Tomato and chickpea pasta: coat every piece
Make tomato and chickpea pasta for four, coordinate the cooking and loosen the sauce with a little pasta water just before bringing it to the table.
Understand before you start cooking
Curiosity whets the appetite.
Why do lentils thicken soup? What is a heavy-based saucepan for? Start with a recipe, then follow the ingredients and techniques. Good questions deserve a place at the table too.
A recipe, and the understanding behind it
All recipes →
Roast potatoes: even pieces and a golden finish
For oven-roasted potatoes, cut even-sized pieces, leave room on the tray and check the centre as well as the colour before serving this side dish.
Apple crumble: tender fruit and golden crumbs
Make apple crumble for four with small pieces of fruit, a topping kept in loose crumbs and a planned resting time before bringing dessert to the table.
Generated illustration.
The why behind the how
Every recipe has something to discover
Ingredients
From raw ingredients to useful questions
Carrots, red lentils, chickpeas, apples, onions and potatoes: discover how to choose these ingredients and use them in your everyday home cooking.
Explore →Utensils
Useful equipment, explained uses
Knives, saucepans and frying pans: understand their uses and limits, with practical pointers for choosing, using and caring for your kitchen utensils.
Explore →Materials
Get to know what is beneath the handle
Stainless steel, enamelled cast iron and PTFE: discover the uses and limits of cookware materials, how they respond to heat and the care they require.
Explore →Guides
Kitchen skills explained at your pace
Slice an onion, organise your preparation or measure flour: these guides explain kitchen skills, useful signs to watch and mistakes to avoid.
Explore →
Carrot: match the cut to the dish
Prepare carrots to suit the dish: rounds for soup, dice for sauce or sticks as a side, with practical pointers for checking their texture during cooking.
Red lentils: cook for a soft, thick soup
Learn to cook red lentils in soup: rinse them, keep an eye on the liquid, adjust the final texture and understand why other pulses are not a direct swap.
Chickpeas: dried weight and drained weight differ
When cooking chickpeas, distinguish dried, net and drained weights, then prepare the right product for your sauce and the amount the recipe calls for.
Apple: choose the cut and texture for dessert
Prepare apples for dessert by weighing at the right stage, choosing the size of the pieces and watching how the variety and baking dish affect texture.
Chef’s knife: set up a steady board and controlled cut
Use a chef’s knife with a steady board and a controlled grip, then learn about careful cleaning and storage, without a commercial product comparison.
Saucepan: leave room to cook and stir
Choose a saucepan with room to stir, a base suited to the hob and heating and cleaning instructions specific to your model before starting the recipe.
Soften an onion: cook gently without burning
To soften an onion, prepare what comes next before heating, watch the colour and adjust the heat before adding garlic, tomatoes or the recipe’s liquid.
Plan your preparation: cook in a useful order
Plan your cooking by reading the recipe, weighing and cutting before heating, then preparing a clean workspace and containers for managing leftovers.
Onion: choose, slice and prepare for the hob
Choose a storage onion, distinguish slices from small dice and prepare the required amount and the next ingredients before heating your saucepan.
Potato: sort and cut before roasting
Before roasting potatoes, sort the tubers, check the weight before peeling and cut similar-sized pieces on a steady board, ready for the oven tray.
Frying pan: choose the useful base and cooking surface
When choosing a frying pan, check the usable base, side height and food-contact surface, then follow the model’s instructions for cooking and care.
Stainless steel: understand the pan before use
Understand stainless steel cookware: the food-contact surface, base construction, hob compatibility and maintenance need checking for each utensil.
Enamelled cast iron: identify and protect the surface
With enamelled cast iron, distinguish enamel from seasoning, heat according to the instructions and protect the inner surface during cooking and cleaning.
PTFE non-stick: prevent overheating and surface wear
Identify a PTFE non-stick coating, avoid heating an empty pan and use suitable cooking and cleaning methods while keeping the different risks in perspective.
Slice an onion: make even half-moon slices
To slice an onion, rest each half flat, work at your own pace and prepare the next ingredients before heating, without trying to match a demonstration’s speed.
Tools
Kitchen tools
Convert weights and volumes, adjust your recipe’s proportions or switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit with three kitchen tools and clearly explained limits.
Kitchen converter: grams, ml and US cups
Convert grams, ml and US cups for six ingredients. Check the quarter-cup reference values and choose the right units before measuring your ingredients.
Use the tool →Adjust the proportions of your own recipe
Adjust your recipe for the servings you want or an ingredient you have: enter a base, then calculate the quantities while keeping their original units.
Use the tool →Switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit for the oven
Convert an oven temperature between Celsius and Fahrenheit, from 0 to 350 °C, using the exact formula and without automatic adjustments for fan cooking.
Use the tool →Scale a recipe for a round or square baking pan
Compare the base areas of two pans and adjust the ingredient amounts to keep the batter about the same depth.
Use the tool →Sources on the table, limitations in plain sight
Each page connects a recipe, ingredient or technique with sources that help explain it. Use these pointers to prepare, observe and adapt your cooking.
How this cooking notebook is put together →