A perfect roast potato needs to be crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the center. The choice of fat is up to you – olive oil, sunflower, goose fat or lard. To serve four, peel 900g (2lb) floury potatoes and cut into chunks. Steam until tender, then add 1tbsp flour (some swear by polenta) and shake them around to give a fluffy surface. Heat a roasting tin with 2–3tbsp oil in a hot oven (400ºF/200ºC), add the hot potatoes and coat in the fat. Sprinkle with salt and roast until golden and crunchy, around 45 minutes.
Peeling eggs sounds easy, doesn't it? But to avoid cracks in the white, there's just one way to do it. Tap the eggs all over to crack the shells, then peel under cold running water, starting at the wide end where there is an air pocket so it's easier to pull the shell away. Once ready, you could go all retro and make some deviled eggs.
Get the recipe for deviled eggs with tahini and za'atar here
It's always worth having a simple stir-fry sauce in your repertoire which doesn't need lots of ingredients. Use 4tbsp soy sauce, 2tbsp toasted sesame oil and 3tbsp oyster sauce for fish or 3tbsp teriyaki sauce for meat and poultry. Heat the wok, add a little oil, then fry your meat or fish. Add vegetables and noodles, if you like, then a teacup of water to steam and cook the veg. Stir in the sauce ingredients and heat through fully.
Getting pasta just right isn't hard, but you do need good quality dried pasta. Cheaper versions are made with inferior flour and just go soggy. Allow 75–100g (3–4oz) pasta per person. Bring a large pan of water (at least 3 liters/5 pints) up to the boil with 1tbsp salt. When it's up to a rolling boil, add the pasta, cover briefly, give it a stir, then leave until it is still firm to the bite – check the pack instructions for timings. Drain immediately when ready.
Check out our favorite pasta recipes here
If you want to achieve that gorgeous restaurant-quality, creamy mash, you don't necessarily need to invest in a potato ricer. Potato mashers can get almost all of the lumps out, but you'll need plenty of butter to achieve that creamy texture. Steam your potatoes rather than boil them, allow to dry out a little once cooked, then starting mashing (or pushing through the ricer) while adding hot milk and melted butter with plenty of seasoning. Don't be tempted to use a food processor to purée potatoes as they will go gluey.
Find ways to upgrade your mashed potatoes here
The foolproof way to cook long grain, basmati or jasmine rice is to use double the volume of water to rice. So if you're cooking 100g (4oz) rice, you'll need 200ml (8floz) water. Bring the water to the boil with a good pinch of salt, add the rice, turn down to a gentle simmer and cover. Once all the water has been absorbed (usually around 15 minutes), take off the heat and leave the lid on for 5–10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
Find more rice cooking tips and recipes here
Let's be clear – one chicken carcass is not enough to make a good stock, so freeze them (bones collapsed) until you have at least two (or around four if you're making a lot of stock). Chopped carrot, onion, celery, leek, bay leaves, parsley and thyme complete the stock with some peppercorns. Sauté everything first, then cook long and slow, around two hours, before straining.
Get the recipe for vegetable stock here
Getting this skill right just needs a bit of time and patience, so you don't end up with soggy or half burnt ground meat. Begin over a low heat, adding the meat to warmed oil or butter. Keep stirring and any water will eventually evaporate. Once the meat is not pink, turn up the heat to medium and allow it to brown slowly, stirring occasionally.
Take a look at some of our favorite ground beef recipes here
Having a tomato sauce ready in the fridge or freezer is handy and it couldn't be easier to make. Gently cook a chopped onion and two crushed garlic cloves in olive oil for five minutes. Add 1kg (2lb 2oz) skinned and chopped fresh tomatoes, a pinch of oregano and seasoning. Simmer on a very low heat, uncovered, for about an hour or until the tomatoes are thick and almost all the liquid has evaporated. You can then add olives, capers or herbs.
Homemade soup is a doddle to make and so much better, and cheaper, than buying ready-made. Most vegetable soups start with chopped celery, carrot and onion, sweated down in oil until tender. Then just add stock and the ingredients of your choice – more carrots and chickpeas, for example, with some toasted cilantro seeds. Or try broccoli and frozen peas or roasted red peppers with pesto. Then just whiz it up with a hand blender.
Take a look at these warming soups to help you get through winter
Learn how to make a classic vinaigrette and you'll never buy a bottle of it again. Keep it in a screw-topped jar in the fridge, then you can just shake and serve. Mix together a clove of crushed garlic with 1tsp sea salt. Add 1tbsp Dijon mustard and 1tbsp white or red wine vinegar. Mix well, add freshly ground black pepper, then whisk in 6tbsp olive oil.
There are many hacks floating around which tell you how to avoid crying when chopping onions, including holding a piece of bread between your teeth while you chop! The only way to reduce the tears is to wear glasses, sunglasses or swimming goggles. If that doesn't float your boat, buy a mini chopper or use a food processor which will do the work for you instead.
To ensure a roast chicken has perfectly crispy skin and juicy meat, smother the bird with 100g (3.5oz) butter all over. Squeeze over the juice of a lemon and put the lemon with a few sprigs of thyme in the cavity. Add a glass of white wine, then roast at 450°F/230°C for 15 minutes. Turn it down to 350°F/180°C for another hour or so, basting frequently. When you pierce the thigh and the juices run clear, it's ready. Rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Take a look at Julia Child's best-ever tips for cooking perfect chicken
Once you've roasted a chicken, or a joint of meat, add stock to the roasting tin and bubble it on a high heat, scraping up all the lovely bits in the tin. You could also add red or white wine. Strain it through a sieve, taste for seasoning and serve. If you prefer a thicker gravy, add a little flour to the tin before adding the stock.
Mix together 75ml (3floz) warm water, 2tsp easy-blend yeast, 225g (8oz) strong white flour, 1tsp salt and 2tbsp olive oil by hand or in a mixer. Use the dough hook to knead the dough until it's soft and springy. You may need to add a little extra water – this depends on your flour. Leave the dough in an oiled bowl, covered with oiled plastic wrap, until doubled in size, around an hour. Then knead it for five minutes and it's ready to use.
Get the recipe for easy pizza here
If you're feeling more confident, baking a loaf is well worth it. There's very little hands-on time required, especially if you have a mixer with a dough hook attachment. It's also way cheaper than buying artisan bread.
Get our best home-baked bread tips and recipes here
The reason you bake pastry blind before adding a filling, is to ensure you don't have a soggy bottom. Line the raw pastry dough with parchment paper then fill with baking beans so the pastry doesn't rise. The pastry is then cooked for a short while, filled with any toppings and put back in the oven. Rather than trim the raw pastry to size in your tin, take a tip from pastry chefs who trim it once it's baked blind, to ensure a perfect edge. This will also help you if your pastry has shrunk a little.
Making your own fresh pesto is so worth the time and not much effort. That scent of fresh basil pounded with garlic, creamy pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil is hard to beat. You can freeze it too but add the cheese once it's thawed. Make a big batch, then freeze portions in ice cube trays.
Get our recipe for fresh homemade pesto here
If you've mastered a cheese sauce, macaroni cheese is a walk in the park. Infuse 1.2 liters (2 pints) milk with bay leaves and half an onion – just warm it up then leave it to sit for an hour. Remove the bay and onion and keep the milk warm. Melt 100g (3.5oz) butter, stir in 100g (3.5oz) flour until smooth, then gradually whisk in the milk. If it's warm, there's less chance of the sauce going lumpy. Stir until thickened, then add 225g (8oz) grated Cheddar and season well. This is sufficient for 450g (1lb) pasta, for six servings.
Take a large frying pan, fill with boiling water and leave on a gentle heat until you just see tiny bubbles forming. Break the eggs one by one into a cup and slide into the water. Leave for one minute over heat, then remove, cover and leave for 10 minutes. This will give you a fully set white and a soft yolk. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain over some paper towel and serve.
So many recipes seem to make caramel more complicated than it is. The trick is to be patient with it. You need to heat the sugar first, so put it in a large frying pan on a low heat and let it heat really slowly. Then you can turn the heat to medium, and without stirring, swish the pan around so all the sugar can melt. Let it bubble until you have a caramel color, then take it off the heat. For 250g (8oz) sugar, then add 150ml (5floz) double cream and 50g (2oz) butter with a good pinch of sea salt.
Melting chocolate takes a little time and patience. Please don't use a microwave as the chance of it catching and burning is pretty high. Chop chocolate into small pieces and put into a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water without it touching the water. It will take 10–15 minutes. If chocolate overheats, it curdles and you end up with a claggy mess which you can't use. The higher the cocoa content, the easier it overheats, so be patient.
You'll see chefs prodding a steak with their finger to see how well it is cooked. As a rough guide, if you touch the base of your thumb with your index finger, this will have a similar feel to rare steak. But be on the safe side and buy a meat thermometer. First, oil the steak, not the pan, add plenty of salt and sear it. Don't try to force it off the pan, it will come away when it's seared. Then keep turning until it's cooked to your preference. Add pepper after.
Discover more secrets to cooking restaurant-quality steak here
With its awkward, knobbly shape, the best way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon. Just use the edge of the spoon to scrape away the skin, then you won't have any waste at all.
Take a look at these ginger recipes perfect for warming winter meals