One man's trash is another man's treasure, and the by-product from one food can be perfect for making another.
Yotam Ottolenghi
A food processor, or even one of those small bowls that fit on a stick blender, is a real treasure. No, that's not an overstatement.
Food can bring people together in a way nothing else could.
The combination of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice lifts the spirits in winter.
A well-made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl.
If the first bite is with the eye and the second with the nose, some people will never take that third, actual bite if the food in question smells too fishy, fermented or cheesy.
Breakfast is always the best time for something juicy, sweet and fresh - it just feels like the right way to open the day. There's no right way, though, when it comes to choosing the fruit.
Pasta with melted cheese is the one thing I could eat over and over again.
Turkish cuisine is, to my mind, one of the most exciting and accomplished in the world.
I love my garlic press; in fact, it is probably my one true desert island gadget. But I'm happy to put it aside whenever the smell and sweet taste of slow-cooked garlic is called for.
Jerusalem artichokes have a great affinity with nuts. I love them with chopped walnuts or almonds, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and plenty of olive oil.
The smells of slow cooking spread around the house and impart a unique warmth matched only by the flavour of the food.
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.
The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.
On many occasions, an informal buffet and casual seating offer a little more intimacy than a loud gathering around a big table.
Some heat, some spice and plenty of citrus are the building blocks of many North African fish dishes.
Fusion food as a concept is kind of trying to quite consciously fuse things that are sometimes quite contradictory, sometimes quite far apart, to see if they'd work.
Most British cheeses are now vegetarian and are labelled accordingly. However, French and Italian manufacturers still tend to use rennet.
Like brown rice, black rice is unmilled, and it is the dark outer husk that makes it so nutty and chewy. It's also why it takes longer to cook than many other rices.
Herbs deserve to be used much more liberally.
I just don't tend to cook eggplant at home.
A great fig should look like it's just about to burst its skin. When squeezed lightly it should give a little and not spring back. It must be almost unctuously sweet, soft and wet.
Sweet potatoes are ideal for lazy days: just bake, then mash and mix with yogurt, butter or olive oil.
For me, the end of childhood came when the number of candles on my birthday cake no longer reflected my age, around 19 or 20. From then on, each candle came to represent an entire decade.
People don't know how good cauliflower is, because they always have this image of cauliflower cheese - awful, sticky, creamy and rich.
A quick shallow fry is a great way to transform leftovers, and no more so than in the case of risotto.
Orange blossom water would make a magical addition to your store cupboard.
Popping broad beans out of their skins can be therapeutic, but it isn't everybody's favourite waste of time.
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.
The way to entice people into cooking is to cook delicious things.
The taste of any simple tomato-based salad is dependent on the quality of the tomatoes.
Tahini is fantastically versatile, its deep, nutty flavour a harmonious match with roasted vegetables, grilled oily fish or barbecued meat.
Almost every culture has its own variation on chicken soup, and rightly so - it's one of the most gratifying dishes on the face of the Earth.
Beetroot is a great salad ingredient, especially when still warm; the colour ain't bad, either.
Plums are a good substitute for gooseberries.
I have been cooking with preserved lemon for years, using it left, right and centre, but I am still far from reaching my limit.
Panko are the elite of the breadcrumb world because they stay so crunchy and light.
Most pumpkin dishes involve scooping out the seeds, cutting off the skin, and chopping up the flesh before cooking.
Verjuice may not be the easiest thing in the world to find, but you should be able to track some down in good delis and online.
Too many books are full of recipes that aren't doable at home. They are purely aspirational. They are quite frightening, even for me.
Tiny quails may not seem as impressive as a mammoth turkey, but there is something refreshing about a spread of individual birds on the Christmas table.
How can something that's 95% water be so divisive? Alone among vegetables, the poor, innocent stick of celery elicits the most vicious attacks.
Brussels sprouts are really quite versatile.
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.
Urfa chillies are a Turkish variety that are mild on heat but big on aroma. They're sweet, smoky, a lovely dark red, and go with just about anything.
Polenta is one of those ingredients that in many homes spends its days at the back of the kitchen cupboard, on the 'no one knows quite what to do with it' shelf.
Barley and mushroom is a soothing combination. It's mainly a textural thing, with the barley both gently breaking and enhancing the mushroomy gloopiness.
Poaching white fish in moderately hot oil guarantees soft-textured flesh and allows you to prepare a sauce calmly, without the usual panic about overcooking the fish.
My maternal grandmother made fantastic ox tongue with velvety roasted potatoes. She cooked sweet red cabbage and lovely cauliflower with butter and bread crumbs.
Swiss chard is undervalued in Britain. It's a great substitute for spinach and keeps its shape well.
