Brandt EASY COOK Mode D'emploi page 6

99626453_ML_A.qxd 17/09/03
Handy Hints and Tips
P
izza
To ovoid having cheese and tomato sauce dripping in the oven, place the
pizza on a sheet of baking parchment directly on the shelf.
P
oultry
Make sure the dish in which the chicken cooks is big enough to prevent
fat burning.
F Q
lans uiches
/
Metal tins are better than glass or china, which are often too thick and
food takes longer to cook. Metal also gives a crisper finish to the pastry.
When cooking fruit tarts, to prevent the juice soaking into the pastry and
leaving it soggy, sprinkle the base with some semolina, crushed biscuits,
grounds almonds or tapioca to absorb the excess. When cooking savoury
flans with vegetables containing a high-water content (leaks, spinach brocco
li or tomatoes) or frozen, sprinkle with a tablespoon of cornflour.
F
ish
:
Check when buying that the fish has a pleasant smell and if it is a sea
fish, with a faint salty tang. The fish should be firm and solid and the
scales well attached to the skin. The eyes should be shiny and raised
and the gills bright and moist.
B
eef
(AND MEAT IN GENERAL)
Always remove meat from the fridge well in advance of cooking. The sudden
change in temperature from cold to hot can toughen meat. Ideally beef
should be well browned on the outside, and red/brown in the middle but hot
throughout. Do not sprinkle with salt before cooking as this draws out the
blood and dries out the meat. Try to turn meat using spoons rather than a
fork to keep the blood in the joint. Always leave the cooked joint for 5 to 15
minutes after cooking to recover. Wrap it in kitchen foil and leave in the
open warm oven. During this time the juices, which were drawn out, can
soak back into the meat. Use earthenware dishes or roasting tins to roast joints;
glass ones tend to make the meat spit. Do not use the enamel grill tray for
roasting meat only as it is too big and the meat juices will dry up.
6
10:38 Page 6
: