104 GOURMET TRAVELLER
C
losingtheovendoorandswinging
a teatowelovermyshoulderis one
ofthemostsatisfyingmovements
I makeinthekitchen.I lovethe
alchemythattakesplacebehindthatdoor.It’s
astonishinghowheat,onitsown– without
youdirectingit orsupervisingit verymuch
- canturnsimpleingredientsintoa meal.
Thealchemyofheatis a gift.Withonly
a littleknowledge– andgradualpractise - youcanlearnhowtousethewarmth
withinthatclosedbox.
BecauseI lovecooking,I’mhappyto
makecomplicatedfood;I knowthatsome
dishescanonlybeachievedbybrowning
theconstituentelementsandslowlybuilding
layersofflavour.Therewillnevercomea
timewhenI don’twanttocookandeat
boeufbourguignon,a dishthatneedsthis
kindofattention.ButI can’tcookfoodlike
thisfromMondaytoThursday– I justdon’t
havethetime.Instead,I roastfoodsthat
aremoreusuallydoneina panonthestove - sausages,broccoliandsalmonfillets– just
becauseI thinkit’seasier.It is literally“hands
off”cookingandI’vebuiltupa repertoire
ofdishesonthistheme.Inmymind,and
inmycooking,theovenis central.
Tocookthisway– usingverysimple
methods– youdoneeda well-stocked
cupboard.You’renotdoingmuchtothe
foodyou’recooking,soyouneedbigflavours.
Thereareingredients– pomegranate
molasses,miso,preservedlemons– that
youneedtoget.
Doyouneedanyfancybitsofequipment?
Nope.Buta fewroastingtraysare,obviously,
a must-have(thatwayyoucanroastmorethan
onedishintheovenat thesametime).Some
ofminehavebeenonthegofor 30 years,
andthemorebashedandworntheybecome,
themoreI lovethem.
Whyis it important,whenI knowthat
cookingdoestakeeffort,toofferyoudishes
that,whilerequiringattention,arerelatively
easytoachieve?BecauseI believethatthe
tableis important.I wouldn’thavemanaged
tofeedmychildrenwellandsharefood
withfriendsona Wednesdayaswellason
a Saturdaynightwithout finding simple
ways to do things.