that a potato salad calls for 450g(1 lb) potatoes – there is no need to cut off a third of one new potato to get exactly the right amount; a tiny bit more or less will make little difference.
The standard advice is to stick with either metric or imperial measurements and not to mix the two. This is probably what you will do anyway, but in truth it won’t make much difference in most recipes if you do mix them up. And always taste as you cook; adjust seasonings and balance of flavours to suit your taste and your ingredients. The one area demanding strict accuracy is baking.
Surprisingly small differences in the ratios of flour, fat, sugar, eggs and so on affect the way the cake turns out. So, no guess work, or slapdash weighing out here.
Spoon measurements Spoon measurements in this book are all rounded, unless otherwise indicated. I use a 5ml teaspoon, a 10ml dessertspoon and a 15ml tablespoon.
A sprig, a stem, a bunch or a handful? At first these terms will seem infuriatingly vague, but try to view them as opportunities to exploit your own personal tastes. If you really love the aroma of a certain herb, then make your sprig or handful big and generous. If it is new to you, you may prefer to err on the side of caution at first – reduce that sprig to a couple of inches, grab a petite handful. Soon the deliberate vagueness will become endearingly familiar.
Preparing Common Vegetables and Other Ingredients
Chopping Onions
The most important advice here is to make sure you have a sharp knife before you begin (see knives and knife sharpeners below). Chopping an onion is easy when the blade glides smoothly through the layers, a right pain when you have to push hard and saw your way through. As so many savoury recipes begin with chopping an onion, it will improve your kitchen life considerably if this basic operation is painless and swift.
1 First cut the onion in half, slicing from stalk to root (photo 1). Place one half flat on the chopping board and cut off the upper stalk end (photo 2). Now pick up the onion and peel the brown skins back towards the root, without ripping them right off – it isn’t disastrous if they do come right away, but left attached to the onion root, they act as a handle to grip hold of when chopping. So bend the skins back, away from the onion (photo 3).
2 Place your left hand (or right if you are left-handed) flat on top of the onion to hold it still, then slice it horizontally, stem end towards the root, but stopping just short of the root, so that the pieces stay together (photo 4).
3 Now, keeping the onion flat on the work surface, grasp the skin handle holding the onion steady, and make parallel vertical cuts, from root end towards the stalk end (photo 5).
4 Finally, make parallel cuts at right angles to the previous set of cuts, working your way from stem end back to the root.
And there you have it: a mound of perfectly chopped onion (photo 6).
Slicing onions
Easy. Peel the onion completely, and trim ends. For rings, turn the onion on its side and slice downwards, thinly or thickly as you wish. Leave whole or separate into rings. For halfmoons, halve the peeled onion through its equator. Set cut-side down, and slice.
Peeling Garlic
Remove outer layers of papery skin from the head of garlic, then ease out as many cloves as you need for your recipe (photo 1). Store the rest of the head in a cool, dry place, but not in the fridge, where it may taint milk and eggs and other foods.
Slice off the base and the tip of the clove (photo 2). If you are going to chop or crush the garlic, the easiest way to get the skin off is to place the clove flat on the chopping board, then press the bowl of a wooden spoon down on it firmly, crushing it gently (photo 3). Now the skin will almost fall off.
If, on the other hand, you intend to slice the clove, or keep it whole, pull the skin away bit by bit with your fingers. Any skin that sticks can be loosened by running the blade of the knife, held at an angle to the clove, firmly down the skin.
Chopping Garlic
Garlic is chopped in much the same way as onion, but scaled down appropriately. If you’ve crushed it virtually flat when removing the skin, then you obviously won’t be able to slice it horizontally.
Crushing Garlic
A garlic crusher is quick but wasteful. A lot of good garlic gets left behind or stuck in the holes. A knife does the job more efficiently, though it takes a little practice.
Peel the garlic and chop it very roughly into three or four pieces. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt (this diminishes slippage). Press the flat of the blade of the knife down on the pieces, crushing them, then drag the sharp end of the blade, at an angle to the board, over the smashed pieces. Push them all back together, and repeat the dragging and crushing until you have a smooth paste. The dismaying thing is how little you end up with, but don’t fear – the impact of the smoothly crushed garlic will be epic.
Chopping Herbs
Pile the leaves up together on the chopping board. Grab the biggest knife you own (but not a serrated knife). Hold the handle with your right hand, and the tip with your left (reverse this if you are left-handed). Hold the knife over the herbs, the tip in contact with the board close to one side of the heap. Now hold the tip steady on the board, and bring the knife firmly and quickly down on the herbs, again and again, swinging it backwards and forwards. Push the herbs back together in a pile, and repeat the whole operation. Keep doing this until the herbs are chopped as you want them. With practice this becomes an easy, quick and rhythmic operation.
This is also the method to use for fine chopping garlic or onion, once they have been roughly chopped in the usual way.
Skinning Tomatoes
Cut a small cross in each tomato, opposite the stalk end (photo 1). Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water (photo 2). Leave for a minute, then pick the tomatoes out of the water. The skin will now pull away from the tomato with ease (photo 3). If it doesn’t, repeat the process – the tomatoes must have been under-ripe.
Deseeding Tomatoes
Method 1 For tomatoes that are to be cooked in a sauce or stew or soup. Halve the tomatoes through the equator, i.e. cutting halfway between stalk end and base (photo 1). Squeeze each half over a bowl or bin, just as if you were squeezing out lemon juice (photo 2). The seeds will ooze out.
Method 2 For when you want perfect looking pieces of tomato. Halve the tomatoes as for method 1, then scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon (photo 3).
Deseeding Peppers
Begin by slicing off the stem end as if it were a lid. Turn the pepper upside down and tap the base firmly several times to loosen the seeds. Shake them out, and scrape out any malingerers with a knife. When you want to keep the pepper whole, perhaps for stuffing, or cut it into rings, you should also scrape out the white ribs (not 100% necessary, but it does improve the flavour a mite). For quartered peppers or long strips, cut the cup into four from one corner to the other, to give flattish pieces. This makes them easier to cut into strips, or grill. Remove the odd seed and cut away the white ribs if you haven’t already. Now cut into strips if required.
Handling Chillies
It is the capsaicin in chillies that makes them hot. When you handle chillies, capsaicin transfers itself to your fingers, so you need to be extremely careful that you don’t rub your eyes, or worse still, especially for men, go to the loo, before cleaning your hands thoroughly. The results can be painful.