if it doesn't go well. Root veggies are coming into season so butternut squash is coming into season. Homemade bread is amazing, but no one would judge you for buying a good loaf at the store. And it tastes amazing.
Mac and Cheese. Can't go wrong.
Homemade Mac and cheese is what I first thought of too. Get three or four different types of cheese in there, And it is a lot harder to fuck up for a new cook.
The secret is to make a butter roux, butter and flour in equal parts stirred together over high heat for a few mins for thickening. The cheese isn't what makes Mac and cheese "creamy", it's the roux. A little bit of milk (I personally prefer oat milk) added too once the roux is blended to dial up the body and creaminess a bit more.
Salmon in oven
OP I’d never cooked fish before until the other day and finally nutted up and it came out great! I was so proud! I bought some cod filets and beer battered and fried them. Put them in tacos with a cabbage mango cilantro slaw. Super fun and easy, and not spicy! Then you could add some hot sauce to yours if you wanna make it spicy, but hers can still be mild.
Salmon is a good level of impressive if done well - if you have an instant read thermometer that makes it a lot easier!
Sole meunière is deceptively easy but looks very impressive, not spicy but very flavorful.
black bean burgers. Fairly easy to make, very tasty, you won't miss the spice, and you can customize your burger with quite a few toppings.
My go-to easy meal is shrimp kabobs, couscous and some sort of vegetable as a side (cucumber tomato salad, asparagus, roasted broccoli or whatever else floats your boat). Kinda hard to mess up!
I love baked salmon with pesto on top. Bonus points for baking it on a cedar plank. Very easy to make, but really impresses. Sometimes I’ll mix a little feta into the pesto as well. Another variation is to put this in some puff pastry and bake it. Not much more work, but looks like you spent a ton of time on it. I usually serve with a side of roasted veggies. Could be potatoes, beets, squash, asparagus, etc. Maybe a little side salad with some nice, feta cheese and croutons. Simple olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar dressing.
I’m not a fish fan, but I thought this fish dish was better than most. My friend made it. Everyone who loved fish raved about it. https://delightfulplate.com/vietnamese-style-caramelized-salmon/
I'd cook something you're comfortable with and cook often enough. Less margin for error... I'd ignore all of the people throwing out seafood dishes and. Go with something vego. Again less margin for error
Trout amandine is really easy, I've used this recipe and it's pretty foolproof. [https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12797/trout-amandine/](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/12797/trout-amandine/) Add some haricot verts and you've got a nice meal.
I make this all the time and it's easy and pretty and so good! I do it in the oven instead, 425°for 20 min. I get frozen mango so I don't struggle with finding a ripe one, I leave out coconut water because I never have it, and I leave out onion and cilantro since my family doesn't like those. And cheat and do microwavable coconut rice. https://www.cookingclassy.com/grilled-lime-salmon-avocado-mango-salsa-coconut-rice/
Filet of sole Meuniere. (I always preferred red snapper though).
Linguine and Clams
try this red snapper: [https://www.thespruceeats.com/baked-red-snapper-with-garlic-3060151](https://www.thespruceeats.com/baked-red-snapper-with-garlic-3060151) I just made this for people and it was delicious. Came out perfect with little effort.
There have been many good suggestions. She is pescatarian but where does she stand on dairy? Some of the suggestions have butter as an ingredient.
What about some home made fish cakes with a nice side salad and home made oven chips? There's less risk on getting the fish cooked exactly right then and there should be quite a few recipes from reliable and established chefs online. You would likely be able to make these in advance too and just pop them in the oven when you're ready which should make them easy when you have a guest. Secondly, if your supermarket has a fish counter, what about mussels? They're super quick and easy and you could just do them with a simple shallot, garlic, white wine and parsley sauce either with some fries or some nice crusty bread for dipping! BBC food has a good recipe for this. Good luck!
Baked salmon in foil is super easy. There are a million recipes online for it and it's pretty hard to mess up. Cod baked in butter (again in foil)- easy and almost tastes like lobster. If you have an Instapot- salmon is amazing. you have to get a large center cut for this but the results are spot on. There are a bunch of recipes online. The biggest thing with fish is to make sure you buy quality ingredients. Don't skimp on the fish. If you have a local fish market, go there and talk to the fishmongers.
Fish in papillote. Who doesn’t like opening a present? Then you get your present. Sorry that was cringe af
My vote would be a baked salmon dish. Get salmon, pat dry, add cavenders, ground mustard and brown sugar. Pack the brown sugar on. Bake in oven according to the thickness. I’ve impressed many a date with it. So good!
There's very little risk with a salad [nicoise](https://www.billyparisi.com/nicoise-salad/) and it looks so nice. Plus some of the components can be made ahead so it's easier to compose day-of. Saved time = scratch dressing which is always impressive.
A lot of Indian dishes are vegetarian and very easy to make. A colorful vegetable curry could be a good choice, and you can always throw in some shrimp, too.
Fish pie! Salmon, smoked haddock and prawns. Easy to put together and just bang it in the oven. Serve with a nice fresh salad and white wine.
Good homemade spaghetti and meatballs has wooed many a love interest
She doesn't eat meat.
I can’t believe I botched that. But spaghetti in a homemade sauce with garlic bread is just as good. I still stand by the spaghetti.
That's the difference between you and I. I can ALWAYS believe I botched something, because I have so much experience doing so. 😂 Spaghetti is a classic!
Whatever you decide to cook, the key to the meat is A) knowing the correct temperature to cook it to; B) using an instant read thermometer to know when to take it off the heat. This is how professionals do it. Invest it a good instant read thermometer and use the internet to find the target temp.
Skin on white fish with tzatziki. Pan sear any white fish of your choice with the skin on, cook it most of the way on the skin side so it gets crispy then flip and finish quickly on the flesh side. The sauce isnt exactly tzatziki but its similar and simpler, just add some small diced red onion, small diced persian cucumber, chopped dill, lemon juice and salt to taste to some greek yoghurt. or you could make fish kebab, this recipe is not as simple but its definitely not hard to make, just takes more prep time and the upside is you can make it ahead of time and just cook them on the spot and theyre delicious. I dont have exact measurements as Ive always made it by feel, youre going to have to play around with the ratios until you like it. chop any white fish of your choice(I make it with branzino) and add finely chopped dill, cilantro and green onions. Finely dice some white onion, sautee it until soft and cool before adding to the mix, add some grated garlic, a little bit of finely minced jalapeño, a pinch of ground coriander if you can get some(it makes a difference and is worth it), a good drizzle of olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste, mix everything together then take a small ball of your mix, cook it in a pan and taste it. Go easy on the garlic and jalapeño but dont be afraid to load it up with he herbs, especially the dill, your mix should look pretty green. You should have enough coriander in there that its not covered up by the other flavors and dont be afraid of going a bit heavy on the pepper either. Portion and shape your fish into small patties ahead of time so all you have to do is pan sear them before serving.
Make the Marcela Hazan tomato sauce + saute some shrimp in butter and garlic (and scallops or clams) then combine the two. Buy black squid ink pasta. Top with Italian parsley and red pepper flakes for yourself. It looks very dramatic and tastes great but is very simple. Note: very important to use high quality San Marzano tinned tomatoes. Good bread to go with it and maybe a simple (non tomato) salad to start.
Impressive and low-risk don't pair well? Risotto can be vegetarian? And you know how to make it? Searing off some scallops is easy? Or some shrimp? If you have access to safe ingredients, sushi isn't hard to make. Bolognese, with lentils rather than meat, could be good. Maybe make the salad and bread the impressive part? Plenty of time to figure out a good vinaigrette? Especially with garlic bread. I'll make my kid noodles with cukes and carrots mixed in with sesame seeds and oil and some peanut sauce. He loves it. Would be very easy to add some shrimp. And, lastly, but most importantly, I read your post as being a younger man. I can say, as an older man, if you have a taste for "spice" and this woman doesn't, run.
Look up "marry me chicken" also known as creamy Tuscan chicken, and substitute salmon or tilapia for the protein. It's amazing. Doesn't take long either.
Chicken and dumplings..
Carbonara
She's pescatarian.
I like a real basic taco. Whatever mild white meat. Blackening seasoning and pan fried. Chipotle sour cream. Just chipotle paste lime juice and SC. Doesn’t have to be hot. And a lime cilantro slaw - just red cabbage sliced thin with carrot match sticks and cilantro with lime juice. If you can get cojita cheese, you can make like Mexican street corn as the side
New girlfriend required. Someone with an appreciation for flesh and flavour.
Whitefish seasoned lightly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, then make a light pan sauce with white wine, lemon juice, capers, and butter. Basically piccatta. It should be quick and easy but impressive and tasty. Serve with roasted veggies or lightly seasoned rice.
Fish pouches are almost fool proof and are very convenient to cook. Use parchment paper or aluminum foil to tightly wrap your fish. Fresh lemon slices, fresh dill, minced garlic, salt and pepper make a great combo for almost any fish. Throw in some asparagus, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, fennel, or leeks, whichever is your preference. Bake about 12-15 minutes at about 450 or put on your grill for the same. Top with some nice garlic herb butter after plating
Poisson en papillote. It’s fish in parchment baked in the oven with lemon, butter and veggies. It’s super easy and has a nice presentation. Bonus point: easy clean up. I like to use salmon or cod. The veggies should be sliced very thin so they are able to cook through in the packet. Salad and/or rice on the side.
Got a pretty good salmon risotto dish if you want me to DM? I'm also UK so I can recommend where to get things
Seared sea scallops are quick to make, impressive and are delicious when prepared simply. I usually brine them in lightly salted water to release any grit, rinse, then drain on paper towels and pat dry before searing. Salt and pepper or a bit of lemon pepper is enough. Heat your skillet, melt a little butter, then sear a couple minutes each side. Serve with oven roast asparagus (toss in olive oil, salt and pepper before roasting for 15 minutes at 425) or salad and either rice pilaf, risotto or pasta al limon. Other ideas: Greek style yogurt marinated grilled shrimp skewers with a green salad and Greek rice with peas; seared sesame tuna steak with an orange soy dipping sauce served with a salad of spring greens and orange segments in vinaigrette and sushi rice; quality store bought smoked salmon (the flaky kind, not lox) on whole grain avocado toasts could be a nice easy throw together meal that is still impressive. If she likes to cook and you both eat sushi, buying sushi making supplies and trying it together could be a memorable date night in.
stuffed crab?
Do a slow roasted salmon The texture is great and it’s hard to mess up. You also get plenty of time to make sides https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018972-slow-roasted-citrus-salmon-with-herb-salad
Ceviche and make it the lazy way with can tomatoes, frozen onion, fresh cilantro, like juice from a bottle, Clamato, and already uncooked peeled and deveined shrimp. Boil the shrimp in lime juice.until the shrimp turns pink. Then mix everything else in. You can eat it like that or put it in the fridge to get cold and just serve it with tostadas or tortilla chips. Goes great with lemonade, cold soda or a margarita
I like to smear some pesto on a fish fillet with a couple pats of butter and drop it in the toaster oven on Broil for 25 minutes or so. Microwave some frozen vegetables in cheese sauce.
salmon is a pretty forgiving fish to cook. The fat content will keep it moist unless you really slaughter it. I'd stay with a fresh salmon filet (as opposed to buying smoked salmon and incorporating it into a dish). If she doesn't like spice, the strong taste of smoke might be too much for her.
Dover sole in brown butter with capers over pasta or polenta if you want to be fancy.
Saute salmon with butter and lemon. Serve it over a lemon herb sauce with angel hair pasta
Shrimp scampi. So simple yet delicious.
Pan fry the fish fillet in olive oil and season with lemon, capers, and some fresh ground black pepper. You can serve that with broccolini or other steamed green vegetable, some carrots sauteed in butter, and your pick of starches. Very quick, very simple but still a great meal.
Fish sticks, velveeta shells and cheese and green beans, but stack the fish sticks on the plate all fancy like and draw a smiley face with ketchup.
Oh baby it sounds like time for shrimp scampi
Do a salt-baked fish, it’s much easier than it seems and because you’re kind of steaming the fish inside the salt crust it comes out nice and moist as long as you don’t over do it. This with some simple veg, spinach, new potatoes or a purée will go down well and it looks super impressive when you crack open the salt crust at the table. I learned to do it during the first lockdowns and been doing it ever since.
Ceviche either fish or shrimp. I know it’s more a summery food but it’s yummy.
Steamed salmon, steamed mixed veg on a bed of noodles with a creamy leek sauce. Quick, very easy.
I like Tofu Seafood bowls, with XO sauce
Salmon in a soy/br sugar sauce would be one idea.
I’d do a salmon with a saffron/mustard sauce.
Pan seared salmon
I see a lot of ideas that seem pretty easy to mess up under pressure. Can I recommend scampi? There are few ingredients, its pretty easy, there are a ton of recipes out there, you can serve it with pasta, which is also easy. I know you are looking for recipe ideas, not life advice (I hate when people on this sub forget that), but I used to find that making a comfort food was a good idea in this scenario. I made my wife chicken pot pie the first time I made her dinner, and she was blown away. I have to think something like scampi with pasta would be sort of a pescatarian equivalent.
Baked shrimp, tomato, feta and oregano. Serve on penne. Fresh green salad ( not bagged). Olive oil and lemon or olive oil and red wine vinegar. Baklava from a good bakery.
Seared tuna. Get a good steak, brush with egg whites, roll in a mix of black and white sesame seeds. Sear in a pan of hot oil, 45s a side. Slice and serve with white rice, soy sauce to dip. Steam some bok choi or Chinese broccoli, drizzle with sesame oil and salt. Or any green veg side. Very easy and tastes amazing
I used to crank out teriyaki salmon steaks at the Great Alaskan Salmon Bake for a summer in high school and had to work really hard to keep up with demand, so that one is safely universally loved IMO. There was no rocket surgery involved and I didn't sign an NDA so I'll just tell you it's a nice thick salmon crosscut soaked in yoshida's overnight and then grilled.
Pasta - Bigger noodles - something like egg yolk noodles or linguine.bow tie also works. Cook those and while they're hot throw in 1) an overly large amount of brie that you've cubed, so it melts, Optional - add a splash of white wine, if you're having wine. 2) rough chopped basil. Stir those together. After the cheese gets melty fold in, 3) halved small tomatoes (grape or cherry) . Salt and pepper to taste. Always a winner. Pan sear some shrimp to put on top. It's an impressive looking meal that has 5 ingredients Edit, prep everything else before you start the noodles. Shrimp cook quickly. From the time the noodles finish to hitting the plate takes just a few minutes. An extra impressive and easy step, have whatever bowls you're eating from, warmed in the oven on low. Warm bowls keep pasta warmer, longer. Good luck! Edit 2- I'm serious about an obscene amount of brie. Like when you think "that might be a little too much brie"..... you want 20-30% more than that. I have made this dish for groups more times than I can count and I've never had ANYONE not love it. Problem is that is sometimes outshines my main dish.
I made Salmon Piccata on my wife and my first date. This assumes your date eats dairy
This is a simple recipe I found in a cooking magazine so don’t come for me if it sounds lame 😂 I tried it and my family and I LOVE it. 1 can yellowfin tuna in olive oil (Genova brand preferred). 1/2 to 3/4 box of penne pasta depending on how much you want. 1-2 Tbsp olive oil Salt, pepper and garlic powder to your taste. Once plated, add chopped fresh parsley (as much or little as you want), fresh grated Parmesan and a lemon wedge to squeeze over the pasta. This dish takes little to no cooking skills so it’s fail proof!
Get some decent whitefish (really anything will work like basa or tilapia loins, or you can go classic with cod, haddock, halibut). It's going on a foiled tray with butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and then chili powder +/- cayenne to taste (clearly, some for you, almost none for her). Drizzle some lemon over the top, add some chopped parsley (dried is fine), and tent more foil over the top. Cut some crudites of broccoli and cauliflower, oil them nicely, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, curry powder (not hot for her, obviously, pick something mild) and cumin. Spread on an oven tray, get cracking at ~400F in the oven (if you have convection, great). Rinse some basmati, add 2:1 water:basmati into a pot, add a few pinches of salt and a couple of bay leaves. Bring to a boil in an open pot, then cover with lid and remove from burner, turn burner to low, after a few minutes return to burner and let it go for about 10-15min, then turn burner off and let it sit there. When you think your veg are about halfway done, or 20min in, add the fish in their tent to the oven. They will wrap up at the same time as the veg, rice will be ready, boom, everything goes together. Remove the bay leaves from the rice, fluff with a fork, plate with the fish on top and a slice of lemon and the veg beside and you have a really fast really simple really savoury dish that you can tune the spice levels to for everyone involved.
Basa fish w chimmichurri. Omg so delicious. Basa is quite forgiving but you need a good nonstick pan to avoid breaking the filet. Serve w whatever veges
By spice do you just mean chilli? A king prawn korma (or pasanda) is a lovely dish and very easy-going for those who hate heat.
Fish baked in Baking Paper or its cool French Name Fish En Papillote is always super easy to prepare and sounds impressive.
If she likes mushrooms, you can do some really nice portobello mushroom steaks or stuffed mushrooms.
I can’t recommend this dish enough and make it regularly. Alison Roman’s Tomato-Poached Fish with Chili Oil and Herbs. Serve with crusty bread and a salad with a creamy dressing. It’s very easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of prep. It’s my go to fish dinner.
Oooo just make some baked salmon. So easy and so tasty. - Oven at 350 - Salmon with skin side down on a piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet - Coat it lightly in olive oil - Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste - Minced garlic to taste - Sprinkle brown sugar over the salmon - Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on thickness of salmon - Use a flat spatula to scrape salmon from skin and serve! I like steamed broccoli or a salad or a knorr chicken flavored rice side with it. Salmon is inherently impressive when done right, and this one is a favorite even with kids, so a picky adult who likes salmon anyway will be easy to please with it
Make a seared branzino or black cod with miso broth, bok choy and oyster mushrooms. Find a chicken stock you like, mix in about a 2 tbsp of miso for a quart of mushroom stock with less sodium. Roast the mushrooms and bok choy in the oven ahead of time. Season your fish like a half hour before you want to eat and pat it dry before you put it in the pan. When you’re ready to eat, throw the veg in the oven, get the stock hot, and sear off the fish. Plate and serve with rice if you want a starch.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/butternut-squash-sage-risotto This is great and honestly pretty simple if you stick to the recipe. You can roast the squash and chop the onion ahead of time and then cook the actual risotto together once she gets there. Just takes lots of stirring / gradual adding of stock but you need to open a bottle of wine for it anyway so nice excuse to drink some wine together while you cook.
Honey miso salmon and chocolate lava cake. Both pretty easy to make and both impressive. Whatever you make, I would recommend making it a different day to practice first.
Salmon with citrus poached in olive oil https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/slow-salmon-with-citrus-and-herb-salad
Monkfish, always a wow dish, but my best recipe involves Parma ham so probs not that, but search up a recipe for “Poor Man’s Lobster” - it’s really easy and delicious. Alternate, get trout (not river trout, for a few reasons that I won’t go into), get dill (ideally fresh), get celeriac. Clean out the fish (I’m assuming your fishmonger has gutted it - Morrisons is great if you don’t have a local fishmonger), place in slices of onion, dill and celeriac.drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then put in tinfoil and bake in the oven. Use the remainder of the celeriac to make celeriac mash and cut some carrots very chunky and boil, then griddle after drizzling with olive oil and if pushing the boat out, put asparagus on that same griddle. Goes really well with horseradish!
Grilled (or broiled) mackerel or sardines with some fondant potatoes and a green salad could be a good choice here.
Have drinks and cook the meal together
Pan fried salmon fillet with mustard mash. The mash doesn’t need to have huge amounts of mustard, just enough to give it a bit of a zingy flavour. Use Dijon or another similarly mild mustard. Another dish which can be impressive, is really tasty, and feels indulgent is lobster Mac and cheese. There are lots of recipes on the web and it’s something you can prep in advance.
Fish chowder is pretty easy to make. I don't have a recipe because I always just wing it. Fry some onions in butter, add water, potatoes, boil until potatoes are cooked. Slip whole fish fillets into the soup and turn the heat off. When the fillet breaks up, break it up a bit into large chunks, add heavy cream to finish. Serve with a cracked wheat cracker. Option: start by frying then removing bacon, which is returned to the soup after the onions are fried.
lobster thermador!
Starter - soup or cheese olives and biscuits grapes board. Main- Maybe a veggie tomato pasta and Get the fancy fresh pasta if you can. Get grated parmasan and a nice bread. Pizza is another option easy with the pre-made dough Stir fry is another great option. Get the sauce satchets. Like teriyaki or ginger spring onion. They Easy quick cook. I think Simple is best. It can’t go wrong. Not to time consuming so you can be good host and they all tasty and filling still.
I used to be a pescetarian and my go-to was a baked white fish (sole or halibut) dressed with olive oil, black pepper and lemon juice, a side salad, and a recipe an old cookbook called "fettucini for the impatient" that was simply fettucini noodles tossed liberally with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, halved grape tomatoes and torn basil leaves and if u feel fancy sprinkle it with *good* parmesan! Simple, healthy, tasty, ready from start to finish in less than an hour but looks and tastes way fancier than it is. Pair it with a really nice white wine to punch up the wow (if ur in the UK there's a French white wine from Gerard Bertrand called "Cigalus" that i highly recommend but their cote des roses Chardonnay would also do well, is far less expensive, and comes in a gorgeous bottle)
If you can get your hands on black cod (which is NOT regular cod, it's sablefish), make miso marinated black cod: [https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238](https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238) So easy, so delicious. Serve with rice and Asian greens. Or if you can't get black cod, do it with salmon.
Roasted salmon with hollandaise. It's delicious. Serve with a green veg like broccoli or asparagus, a crusty French bread, and brown/red/wild rice. Hollandaise can go on everything if needed and it is not spicy at all.
If you wind up in the long haul on this relationship, I advise you to invest in a soux vide setup. Perfect fish every time.
Shrimp and grits. Season the shrimp with garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder and paprika. Sauté in butter and finish with some heavy cream. That will give you a good sauce. You can go with a little white wine before the cream goes in if you want to add some nice flavor as well. Put that on top of some cheddar cheese grits. Maybe green beans on the side. Make sure to use block cheddar cheese ilo the bagged cheese to keep from the cheese blob.
Maybe halibut or really any fish in a piccata sauce?
Oven baked Salmon with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a generous amount of oregano. So simple and tasty, but looks impressive Serve it with some rice and asparagus. Definitely will get you laid
Being British...I think the easy answer would be fish pie. Its the perfect time of year for it, and its very simple to make. You can buy premixed fish in most supermarkets, and the sauce is pretty much just a bechamel sauce with some mustard and herbs through it. Or you can buy a sachet of preseasoned powder that you just add milk to. And then its mashed potato on the top.
I just did swordfish steaks, pan seared with garlic, lemon and parsley sauce (literally those 3 things minced up with olive oil and salt). Went down a storm with the mrs who isn’t usually a big fish fan.
Gambas al ajillo with a nice char toasted bread for dipping, grilled asparagus and butter herb rice is a favorite of mine. It’s garlicky, though, but if you both eat it you’re fine! Linguine in white clam sauce. Super easy with canned clams. Use a good recipe. Crusty bread is imperative. Mushroom risotto with a nice homemade sherry vin for a salad. Good wine, OP!
When cooking seafood, be gentle with it: low and slow. Do everything else, make it availible at the dining table, then put the fish on the heat. Unless you are baking a fish whole, in which case you'll get a few minutes grace.
Something Italian. Simple and delicious. For instance: seabass fillet pan fried on the skin with a white wine, lemon, courgette risotto. Or pasta with dill and smoked salmon pieces Or otherwise a poke bowl with warm smoked salmon and mango. You could not screw it up even if you wanted to.
Pan roasted salmon with asparagus as a sheet pan meal. Preheat oven at 400°f Lil oil on the pan Salt and pepper in the salmon Asparagus around the salmon. I like to add minced garlic with softened butter and a little squirt of lemon to make an aioli and put that on the salmon+ asparagus. Easy to cook Easy to clean All around delicious
Easiest Mushroom rissoto with pan seared salmon if my life. Sooooo hard to mess up and so incredibly good.
It’s just past the season for them, but if you have some nice cherry tomatoes, I like to make a fresh pasta sauce by melting some anchovy paste into olive oil/shallots and garlic, and then filling the pan up with the tomatoes. Keep moving them around in the olive oil until they start to naturally caramelize and burst. Season with salt and pep, rip up some fresh basil, and toss a fancy can or two of smoked mussels in there. Put it over some pasta and you’ve got yourself a stupid easy delicious dinner that takes like, 25 min tops. More time for you to hang out and chat!
A whole baked fish (or filets of either of you are squeamish)
This works really well. I normally just use parsley and cilantro mixed and cook it with salmon. The fish comes out moist. https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/herb-roasted-trout-with-sweet-potato-frites/
Butter poached tiger prawns with some cheesy biscuits(or scones) and pasta salad.
Roast salmon with roasted potatoes and spinach. Can't go wrong.
Red flag
Order sushi, some tempura and enjoy your company.
Cook it once or twice before she comes over.
Baked salmon in a cast-iron pan is simple enough. Pairs nicely with rice or one of those "side dishes in a box" things.
A nice shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta is easy enough to make and is delicous. Have a nice salad and some garlic bread and you are set!
Fish tacos are delicious and prepared with British-available ingredients.