How to Cook Fast: Jamie Oliver's Secrets

Calculate your actions in advance

To get started, prepare everything you need: get the pots, cutting boards and knives you need, turn on the oven in advance, lay out the ingredients for your dish.

Take a minute to plan your movements around the kitchen, for example: “First I chop and put the meat on the stove. While it's cooking, I stew the vegetables. Then, remembering to stir and turn everything, I make the sauce. And turn off your phones and TV, let nothing distract you.

Make the most of your kitchen

Why wait until the pan is empty to start a new dish? Cook several meals at the same time. Let the potatoes brown in the oven, grill the meat on the stove, and cook the vegetable stew in the microwave. Or choose recipes for a quick lunch where everything can be cooked in one pan.

Buy ready-made ingredients

Of course, the most delicious mayonnaise is homemade, hand-whipped with yolks, butter and mustard. But do you have time to bother with a bunch of bowls when every second counts? Save culinary delights for the weekend when you have a lot of time, and for a quick lunch, have on hand:

ready-made sauces;
frozen dough;
bouillon cubes or concentrates;
washed and peeled vegetables and herbs in bags (you can process and pack it yourself);
chopped meat;
spice mixtures of your choice.

Learn materiel

Water heats up faster not in an open wide saucepan, but in a kettle. Do not intensely hypnotize the stove by holding your hand on a pack of pasta. Turn on the kettle in advance, and put a saucepan with hot water on the fire.

Finely chopped food cooks faster. It would seem that this is obvious, but how much does the cooking process speed up? Are you making mashed potatoes? Do not boil the potatoes whole, but divide them into quarters. Fry fillets? Chop it into cubes.

Ask about the specifics of using your favorite foods. There may be simpler cooking methods than the ones you are used to. The more perfect and thoughtful your recipes are, the less time you will have to spend in the kitchen.

Don't chase perfection

If you are preparing dinner for yourself and your family, do not try to meet restaurant standards. The vegetables in the salad can be cut into cubes of different sizes, and the fillet slices on the plate are not perfectly aligned. The dough or salad can be mixed with your hands (clean, of course), the greens can be cut coarsely enough with scissors, and the baked meat can be served directly on the baking sheet. This simple home cooking style is full of charm.

By the way, it is not necessary to serve each portion separately. Place a large platter in the middle of the table, and have each one put as much as he wants.

Cook with pleasure and do not forget that the most important ingredient in every dish is your good mood.