When I was a little girl, I always loved to be in the kitchen helping my mom, dad or grandad make food. Each of these individuals taught me so much and helped my passion and love for cooking grow. From my mom and granddad, I was able to learn how to cook in a traditional Portuguese way, while my dad taught me to cook my first ever meal: scrambled eggs on toast! It's no surprise that since then I have developed my skills and meal repertoire and now I look for any excuse to host dinner parties, cook family meals or bake for special occasions. I started knowing absolutely nothing, but, through practice (and yes lots of burnt and uncooked mistakes) I have become far more confident in the kitchen. When I first began to bake and cook I would follow recipes and instructions down to the most minute detail, scared of ruining my dishes. I'm sure a lot of people will be able to relate to this, however, with time and practice I believe everyone can improve and find their own style and tricks in the kitchen! What I want to share below are some tips and techniques that I find myself always using in the kitchen and which really helped me develop both my culinary love and skills!
And remember...as my beaming mother would say; practice makes perfect! (and "Do your dishes!")
1) Go slow
You would never jump straight into the deep end of a swimming pool if you didn’t know how to swim! So, if you have never cooked before or are unconfident in the kitchen, don’t dive straight into the most complicated recipes and attempt to feed all your extended family and friends in one day. It’s ok to start small and always ask for help (even from a book or online guide)! Start by cooking for either just yourself or one or two other people and gradually build your skill set from there. If a recipe calls for too many techniques or even foods that you have never cooked with before, try find another that is more basic. And before you know it, you will have built up the talent to master many techniques and recipes!
2) Salt and Pepper!
Many people often go overboard with exotic seasonings. If you taste your food and find it a bit bland, don’t reach straight for the Cajun spice, Paprika or Marjoram. Take a step back first and make sure the basic seasoning foundations are there – by that I mean our good old pals, Salt&Pepper. In addition, when boiling things like rice and pasta it is always a good idea to add a dash of oil and salt to the water to create some extra flavour!
3) Taste, Taste, Taste
Speaking of salt and pepper, equally important to making sure you dish is full of the right flavours is to keep tasting! The more you taste the easier it is to firstly build your own culinary confidence and secondly to identify if someone is wrong and fix it as early on in the cooking process as possible.
4) Read and Time Manage
There’s nothing worse than starting a meal full of excitement and realising halfway you are missing an ingredient or that it has to rest in the fridge for 24 hours. Always make sure to read all your recipes fully, including the method and ensure that you have enough time to make it all properly. Sometimes if you have to cook many things at once, writing a rough timetable can help make sure you don’t miss important steps!
5) A little bit of acid
This tip I owe to my mother! A little bit of vinegar, wine or citrus fruits like lemons can really elevate meals by bringing out flavours. For example, adding a dash of white wine to the pan while cooking fish, or a squeeze of a lemon over a chicken salad. Adding a little wine to the end of cooking is also helpful as it helps to deglaze the pan and make a sauce of all those flavours which got stuck to the bottom!
6) Oil, Oil….OIL
Now this is probably my inner Portuguese girl coming out, but truly, cooking with oils is one of the best ways to get some great flavours from your meals! There are so many oil varieties out there and so it’s a good idea to learn which ones are best too cook with for specific meals. Usually a recipe will tell you the type of oil to use but for basic reference:
Olive Oil: The most commonly used (and my favourite) cooking oil! Best for cooking things at a moderate temperature and also for roasting or sautéing (quick frying at a high heat)
Extra Virgin Olive oil: Burns very quickly but packed with flavour so often best used for dressing foods or even as a bread dip with some balsamic vinegar!
Peanut Oil: Great for deep frying and has a high smoke point. Goes well with Asian cooking styles, but beware, if you do not want a nutty flavour to your dish, you will need to purchase a more refined version of this oil
Sesame Oil: Perfect for stir-frying and best used in Asian or even Middle Eastern cuisine!
Vegetable Oils: Very good in terms of being a ‘healthy oil’ and they are excellent for deep frying or cooking at very high heats. They are not as flavourful as olive or peanut oils but very useful and often used in baking too!
Coconut Oil: This oil is solid at room temperature (similar to butter) and good for roasting and sautéing at moderate temperatures but is also a fantastic alternative in vegan baking! Bonus, it’s great for DIY hair and face masks!
7) Embrace your inner psycho and sharpen your knives
A sharp knife will make all the difference! It makes preparation go by so much faster and easier. It will also allow you to master difference types of cuts, such as, julienne (fine sticks), brunoise (fine dicing) and mincing. On a similar note, make sure you are using the right kind of blade for the right kind of food. A cook’s knife for example is the most common and can be used for most culinary tasks whereas, a bread knife is often more narrow and serrated and not great for vegetable and meat preparation.
8) Give your food space to cook
I’m sure many of us are guilty of overcrowding a pan or constantly stirring (I definitely am when I am in a rush!). But it is important not to do so as it means the flavours aren’t well distributed and the food wont cook evenly.
9) Onions make me cry…
When I first started cooking the ingredient I most disliked was onions. They add an incredible flavour and texture to most foods and sauces but boy did they make my eyes water! I have found that keeping the root of the onion on during pealing and cutting and even soaking the onions in cold water beforehand is really help. If all else fails a friend once recommended swimming goggles...do with the information what you will!
10) It is not a competition
Unless you intend on being the next Great British Bake Off or Masterchef contestant most of the time you will be cooking FOR yourself and others and not AGAINST anyone. Therefore, it is important for you to make sure that you enjoy cooking and are relaxed when doing so. Rushing frantically around a kitchen is a recipe for disaster (pardon the pun)! When you put love, practice and passion behind anything, it will come out right! It doesn’t matter that your neighbour or sister can make a better or faster pie than you. Stick to your own abilities and learn to perfect and make what you love.
Now go out and start creating. Never be upset or lose motivation if something doesn't work out - simply clean your pan and start again! Good luck and let me know how you get on!
Natasha x
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