Tomato Soup

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.

Softening cooks the raw sharpness out of onions and turns them sweet. It is the start of most sauces, stews and curries.

1. Heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and a pinch of salt (it draws out water and speeds things up).
2. Stir every minute or so. You want a gentle sizzle, not a loud fry.
3. After about 5–8 minutes the pieces go glossy, floppy and see-through at the edges. That is 'softened'.
4. Keep going another few minutes and they start turning golden — sweeter still. Only do that if the recipe says 'golden'.

Ready when: Floppy, shiny and slightly see-through, with no raw crunch when you taste a piece.

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.

Blenders are simple, but hot liquid expands and can blow the lid off.

1. Never fill more than halfway, and never more than a third with anything hot.
2. Hold the lid down with a folded tea towel and start on the lowest speed, then turn it up.
3. Always switch off at the wall before putting a spoon or finger near the blades.