The difference between a bland tomato and great one is immense, much like the difference between a standard, sliced white bread and a crusty, aromatic sourdough.
— Yotam Ottolenghi
My father always cooks more polenta than he needs for a meal. The excess he spreads on an oiled surface and chills. Next day, he cuts out chunks, fries them in olive oil and serves with salad.
Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
Souffles don't deserve their reputation as potential disasters.
The unlikely combination of potatoes and pasta does appear in some Italian recipes.
You don't need a machine to make pasta: a rolling pin and a fast hand can create a smooth, if thick, sheet.
Dried porcini add a substantial, deep flavour to otherwise more neutral vegetables. I use them in risottos, mashed roots and winter soups.
Good asparagus needs minimal treatment and is best eaten with few other ingredients.
Yogurt sauce, as you may have noticed by now, is a regular presence in my recipes - that's because it has the ability to round up so many flavours and textures like no other component does.
I have to admit that I can't take a whole fig and eat it on its own as I would a peach or mango. It's just too much.
Preparing and cooking squid is easier than most fish. The only thing to remember is not to cook it for too long.
Barley and mushroom is a soothing combination. It's mainly a textural thing, with the barley both gently breaking and enhancing the mushroomy gloopiness.
Small okra pods have a much more attractive texture than large ones, which, when cooked, can be gloopy, stringy and totally spoil a dish.
Orange blossom water would make a magical addition to your store cupboard.
Turkish cuisine is, to my mind, one of the most exciting and accomplished in the world.
On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.
There's nothing more marvelously wintery than orange root veg mash; some butter is all it needs.
Taleggio is the perfect cheese to melt over a warm dish.
Popping broad beans out of their skins can be therapeutic, but it isn't everybody's favourite waste of time.
Swiss chard is undervalued in Britain. It's a great substitute for spinach and keeps its shape well.
Amaranth, the world's most nutritious grain, is available from health food stores.
Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.
The natural sweetness of leeks, with their soft, oniony aroma, makes them the perfect winter comfort food.
Just-poached vegetables show off their natural attributes and taste fresh and light in a way you never get with roasting or frying.
I keep returning to the combination of artichoke, broad beans and lemon. The freshness of young beans and the lemon juice 'lifts' the artichoke and balances its hearty nature.
There is a unique freshness when eating buckwheat noodles cold with plenty of herbs and citrus acidity. I can't think of any better use of chopsticks on a hot and sweaty evening.
I am sure that in the story of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit was a fig and not an apple, pear or anything else.
Stuffed vine leaves tend to burn and/or stick when you cook them. To avoid this, use a heavy based pan lined with a few layers of second-rate leaves.
Leeks, like other oniony things, reach a certain peak when fried. It's the subtle sweetness that suddenly becomes evident and works so well with their creamy texture.
Shimeji are those odd-looking clusters of small mushrooms you often find in so-called 'exotic' selections at the supermarket. They have an appealing firmness that is retained during light cooking.
Panko are the elite of the breadcrumb world because they stay so crunchy and light.
Beetroot is a great salad ingredient, especially when still warm; the colour ain't bad, either.
Dinner parties are still highly popular, and I believe they always will be.
I always pan-fry sprouts - it retains texture and enhances flavour.
Seasonality in winter doesn't have to mean sleep-inducing, stew-like, starchy casseroles.
Manouri is a Greek ewes' milk cheese that's light in colour and texture. It's fresh and milky, and goes well with other subtle flavours.
Food that's served at the table in a paper parcel always creates a remarkable culinary moment when opened, because the package is full of aromatic steam from the lightly cooked ingredients inside.
Brussels sprouts are really quite versatile.
The addition of vinaigrette to freshly roasted vegetables gives them a freshness and juiciness they don't normally have; the acidity brings out new shades of flavour, too.
The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.
Call me tacky, but I love the union of sweet and sour, even in some now-unloved Oriental dishes incorporating pineapple and ketchup.
Chipotles, which are dried jalapeno peppers, give out a terrific smoky flavour - they're warm, earthy and usually not too spicy.
I get great pleasure from stuffed foods, from an apple strudel to a vegetable samosa, from a whole roasted bird with a sweet and savoury stuffing to a vine leaf filled with rice and spices.
Chana dal are skinless dried split chickpeas used in Indian cooking. They have a great texture and delicate flavour.
The tang of tamarind is a great way both to flavour and lighten up slow-cooked savoury dishes.
Rice and vermicelli is a common combination in Arab and Turkish cooking - it has a lighter texture than rice on its own.
Kirmizi biber has a sweet aroma and can vary in spiciness.
As is always the way with pancakes, the first hotcake to come out of the pan will probably be a bit misshapen. Just scoff it, and carry on with the rest.
Take your average couscous salad, and it's almost always a sloppy mush, no matter how much attention has gone into getting flavours in there.
Cobnuts have a fresher flavour than any other nut I know of and go very well with autumnal fruit and light cheeses.
