Cook Freestyle

Manifesto

The 4 Steps

The key to Freestyle Cooking is trusting your taste buds. They know what you love.

1. Start with flavour. Think about what herbs, spices and seasonings you have in the pantry. Stick your nose in and take a good sniff to get inspired.

2. What's my base? Meat, fish, vegetables, pulses? Grab whatever is defrosted.

3. What's my carb? Rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry. Hunt through the cupboard.

4. Start cooking and be daring. Trust your taste buds. Taste it, taste it, and taste it again until your buds scream YES!

Alison's Tips

• Look

  Watch as the texture of chopped onions and garlic changes as they cook – from white and stiff to soft and opaque.

• Feel

  Handle your food! You’ll be able to feel through your whisk the weight of the egg whites you are beating – are they light and fluffy, or heavy and liquid? How does the sauce feel on your spoon? Is it thick and hard to stir, or does it feel smooth and silky?

• Touch

  Measure with your hands – use your fingers to pinch, and hands to grab, quantities of herbs and spices for your dish.

• Smell

  Inhale all those vapours as you cook – the smell of wine cooking in a dish will change as the alcohol content burns off. It’ll go from smelling acidic to sweet.

• Taste

  Tasting your creations at every stage is the most important aspect of Freestyle Cooking. Taste for both flavour and texture. Do I like these flavours? Is my sauce creamy enough? Are those potatoes cooked through?

• Bite

  Play with different textures - like a creamy pie filling with crispy, flaky pastry, or a chunky vegetable mash with a tender piece of meat. We all love the feeling of cracking through the crunchy sugar layer of a créme brulee into that silky, soft custard lying underneath!