Cooking skills Features

How to … prepare prawns

From the Great British prawn cocktail to the trendy curries of Thailand, prawns are a popular ingredient that, if prepared correctly, prove to be very versatil

How to... Bake blind

Pies and pastries falling apart? Here's your answe: cooking a pastry case without any filling. By baking the pastry before adding the contents, you're guaranteed a crisp, non-soggy pie cas

How to... Choose the right oil

Olive oil (extra virgin, virgin or pure?), vegetable oil, butter, lard?the choices of fat for cooking or dressing are almost endless. The Cooking Coach profiles the main varieties and explains which are best for the job in han

How to... Chop onions

It may sound simple but it's surprising how much of a meal some people make of chopping onions. Read this and (don't) weep

How to... Make risotto

Making your own risotto shouldn't be a complicated, laborious task. Just follow these simple steps for perfect grains every time

How to... Prepare and eat artichokes

Globe artichokes are usually eaten as a starter with a small bowl of lemon butter or hollandaise sauce as an accompaniment ? if you can work out how to prepare them, that i

How to... Prepare garlic

You've seen the TV chefs do i: they peel a clove of garlic in seconds with just one slap of their hand. The Cooking Coach explains how

How to... Store spices

Have the contents of your spice rack reached their sell-by dates? Cooking Coach Terry Farris offers some hot tips on keeping things fresh

How to...Prepare tomatoes

Cooking Coach Terry Farris leads you step-by-step through skinning, deseeding and slicing tomatoe

Learn to cook

Loads of advice and How to... guides to help you master those kitchen bascis ..