THIS MONTH IN OUR TEST KITCHEN...

As the delicious. food team cook and test recipes, there’s constant tinkering and fervent discussion: timesaving ideas; new tricks we’ve heard of; some technique we’ve dreamed up and want to try... Then there are the questions and input we get from colleagues as they come to see what’s cooking. On these pages, our aim (with help from our regular experts) is to reproduce that test kitchen atmosphere, sharing the most useful ideas and tips we’ve discovered. It’s cookery gold!

MAKING A CASSEROLE

RECIPE MATHS EVERY COOK NEEDS TO KNOW

1 PART MEAT

1 PART VEGETABLES

For a richly flavoured stew or casserole, use roughly the same volume of mirepoix (the French culinary name for a mix of chopped onions, carrots and celery) as cubed meat. The veg will give you your base, which you can build on later with other flavourings.

For each bowl of cubed stewing beef, you’ll need a bowl of mirepoix, cut about 1cm square. Using 1 medium onion for every medium carrot and large stick of celery will give a good balance of flavours. You can also add some chopped leek and chopped garlic.

Season the meat, brown in oil in the casserole on the hob, then remove. Gently fry the mirepoix and any robust herbs (such as bay leaves, thyme and rosemary) in the casserole with a good pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes until soft. You can stir in a bit of tomato purée at this point, then get the browned bits up from the base of the pot - a technique known as deglazing - with a few glugs of wine (cider and beer also work).

Simmer until the liquid thickens a little, then return the meat to the pan. Season, add stock to cover the meat, then cover and cook in a 150°C/ 130°C fan/gas 2 oven until tender.

True or false?

THE CLAIM

FRESH PASTA IS BETTER THAN DRIED

ANSWER FALSE

They’re both equally good but they have different uses. Fresh pasta goes best with dairy-based sauces, while dried works with oil-based, rich or meaty sauces. It’s about texture – dried pasta holds up better against a heavy, robust sauce than the more delicate fresh stuff.

DO I NEED A... GRANTON EDGE KNIFE?

Never heard of it? Granton is a British knife manufacturer whose name has become synonymous with a particular kind of scalloped blade design. Similar designs by other companies are often referred to as ‘granton’.