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Cast-iron griddle pan (with metal handle)
Handy Extras
Lemon zester
Lemon juicer
Tongs
Tweezers (for boning fish)
Potato ricer
Palette knife
Hand-held blender (my preference is Bamix)
Food processor
Kitchen scissors
Wok
Rubber spatula (heatproof)
Flour dredger
Chef’s blowtorch
Nylon sieve (for straining fruit, as some fruits react with metal)
Mortar and pestle
Measuring spoons
6 ramekins (try to build up a selection of different sizes)
6 dariole moulds (castle-shaped ramekins, narrower at one end)
Microplane grater (try to build up a selection of different blades)
Fluted round cutters (in various sizes)
Chef’s rings — 10cm (4in), 6cm (2½in) and 5cm (2in)
Disposable piping bags and nozzles
23cm (9in) loose-bottomed cake tin
Muffin tin and mini-muffin tin
Knives
Although you can get by with just the three knives listed on page 17, a full set of good knives is the best investment a keen cook can ever make. I recommend buying the most expensive set of knives you can possibly afford, because they should last for the rest of your life. I use Henckel knives, which are available from most good cookware shops, department stores and online.
When choosing a knife set, one of the most important factors to consider is the type of steel used to make the blades. The majority of knives are manufactured from a blend of high-carbon stainless steel that resists rust and corrosion and is dishwasher-proof. The ‘tang’ is the part of the knife where the metal is attached to the handle. The best knives will have a tang in which the metal visibly extends inside the handle, right to the end.
Good-quality knives are well balanced and feel good in the cook’s hand. Don’t be afraid to try holding them in the shop. They should be easy to handle and should feel solid, not flimsy. As a general rule, a good knife should feel like an extension of your own hand and should allow adequate space between the point where your fingers grip the knife and the surface on to which you are cutting. Once a month, we get someone to come into the restaurant to sharpen our knives, but a good butcher should be happy to do this for you – they normally have machines which will do a good job in seconds. You can also sharpen the knives yourself using a sharpening steel (see page 21 for instructions).
If you do decide to invest in a set of knives, the ones listed overleaf are the basic set with which I would begin. It’s also worth getting a knife block so that the knives can be kept in a safe place and are easily accessible. It helps prevent them from getting damaged or ruined.
1. Sharpening steel
2. Paring knif
3. Cook’s knife
4. Bread knife
Cook’s Knife
This is the knife I use most often and which I could never do without in the kitchen. Its 26cm (10½ in) blade gives me the perfect balance between handle and blade, allowing excellent hold – perfect for chopping vegetables or herbs.
Carving Knife
To ensure the perfect edge for carving meat, poultry, etc., choose a carving knife with a long, thin and slightly upturned blade.
Boning Knife
An authentic butcher’s knife, designed especially to separate meat from bone. The blade is characteristically thin and curved, which ensures a thin cut. It can be used to remove the bones and cuts through meat very easily.
Bread Knife
This knife has a long serrated blade of approximately 20cm (8in). A good one will slice bread without leaving a lot of crumbs.
Scalloped Slicing Knife
A perfect knife for slicing roasts and dense meats such as large continental sausages. It has a comfortable handle and the scallops on the blade trap small air bubbles between the metal and the food, preventing the food from sticking to the blade and making it easy to slice meats very finely. The scalloped slicing knife is also good for cutting thicker slices with more precision. However, it is not suitable for carving meat on the bone – it’s too long and doesn’t have a point, so will feel very clumsy in this situation.
Filleting Knife
Despite its name, which suggests it is used for meat, this knife’s speciality is actually fish! Choose one with a thin, flexible blade for performing the most delicate kitchen operation: preparing perfect fillets. You’ll also need tweezers to remove the last few tiny bones left in the fillet.
Paring Knife
Used to trim meat and remove lard, fat and sinew, and to peel and cut up fruits and vegetables. A paring knife has a blade approximately 10cm (4in) long that allows you to work easily. You can also buy ones with a serrated edge, which stay sharper for longer and the tops don’t tend to break off.
Sharpening Steel
An essential accessory for keeping your knives sharp. Hold the steel vertically, either pressed on to a tea towel on a flat surface as shown below, or, when you feel more confident, held freely at arm’s length in front of you. Slide the knife blade down the steel, at an angle, then again down the opposite side of the steel. Repeat about six times on each side until the knife is sharp – your cutting edge is now ready for work.
Knife Skills for Fish
Cleaning Round Fish (for when serving whole)Such as cod, haddock, trout, salmon and sea bass
Snip the fins off the fish with kitchen scissors and then remove the scales by scraping the fish from head to tail with a blunt, thick-bladed knife. To remove the guts, slit open the belly from the anal fin (two-thirds of the way down the fish from the head) up towards the head. Pull out most of the guts with your hand, then cut away any entrails left behind and wash out the cavity under cold running water.
1. Filleting round fish: cut V-shape
2. Cut down the length of the back
3. Cut the fillet away from the bone
Cleaning Flat Fish (for when serving whole)Such as sole and plaice
To remove the guts, locate the gut cavity by pressing on the whitest side of the fish just below the head until you find an area that is much softer. Make a small incision across this area and pull out the guts with your little finger. Trim the fish by snipping off the fins with kitchen scissors.
4. Remove the fillet and turn over
5. Repeat same cuts on the other side
6. Two perfect fillets from round fish
Filleting Round Fish
Lay the fish on the board and, on the uppermost side, cut closely around the head in a V-shape so that you don’t lose too much of the fillet. Lay the fish with its back towards you (unless you are left-handed like me, in which case place it with its back away from you). Cut along the length of the back, keeping the blade of the knife above the horizontal backbone.
Starting at the head, cut the fillet away from the bones, keeping the blade as close to them as you can. Once you have released some of the fillet, lift it up with your fingers to make it easier to see where you are cutting. When you near the rib bones, cut as close to them as you can or, if very fine, cut through them and then remove the bones from the fillet afterwards using tweezers.
Turn the fish over, again cut the V-shape around the head, and repeat the rest of the cuts to remove the fillet from the second side.
7. Filleting flat fish: cut around head
8. Cut down the centre of the fish
9. Fold back the fillet as you cut
Filleting Flat Fish
You will get four fillets from a flat fish. Lay the fish on a chopping board and cut around the back of the head and also across the tail. »
Then cut through the skin down the centre of the fish, very slightly to one side of the raised backbone, working from the head down to the tail.
Starting where the backbone meets the head, slide the blade of the knife under the corner of one of the fillets. Carefully cut away from the bones, folding the released fillet back as you do so. Keep the blade of the knife almost flat and as close to the bones as possible. Remove the adjacent fillet in the same way. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side.
Skinning Fillets of Fish
Place the fillet skin-side down on a chopping board with the narrowest (tail) end nearest to you. Angling the blade of the knife down towards the skin, start to cut between the flesh and the skin until a little flap is released.
Flip the fish over. Firmly take hold of the skin and, working away from you, continue to cut between the flesh and skin, sawing with the knife from side to side and keeping the blade of the knife close against the skin until all the skin is removed.
Preparing Prawns or LangoustinesIncluding tiger and Dublin Bay
Firmly twist the head away from the body and discard, or rinse and keep to use for stock (see page 219). Lay the prawn upside-down and break open the shell along the belly, then carefully peel the shell away from the flesh.
With large, raw prawns it is important to remove the intestinal tract, which looks like a thin black vein running down the back of the prawn flesh. Run the tip of a small knife down the back of the prawn and then lift up and pull out the vein.
Preparing Vegetables
Always shake or brush off any loose earth before washing vegetables. All vegetables must be thoroughly washed before cooking, with the exception of mushrooms, which should be brushed or wiped using a pastry brush. As cultivated mushrooms are grown in sterile soil this is sufficient. If they are genuinely wild, then trim them down, cutting off any bruised or damaged bits with a small, pointed knife, and brush or wipe as before.
Vegetables with inedible skins (such as onion, thick-skinned roots and tubers, and some squashes) need to be peeled. A vegetable peeler or small paring knife is best for peeling. A really sharp knife (see pages 20-1) and a good, heavy chopping board are essential for slicing and chopping.
Some vegetables, notably celeriac, artichoke bottoms, Jerusalem artichokes and salsify, rapidly discolour and begin to lose their vitamins once they are cut. To prevent this, try not to prepare them too far in advance. When peeling and cutting the vegetables, use a stainless steel knife and drop them immediately into ‘acidulated’ water. To prepare acidulated water, simply add the juice of one lemon to 600ml (1 pint) water.
How to Peel Garlic
Cut the root end off the clove of garlic. Lay the clove flat on the chopping board and rest the blade of a large knife horizontally on it. Lean heavily on the flat blade with the heel of your hand. The garlic clove will crack under the weight and will simultaneously be released from its papery skin. Remove any green stalk from the centre and finely chop using a rocking motion.
How to Chop an Onion
Peel the onion and chop off the root and tip. (If you’re less confident, you can leave the root attached until the last minute to hold the pieces securely together. But don’t forget to remove it before cooking!) Cut the onion in half through the root end (see the step by step pictures over the page). Place one half of the onion flat-side down on the chopping board. » Make about six parallel cuts downwards with the knife tip pointing towards the root end, but cutting short of the root end so that the onion continues to hold together.
Next, with the onion still facing downwards, and holding it steady from the root end, make three horizontal cuts one above the other, towards the root. Again, be careful not to slice all the way through – the half must still hold together.
Finally, chop down repeatedly across the width of the onion. Perfect cubes will fall from your knife!
1. Onion: cutting in half
2. Making downwards cuts
3. Making horizontal cuts
Using a Mandolin
A mandolin is a plane-slicer tool, which originated in the Far East and is used to cut potatoes or other vegetables. Most models offer various cuts and thicknesses but typically they have three blades – one each for fine, medium and large ribbons. If you haven’t used a mandolin before, try to purchase one that has a tripod and a guard for your fingers.
Julienne
This is a term used when vegetables or fruit rind are cut into very fine strips. Peel the skin from the vegetable if necessary. Trim away any root or stem parts. If the vegetable is round, like a potato or carrot, cut in half and lay it cut-side down on the board. This will keep it from rolling. Cut the edible part of the vegetable into slices about 3mm (1/8in) thick. Cut around the seeds and discard if necessary. Turn these slices on their side and slice again into even strips 3mm (1/8in) thick. Use as required.
4. Chopping the onion into cubes
5. Slicing courgette with a mandolin
6. Slicing carrot with a mandolin
Brunoise
