A morning spent at the newly reopened Nick Nairn Cook School this week proved to be both huge amounts of fun and surprisingly educational.
You can read the whole story here, and while I won’t give away all of the secrets of the day, below are just a few of the helpful hints and tricks we learned that will make your life easier and your cooking tastier.
Savour the stems
The seafood tacos we were tasked with cooking called for a heaping handful of fresh coriander.
While most of us reached for the leafy part of the divisive herb, Nairn instead advised us to prioritise the stems and promised that's where the most intense flavour lies.
Listen to your mushrooms
While we learned the story behind the school, we were shown how to make a number of canapes that are sure to be a hit over the festive season.
When sautéing the mushrooms for one variation of a savoury tart we were told to listen to what was going on in the pan.
Because of their high water content, the woodland veggies will sizzle and squeak until all the excess moisture has been cooked out and they are left with a stronger and richer taste.
Celery and parmesan are best friends
Another filling for the premade tart cases was a simple egg mix with thinly sliced celery and lashings of parmesan.
It sounds a little odd, but it really works.
Movement is key
The chefs’ knives at the Cook School were brand new and incredibly sharp, but we learned that if you’re not using them correctly there will always be room for error.
Make sure that you're getting a little motion into each slice rather than simply pressing down on your fresh veggies, herbs or produce and hoping the blade will do all the work.
It sounds like common sense, but stopping to correct your technique makes all the difference.
Invest in a bench scraper
I’d seen this wee bit of kit used on professional cookery programmes but always assumed that they were a superfluous addition to the kitchen drawer.
It’s definitely not vital for a successful dish, but it did make scooping up thinly chopped veg and sticky masa dough a doddle.
One to consider as a gift for the foodie in your life who has it all.
Prep your onions for fresh dips
After finely chopping red onions for our pico de gallo, a salsa-like dip with fresh tomato, coriander and garlic, Narin suggested that we squeeze fresh lime over them and leave it to sit for just a short while before adding to the mix.
The acidity in the juice apparently helps to soften pungent red onion flavours.
Gluten-free tacos need just two ingredients
Homemade tacos might seem a stretch too far for your culinary abilities but are in fact incredibly easy to make.
The hardest part is sourcing masa (or corn) flour, which can be ordered online or found in speciality shops like Lupe Pintos Deli.
Then simply mix with water and a good sprinkle of salt until you have a malleable, Play-Doh like consistency.
We used a special tortilla press which made light work of shaping each individual serving, but a rolling pin would no doubt be the next best thing.
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