I need to learn to cook !!!

Gigervamp

Yes, some tomato puree definitely does give it a little extra something. I always add a generous squirt or two (I use the puree in a tube).

Well done Want2b. Sounds like you're getting the hang of things! I've also heard of people going through a cook book like that, or just picking something at random by flicking the pages or letting the book fall open and cooking whatever's on the page that's open. It's not something that I've ever done though.

want2bmortgage3

agreed, tomato puree tastes nice. i've even tried just pasta cooked and puree added. tastes nice just like that.

stephen just looking to try your other sauce recipes and wondered what this ingredient is:
Protoveg Burgamix
i've never seen it or heard of it.. i think the recipe may be better with quorn mince as its so widely available.

Hatster

I find that people who are new to cooking often produce the best food, as they don't know what they can leave out of the recipes! Us cheapskates leave out everything we can.

One good way to learn to cook is to do the same dish repeatedly, once a week say, changing things each time and seeing what difference it makes. This is Nigella Lawson's pea risotto, from How to Eat. Very good. It's wort doing properly once, as the hassle with the blender is actually well worth it.

Pea Risotto

serves 2
60 g butter - or marge if you don't have butter
2 liters stock (chicken or vegetable) - use Marigold stock powder
150 g frozen peas
one small onion, chopped small
2 Tbs. olive oil - or veg oil if you don't have the olive oil
200 g Arborio rice - this is best for risotto, but you can use long grain if you need to
80 ml dry white wine - if you have it, not if you don't
2 Tbs. parmesan - if you have it, if not use some cheddar.
nutmeg- buy some whole nutmeg, not ready grated, as it tastes more intense

In a small saucepan melt 1/3 of the butter on low heat. To this add the peas and cook for 2 minutes. Meanwhile warm the stock on a neighboring burner and hold it there. Add 2 ladelfuls of stock to the peas, cover, and cook for five more minutes.

In a large pan, melt another 1/3 of the butter. To this add the onion. When the onion is translucent (about 5 - 10 mins), add the uncooked rice and stir to cover the grains in fat. They will glisten and become clear at their tips. Add the wine to the pan and allow it to bubble away. When the rice is almost dry (take care that it isn't sticking to the pan) begin adding the warmed stock a ladleful at a time allowing the rice to absorb the liquid between additions. You will continue in this way until all the stock has been added stirring the risotto from time to time to ensure it cooks evenly.

Now for the peas that have been patiently waiting. Ladle half of the mixture into a blender and pulse until it is pureed. This is worth doing! I skipped it the second time I made it beause I don't like washing the blender, but it really makes a difference to the taste.

When all the stock has been added taste the risotto for doneness. If it is still undercooked, make more stock and continue adding it. If it is finished, add the pea puree and the whole peas with their cooking liquid to the risotto, along with the cheese, the last 1/3 of the butter, and a quick grating of nutmeg.

Hatster

This is also very good. For veggies, just don't put the bacon in!

Courgettes are coming into season now, so look out for it being very very cheap.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/beautiful-courgette-carbonara#

Hatster

Another cheap Nigella recipe is called something like Golden Root Vegetable stew, and we lived off it as students. If anyone has the recipe for that, well worth sharing!

Here's an american adaptation of it:- 'zucchini' means courgettes, and rutabaga is some sort of root veg but I can't remember which. http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2008/01/golden-root-vegetable-couscous.html Basically, you buy a variety of cheap veg at the market, and then use those - don't worry about getting all the veg absolutely right. Make 2-4 times as much stew as you need, and freeze it in individual portions for home-made ready meals.

slig

Want2b, that's great that you're mastering the basic tomato sauce. Once you get to grips with it, you can use it as the basis of many recipes.

If you want to do a slight variation on what you're doing with the tomato sauce and pasta, mix the cooked sauce and cooked pasta together, put half in an oven proof dish, layer on some mozzarella, add the rest of the pasta and sauce, and put on some more mozzarella. Cook in the oven (about gas 6, not sure what that is electric, 220?) until the mozarella melts and bubbles - about 20 minutes.

mardatha

Quick question - What do you all add to make the mix more liquid ? I am cooking Costco mince, onion, tomatoes, 1 small grated carrot - just browning it all and its very thick & wants to stick. What will I add to it ?

Gigervamp

You could add some stock, or some tomato puree mixed with some water.

Stephen_Leak

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

agreed, tomato puree tastes nice. i've even tried just pasta cooked and puree added. tastes nice just like that.

stephen just looking to try your other sauce recipes and wondered what this ingredient is:
Protoveg Burgamix
i've never seen it or heard of it.. i think the recipe may be better with quorn mince as its so widely available.

I've seen boxes of the Protoveg Burgamix, but I take your point about Quorn mince.

Fire_Fox

You are doing far better than I did when I taught myself to cook. Started with jacket potatoes and grated cheese, moved onto pasta and 'cheese sauce' (grated cheese mixed with plain Greek yoghurt), then got a bit adventurous and started frying bacon and mushrooms to put in the potato OR the pasta, swapped ready-made pesto for the 'cheese sauce' .... IIRC by the end of the year I'd progressed to Bolognese sauce which I served with pasta or jacket potato.