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Top chefs from around the world have been sharing useful kitchen tips to help even the most amateur of cooks during this time of isolation.
With the majority of restaurants now shut, people will be spending more time dining at home instead of eating out, and that inevitably means spending more time in the kitchen.
From reusing pasta water to bake bread to clever store cupboard ingredients you probably hadn’t thought of using, some of nation’s most famous foodies have been dishing out tips to help home cooks nail quarantine cuisine.
Take a look below and happy cooking…
Reuse pasta water to bake bread
Nigella Lawson took to Twitter to share this incredibly useful tip, in which she recommends people keep the water that they’ve cooked potatoes or pasta in to bake bread.
She says the water will help the bread’s texture and its rise. But be wary of the salt content, because too much will stop it from rising. If the water is too salty, remember to dilute with fresh water.
Use chocolate sauce to create ‘poke cake’
A typically resourceful tip from Jack Monroe, who recommends baking a ‘poke cake’ as a way to use up leftover chocolate sauce from Pancake Day – although we have a feeling that any leftover sauce will do.
First, Jack says make your cake before poking holes all over it so the sauce can soak all the way through.
Embrace chickpea flour
Award-winning Romy Gill MBE recommends using chickpea flour – otherwise known as gram flour or besan – to create hundreds of different dishes.
Naturally gluten free, chickpea flour can be used in countless comforting recipes to get you through this period of isolation during which regular flour has become increasingly hard to get hold of.
Use roasting joints to feed a family for days
Ready, Steady, Cook chef Ellis Barrie recommends families use a “big slow roasting joint” that can stretch over a few days.
He says lamb shoulder is the perfect piece of meat for this at this time of year as it is cheap, flavoursome and can take flavour, as well as being able to last for a few different recipes.
Head to the cupboard
Sabrina Ghayour asked her Instagram followers to head to her blog where there are a number of tips about using store-cupboard ingredients to make “fresh produce go further” to get “the best of whatever ingredients you’ve got at home”.
Our favourite hacks include freezing chopped onion and minced garlic, as well as using ketchup as a key marinade ingredient.
For more lockdown cooking inspiration, head to our new WFH Healthy Eats section.
