Rosie Reynolds - Shortcut Cook: More than 60 classic recipes and the ingenious hacks that make them faster, simpler and tastier

As a trained chef, food stylist and cookbook writer, who has worked on many books and written hundreds of recipes, my job often depends on getting great food ready as fast as possible. Over the years, Ive developed ways to cook meals without sacrificing taste, look and freshness. I am well placed to enlighten fellow meal-makers on the joys of taking shortcuts in order to get food on the table that not only tastes great, but looks great, too.

I was lucky enough to go to culinary school. It was an amazing but intense experience, and at times the way things were done blew my mind. For a start, we worked in a very confined space: two people shared just over 1 m (3 ft) of work surface, and we each had the use of two stove burners and half an oven. I couldnt believe Id paid all that money to be squashed in as though I was on a caravanning holiday. With hindsight, what I now know is that it equipped me to work in any given environment, not just a fancy, high-tech professional kitchen or location house.

Chefs and kitchen professionals have always used shortcuts to create great food. Home cooks have not always been allowed the same privilege and are often made to feel guilty about using certain tricks and ingredients. This book is about using shortcuts and creative solutions to get the best food whipped up quickly, in the best way possible for your family. Ive tried to put myself into the shoes of those who will pick this book up and ask: Would I like those? Would I cook from this? Would serving this give me delight and make me feel proud? Are the recipes and instructions clear?

This book is about food and its preparation. It is intended for home cooks who want a straightforward, practical approach to preparing delicious, beautiful food without pretence. Itll give you permission to use your microwave, to use store-bought bits n bobs and to use food from the freezer. It will also teach you some techniques, methods and a few unusual ingredient combos to help you achieve good-looking, great-tasting food.

There are some things that Ill always do when Im cooking, which make my life easier, make cooking more pleasurable and help food taste its best:

+ Gather everything before you start cooking: equipment, ingredients, a clean dish towel, etc.

+ Have a large bowl or a plastic bag nearby for food waste, to keep your work station clean and clutter-free.

+ Fill the sink with hot soapy water to keep your hands clean and to speedily wash up used or dirty bowls and equipment for quick re-use. Keep a clean cloth close by for wiping and some paper towels for patting, drying and draining foods.

+ Start your cooking sessions by putting on the kettle this will mean you can make up stock from cubes quickly, rinse out tins to add the liquid to sauces and stews, or get pasta on the boil much quicker.

+ Most pastas dont need to cook in a huge pot of boiling water, they will cook just as well in a smaller pan. Doing this will also give you an intensely starchy cooking water, which will thicken your sauces much more successfully. The same goes for boiling vegetables: you dont need huge vats of water to cook veg just a pan thats fit for purpose.

+ Make sure meat is not fridge-cold when you put it in the oven, as it will take a good 2030 minutes to warm through before it can start cooking.

+ Like meat, eggs need to come to room temperature before cooking. This will prevent them curdling cake mixes or being undercooked when boiled.

+ Sharp knives will speed things up in the kitchen; a speed peeler will thinly and evenly slice; and a good pair of kitchen scissors will snip precisely.

+ Start seasoning your food. Taste when youre cooking (as long as it is safe to do so), then use a fine sea salt to season before and during cooking. Only use a flaky sea salt once food is cooked. If you need to check seasoning, remove a small amount of food from the pan and taste it, then add a tiny sprinkle of salt and taste again. If it tastes better with the salt, then add seasoning to the whole dish.

+ Make dressing in the salad bowl youre serving it in, then you wont have an extra bowl to wash up.

+ Herbs: Store your herbs in a glass of cold water or wrap them in paper towels and cling film (plastic wrap) and store in the refrigerator (except basil, which will go black). They will last so much longer and stay perky.

+ Find your local bay tree or rosemary bush and ask the owner nicely if you can help yourself!

+ As good food is so much more than just something to fill your belly, look at it as a whole and ask yourself: does it tick all the boxes I want it to tick?

1. Taste: Is it sweet, sour, salty, umami, creamy, savoury?
2. Texture: Is it soft, silky, crisp, dry, moist?
3. Appearance: Does it look delicious and inviting?