Q&A

May 18 2008 Michael Kilkie Of The Jefferson Restaurant

Q I tried cous cous at a friend's house and it was delicious. But when I cooked it at home, it was really bland. What went wrong?

A Cous cous is a fairly bland grain but a good carrier of flavours. Make sure you soak it in well-flavoured stock - not water - and add plenty of herbs and seasoning with oil or melted butter before fluffing up.

Q I'm getting ready to get the barbie out as the weather's getting nicer. What's the difference between a marinade and a rub?

A A marinade will generally include wet ingredients, oil, vinegar, mustard etc while a rub is a mix of dried herbs and spices.

Q Can I use anything other than plain old breadcrumbs for coating fishcakes?

A You could use different types of bread for your crumbs. Or why not try whizzing up cream crackers or cornflakes or coating them in polenta or cous cous?

Q What is the best way to caramelise onions? I can never seem to prepare them that lovely sweet way.

A Cook the thinly-sliced onions in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over a very gentle heat for up to 30 min so as not to burn them. Then stir in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar at the end.

Q I can never get my roasts cooked the way l like. They are almost always over or undercooked?

A Get yourself a meat thermometer for probing the meat. You can tell how well the meats is cooked by the temperature. For example, aim for 170C for chicken for it to be nicely cooked.