Stuffed Aubergine

The trick is to leave the root end on while you cut — it holds the layers together so the onion does not fall apart.

1. Cut off the pointed top (not the hairy root end). Halve the onion from top to root.
2. Peel off the papery skin and the first tough layer.
3. Lay one half flat side down. Make a few cuts from top towards the root, stopping about 1 cm before it.
4. Turn the knife flat and make one or two cuts parallel to the board, again stopping short of the root.
5. Now slice across the first cuts with the claw grip. Small squares fall off. Bin the root end.

Ready when: Pieces about the size of a pea (finely chopped) or a fingernail (chopped).

Ring-pull lids have razor-sharp edges once open.

1. Pull the ring slowly and steadily towards you, keeping fingers away from the lid's edge.
2. Don't press food down with your fingers inside an open tin — use a spoon.

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.