Nadiya's 6 hacks to speed up your cooking
Nadiya Hussain is on a mission to make sure we can all find 'time to eat' well, so she's sharing her hacks to speed up cooking in her new series on 大象传媒 Two. 鈥淪top feeling guilty about taking short cuts,鈥 she says. 鈥淟ife鈥檚 too short; enjoy your family and your time". Here's a sneak preview鈥
1. Tins for the wins
Tinned fruit and veg are staples in Nadiya's cupboards, and perfect for an almost instant meal. No need to peel, chop or boil, just pop in the oven and ta-dah. You might even find tinned potatoes in her salads (but don't tell anyone!).
Watch Nadiya make her sweet and sticky pineapple upside-down pancakes using tinned pineapple rings. Perfect for cooking with the family on Sunday mornings!
Make morning pancakes extra special by adding any tinned fruit you have in your cupboard.
2. 'Cook' with your kettle
For super-quick dinners, use ingredients that just need boiling water!
鈥淛ust because we鈥檙e cooking fast doesn鈥檛 mean we鈥檙e compromising on flavour,鈥 says Nadiya.
Vermicelli rice noodles and frozen chopped veg will cook in minutes in a heatproof pot if you pour over freshly boiled water from the kettle. You can pop in cooked meat or if you don't have a fridge to store it in until you're ready to eat it, you can use chopped up jerky, a dried meat, instead.
3. Slay with a tray
One-tray meals are quick to prep and save on washing up. Nadiya's Chicken and rice traybake is a winner with the kids.
4. Flatpack your freezer
鈥淭he freezer is your friend, it鈥檚 certainly mine!鈥
Take a look in Nadiya鈥檚 freezer and you鈥檒l find a library of 'flat-packed' meals ready to reheat when time is tight. From sauces to her peanut butter and jelly 'traycake' breakfast batter, Nadiya always has a last-minute meal to hand.
鈥淚f someone tells you 'you can鈥檛 have pancakes mid-week,' tell them 'yeah you can, just make them in a tray'鈥, says Nadiya. They're even easier if you already have the batter in the freezer ready to defrost in the fridge overnight!
5. Onions and garlic made easy
"Rather than spending loads of time peeling [garlic cloves] individually, stick [them in a bowl with] some boiling water for 1 minute and they should come off really easily", says Nadiya. And don't bother chopping the garlic and onions, "whack everything in a food processor, easy peasy", she says.
6. Prep pastes like a pro
鈥淏uy back loads of time when it comes to dinner鈥
If there's a meal that you cook often, or want to cook often, such as curry, stir-fry or instant noodle pot, making a big batch of the paste or sauce will save loads of time in the long run. Just put it in a sterilised jar and store it in the fridge.
