Good cooking starts with good basics recipes: stocks, sauces and other preparations that form the cornerstone of delicious dishes. Take the time to master these and your cooking will go from good to great.
Prickly Ash Sichuan peppercorns, those wonderfully numbing little nuggets that are essential to Sichuanese food, aren’t a true pepper but a similar-shaped dried fruit from the prickly ash tree (Zanthoxylum piperitum). This spice has a great aroma, which is amplified by roasting and grinding it. Salt is often considered the foundation of Sichuanese cooking as […]
North Carolina-style BBQ Sauce In the American South, barbecue sauce is as controversial a subject as the barbecue itself, perhaps even more so with regional variations being fiercely defended as the best, the original and the only sauce worth having. My North Carolina-style BBQ sauce is inspired by the mustard-based sauces of North Carolina. This […]
Mushroom Duxelles Duxelles is a classic French preparation of finely chopped mushroom and onion cooked down in butter with herbs (usually thyme or parsley), black pepper and salt, sometimes with a dash of cream, Sherry or Madeira. It’s used in a range of English recipes including stuffings, sauces and garnishes and, most notably, in beef […]
Potato Gnocchi I love versatile potato gnocchi, they’re delicious dressed with just about any pasta sauce including pesto, easy gnocchi Sorrentina from the Amalfi coast, or the simplest burnt butter and sage. You can even boil the gnocchi ahead of time, chill them in iced water then drain, toss with oil and set aside (or […]
Salade Verte – How To Dress A Green Salad A simple green salad (salade verte in French) is the ideal accompaniment to so many dishes, whether it’s made from just one type of leaf or a mixture of several. It may be simple, but it deserves the same respect as the rest of the meal […]
Focaccia I love authentic focaccia made with a generous amount of olive oil and had such fun working on focaccia recipes for our Month on the Italian Riviera inspired by Lucio Galletto. Lucio uses more water and oil in his recipe than many I’ve seen and I think that’s what makes his focaccia so good. […]
Vegetable Stock A good vegetable stock can be the base of great soups, risotto, casseroles and many other dishes. Roasting the vegetables before boiling them adds further flavour and depth. Stock freezes really well too, so you can always have some on hand. Once you see how simple it is, you’ll never buy stock again. […]
Chicken Stock A good chicken stock is the base for great soups, risotto, casseroles and many other dishes. Even seafood and red meat dishes often use chicken stock for its subtle flavour that adds depth without competing with the star Ingredients. Roasting the chicken bones before boiling them, to make what is called a brown […]
Beetroot Pickled Turnips Pickled vegetables are always present on a Middle Eastern table. Olives, green chillies and turnips are most common but small eggplants, cucumbers and cauliflower are also popular. Beetroot pickled turnips, traditionally stained bright pink with beetroot juice, are the most distinctive – though commercial ones are usually artificially coloured these days. The […]
Pita Crisps With this not-even-really-a-recipe, you’ll never buy pita crisps again, nor will you ever waste a piece of leftover Lebanese bread! Perfect with hummus or any dips, crumbled over salads, alongside soups or just as a moreish snack on their own with a glass of the gorgeous copper-hued La Nebbia Col Fondo naturally sparkling […]
