How to use this book

Every recipe in this book is written the same way, so once you know how to read one you can read them all.

Read it through before you start. Twice, if it is new to you. Most kitchen disasters happen at step six because nobody noticed step six needed something that had to be chopped in step one.

Weights come first. Solids are given in grams, liquids in milliliters, with US cups and ounces in parentheses. A digital scale costs less than a good chicken and is the single biggest improvement you can make to your cooking, especially for baking. A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 120 to 160 g depending on how you fill it; 130 g of flour is always 130 g.

Salt means fine sea salt. Unless a recipe says otherwise, salt is fine sea salt, where 1 teaspoon weighs about 6 g. We give both grams and spoons. If you use coarse kosher salt, which is lighter by volume, you will need roughly 1¼ (Morton) to 2 (Diamond Crystal) times the spoon measure for the same saltiness; the gram figure stays the same. Flaky salt is only for finishing.

Ovens are conventional. Temperatures assume a conventional (top and bottom heat) oven. If you have a fan (convection) oven, reduce the temperature by about 20°C (about 35°F). We remind you where it really matters, mostly in baking. Ovens lie; an oven thermometer costing a few euros tells you the truth.

Spoons are level. 1 tsp = 5 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml. Eggs are large, about 60 g in the shell. Butter is unsalted. Milk is whole. Herbs are fresh unless we say dried. Pepper is freshly ground black pepper.

Times come with cues. We give a time range and something to look for: "until deep gold and jammy, 25–30 min". Your stove, pan and ingredients differ from anyone else's. When the clock and the cue disagree, trust the cue.

Difficulty

What's on each page

• Serves / yield: most recipes serve 4. Baking gives a yield instead.
• Active and total time: active is your hands-on time; total includes resting, marinating and oven time.
• Why it works: the science or technique behind the recipe, in a few sentences. Read these. They are what makes you a better cook.
• Mistakes: the most common ways the dish goes wrong and how to avoid them.
• Variations: short, tested-in-principle changes. They are not separate recipes.
• Make ahead: what can be prepared in advance and how long it keeps.
• Allergens: we flag the EU's 14 major allergens (see the Appendices), based on the recipe as written. Always check the labels of packaged ingredients like stock, sausages and sauces, which vary by brand.
• Cross-references: a linked recipe name points to another recipe in the book, such as a stock or a sauce. Store-bought is always fine for stocks and pastry.
• Cooking terms: words such as fold, dredge, sear or al dente are explained in the Glossary in the Appendices.

Thermometer temperatures are given in °C with °F. They are the single most reliable way to know when meat and fish are done; see the temperature chart in this chapter.