Lockdown cooking skills to master
Looking for some fun foodie projects to get you through lockdown? Last year’s lockdowns unearthed many home cooks and cooking trends. So why not try one of the following lockdown cooking trends with your spare time.
Homemade butter
A ‘compound’ butter is nothing more than butter flavoured with supplementary ingredients. They are mainly used to enhance flavour in food dishes, similar to a sauce. Simply allow butter to soften, beat in your chosen flavourings, then wrap it in plastic wrap in a log shape and put it in the freezer ready for use. When you want to use it, slice off a thick slice to cook with – such as with steak, fish or pasta.
Here are some compound butter recipes for inspiration. If you are really keen and want to make your own butter, follow these simple instructions.
Sourdough bread
Making your own bread is very satisfying and making sourdough is even more of an accomplishment. Sourdough is a naturally leavened bread, meaning that it doesn’t use commercial yeast to rise. Instead, a ‘starter’ is used (a fermented flour and water mixture that contains wild yeast and good bacteria) to rise. This is what produces the slightly chewy texture and tangy flavour of sourdough. Wild yeast has more flavour than commercial yeast, and is natural in that it doesn’t contain any additives.
Here is a sourdough starter recipe sourdough starter followed by a recipe on how to make sourdough bread.
Making your own pasta
Making pasta is a great skill to learn, and one of those cooking skills that is worth going the extra mile to do. Whether you have a pasta-making machine or you simply do it by hand, it is easy and can be fun for all of the family, and there are so many different varieties to try.
Here is an easy fresh pasta recipe. Alternatively, you can follow this easy tutorial.
Pickling vegetables
Most fresh vegetables can be pickled and the process is basically fermenting the ingredients in jars filled with vinegar or lemon juice with salt or sugar also added. You can also add in some spices to the jar to give it a bit of a flavour or punch. Then leave for a few days for a quick pickle or longer as required.
Follow the video by The Crafty Pickle Co. to make your own sauerkraut.
Homemade pizza
Yes, it’s easier to pop a pizza in the oven or call your local pizza shop, but homemade pizza is not only satisfying, it is also very tasty. You can choose to make your own pizza dough from scratch or buy readymade pizza dough. Either way you can make a pizza from scratch pretty quickly, by simply rolling out the dough, adding some tomato puree/sauce, and adding your favourite toppings, followed by 10-15 minutes in the oven. Here is a recipe for how to make pizza or pizza dough recipe.
Make sure to check out this ultimate pizza recipe collection for the homemade versions of your favourite pizzas.
Homemade stock
The secret to amazing sauces, stews and soups often comes down to the stock used. We often use store bought powder or liquid stock, as they are great for convenience and speed. However, they can never compare to the homemade version.
Making stock while in lockdown can be as simple as throwing the ingredients into a large pot early in the day and later in the day, straining and enjoying it as part of your evening meal.
Here are two basic stock recipes, chicken stock and vegetable stock to try.
Stock also works really well for batch cooking, as leftovers freeze really well, either freeze in glass jars, or ice cube trays to defrost for later use.
Want more of our recipes? Check out our recipe hub. Click here for the recipe hub.
Sources:
www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/food-drink/1318977/cooking-techniques-to-master/
www.greatbritishchefs.com/features/new-cooking-skills-lockdown
www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-foodie-projects-try-lockdown
www.lovefood.com/galleries/95286/the-worlds-most-popular-lockdown-recipes?page=1
