June 17, 2011 by Tristan

Making the most of winter

At The Essential Ingredient, we believe winter is the target of far too much negativity. Sure, it’s colder, darker and often much harder to get out of bed, but winter is also a wonderful opportunity to embrace some warming, comforting seasonal cooking.

Winter is the perfect time for hearty soups, steaming bowls of risotto, rich pasta sauces and all manner of slow-cooked masterpieces, and with the high-quality seasonal ingredients available in …

May 13, 2011 by Tristan

How to create perfect pork crackling (video)

Roast pork is an Australian favourite, particularly when served with all the customary trimmings; roast vegetables, apple sauce, gravy and, of course, crackling. To most of us, a traditional Australian pork roast isn’t complete without perfectly formed, golden crackling, but getting a consistent result can often be a challenge.

Adrian Richardson, chef at La Luna and author of the book ‘Meat’, shows how to get perfect crackling results every time. This …

May 11, 2011 by Tristan

Making pasta at home

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”
-Federico Fellini

Pasta is the ultimate symbol of versatility. It makes a quick, affordable, simple and thoroughly satisfying meal for one, for two or for the whole family, but it can just as easily be elevated to the finest levels of dining.

Whether you’re serving a giant pot of bolognaise or a single, intricately crafted …

April 11, 2011 by Tristan

Classes for Kids at The Essential Ingredient Rozelle

Finding ways to keep the kids entertained over the holidays can be a challenge.

Fortunately, these school holidays, The Essential Ingredient Rozelle is presenting a series of cooking classes specially designed for kids aged 7 to 14.

Fully supervised, safe and covering a variety of topics, these classes will not only get them out of the house, but will have them eager …

March 11, 2011 by Tristan

Cooking with Copper

What are the advantages of copper cookware and why do many chefs prefer it?

Primarily, copper is an excellent conductor of heat. It responds very quickly to changes in temperature, giving cooks and chefs far greater control over the contents of the pan or pot. Unlike stainless steel, heat is very quickly transferred around copper.

February 17, 2011 by Tristan

How to make Vietnamese Master Stock (video)

Australians love Vietnamese food, and few ingredients are as essential to Vietnamese cooking than the spiced, fragrant master stock.

In this exclusive web video, chef Mark Jensen of Red Lantern Restaurant demystifies the preparation of this stock, and explains how you can use it again and again to add a unique flavour burst to a wide variety of dishes.

Learn the secrets of this centuries-old recipes, and it might become on of …

February 2, 2011 by Tristan

The Cuisine of Syria

Australia’s understanding of Middle Eastern food has been growing over the last few decades as local populations of Iranian, Afghani, Turkish, Sudanese and Egyptian expats, among all the other countries of the region, have grown.

So too has our desire for new tastes and techniques, particularly those involving as much rich history, and as many rich flavours, as those of the …

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