Monica Galetti - The Skills How to become an expert chef in your own kitchen 120 recipes, tips and techniques

Contents

I have known Monica for a number of years now and Im honoured to call her a friend. She wears her heart on her sleeve and cooks with desire and soul. Every time Monica puts something in a pan or in the oven, you can feel that it is done with love. Many chefs have this ability to cook the food that they want to eat, but not many are able to do it with such consistency, warmth and passion. She creates food with flavour that we all want to eat. This is a skill that you cannot teach; it is one that is inbuilt, but when you mix that with her rock-solid classic foundation and training from the great Michel Roux Junior, this makes for an incredible force of flavour. If you have been lucky enough to eat Monicas cooking, you will know exactly what I mean.

Monica Galetti is arguably one of the greatest chefs cooking in the UK today and in this book she shares with you an insight into her skillset, technique and understanding. The book will lift the basic cook to a great one, help teach young chefs in training, or remind old dogs like me of techniques that we quite often take for granted from prepping artichokes to filleting fish or honing your butchery craftsmanship. After reading this book, you can only come away inspired, enthused and with a commitment to improve the food in your life. We can all learn a thing or two from Monica whether it be juggling family life, being able to cook at the highest level or just a desire to succeed.

Monicas book, and she as a person, are an inspiration to all of us.

Tom Kerridge

I often find that home cooks are so daunted by certain kitchen skills that they imagine theyll never be able to master them. They will avoid buying fresh squid, for example, because the thought of preparing it and knowing how to handle it is just too frightening. Only a chef can have this sort of technical skill, right? Making puff pastry yourself must surely be impossible if youre not a pastry chef But the truth is that anyone can do these things with the right instructions and support. Its usually much easier than people think, and of course the more you practise, the easier and quicker it gets.

In this book, Ive chosen the 20 key skills that I think are the most useful to master and the most versatile in terms of the recipes that you can make from them. None of them are difficult I promise! There are so many benefits to learning these techniques: as well as turning out endless amazing recipes based around them, you can potentially start on all sorts of other culinary adventures. We all know that if we buy a whole chicken and joint it ourselves, we save money (its much more economical to buy the whole bird than pre-prepared parts of it). Additionally, though, we have the carcass and bones with which to make brilliant stock. Even the skin from a pork belly that youve butchered at home can be made use of in the most delicious little puffed , you can experiment with other types of nut to make a whole host of desserts.

I would love to be able to show you in person how to carry out these skills, but the next best thing is to show you through step-by-step pictures of me in my own kitchen. Theres no better way to understand how to fillet a fish or judge the correct consistency of mayonnaise than by seeing it done in front of you. I hope the photographs will give you the guidance and reassurance you need, as you stand at your kitchen counter, to follow through and master each skill. Dont be disheartened if you make a few mistakes along the way, or if your lamb saddle looks a bit lopsided the first time you attempt to roll it up. You will improve every time.

When you try some of the recipes in the book, I hope youll realise how feasible it is to make restaurant-standard food at home if you just have the right building blocks. Theres nothing more rewarding than serving plates of mouth-watering food to your dinner guests and then hearing their appreciation when they tuck in. Youll gain confidence (and admirers!) so quickly and youll start to feel like you can put your own twists on the recipes, or try your very own creations. Theres no end to the dishes you can produce with these invaluable skills.

I hope youll feel inspired to get your apron on and your hands dirty, and to splatter the pages of this book over the years with your first hollandaise or that truly melt-in-the-mouth risotto youve always hoped to perfect. Good luck, and enjoy!

Monica

Use organic or free-range eggs.

1 large egg yolk weighs about 20g and 1 large egg white weighs about 40g. It is best to weigh egg yolks and whites as stated in the recipe; numbers of yolks and whites are given as guidelines only and will vary from egg to egg.

Buy unwaxed fruit if you are using the zest.

Use fresh herbs unless otherwise stated.

Prepare some acidulated water by filling a bowl with water and adding some vinegar or a couple of slices of lemon, and a pinch of coarse sea salt.

Peel off and discard the first 23 layers of outer leaves. Cut the end off the artichoke stalk with a small, sharp knife.

Cut off the top half or two-thirds of the artichoke.

Cut away the remaining, tough leaves at the base of the artichoke. Using a teaspoon or melon scoop, scrape out the hairy choke inside the heart of the artichoke.

Using the same knife or a vegetable peeler, peel the stalk to you reveal the lighter part.

Place the prepared artichoke in the bowl of acidulated water until ready to use.

8 globe artichokes

Vegetable oil, for cooking

2 banana shallots, thinly sliced

6 slices of Bayonne ham

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp honey

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

200g mature Cheddar, such as 3 year reserve Davidstow Cheddar

1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt

Prepare the artichokes (see opposite) and cut lengthways into slices the thickness of a pound coin. Heat a plancha or a griddle pan on high, add a small amount of vegetable oil, then add the artichokes and shallots to colour. Season with salt and cook for 2 minutes until just tender.