Ever wondered why restaurant food is often so much better than what we produce at home? Here are 5 cooking tips that will instantly lift your meals. We’d love to hear yours too, so comment below!
1. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
It’s so simple. Try drizzling some beautiful extra virgin olive oil over your finished dish. Not only does it add a beautiful flavour, but it also gives your dish the gloss and glisten, you’ll see when you’re eating out. Now, we’re not saying drown it in oil, but a slight drizzle is perfect!
2. Use different textures.
The presence of different textures in your dishes can often create ‘surprise and delight’ moments when you are enjoying food. So, throw some crispy pancetta on top of your creamy carbonara, or some crushed peanuts to your next curry. Croutons on soup. Need we say more? Just make sure it compliments…. see point three.
3. Only put something on the dish if it belongs.
This is especially true when it comes to garnishing. Don’t put something on a dish to make it pretty. Put it on if it accentuates the flavour. Think basil leaves on a tomato sauce or crispy fried shallots on a stir-fry. The list goes on. Curly leaf or continental parsley on everything is a thing of the past.
4. Use butter.
You’ve heard it before; butter makes everything better. And it does. Good quality butter can elevate a dish, and you don’t need much to make an impact. Making herb butter is simple too; mix chopped selected herbs with butter, roll into a log and freeze. Cut off disks whenever you need to add flavour and richness to your steaks, seafood and more.
5. Make and use homemade stock.
This sounds a lot more labour-intensive than it needs to be but will elevate your dishes dramatically. Bring out the hot pot, the slow cooker, or even the pressure cooker and leave simmering until it’s done. Freeze what you don’t use in cup-size portions and you’ll never be caught short.
Now, we’ve stopped at five, but the list goes on and on. Feel free to add yours below!
