Baked Aubergine with Tomato & Mozzarella

Garlic is added in small pieces so it spreads through the dish. It burns in seconds, which turns it bitter, so it usually goes in after the onion, not before.

1. Pull one clove off the bulb. Trim off the hard little root end.
2. Lay the flat of your knife on the clove and press down firmly with the heel of your hand. The skin splits and slips off.
3. Slice it thinly, then rock the knife back and forth over the slices until the pieces are tiny. Or push the peeled clove through a garlic crusher.
4. In the pan it needs about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring, until it smells strong — then add the next ingredient.

Ready when: In the pan: fragrant and pale gold. Brown means it has gone too far.

Space is what makes roast vegetables crisp and brown instead of soggy.

1. Heat the oven to about 200 °C fan (220 °C conventional).
2. Cut the veg into even pieces and toss them in a bowl with oil and salt so every piece is coated.
3. Spread them out in one layer with gaps between them, cut sides down. Use two trays if you need to.
4. Turn them once, about halfway through.

Ready when: Browned at the edges and underneath, and a knife slides into the biggest piece easily.

A boil is big bubbles rolling hard across the whole surface. A simmer is much gentler: small bubbles rising lazily, a few breaking the surface. Stews, sauces and soups simmer; boiling makes meat tough and sauces catch on the bottom.

1. Bring it up to the boil on a higher heat, then turn the heat down until the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer.
2. Check every few minutes and adjust — a lid on makes it hotter, a lid off lets it thicken.
3. Stir now and then, scraping the bottom, so nothing sticks and burns.

Ready when: Small, steady bubbles — not a still surface, not a rolling boil.

Letting a sauce bubble with the lid off lets water escape as steam, so it gets thicker and tastier.

1. Take the lid off and keep it at a lively simmer.
2. Stir every minute or two, scraping the bottom — it catches more easily as it thickens.
3. Season at the END, because the salt concentrates as the liquid goes.

Ready when: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger stays clear.