If you’re living on your own for the first time, or perhaps trying to improve your health and watch your budget by eating at home more, you might feel pretty intimidated by the kitchen.
However, there’s no need to feel this way. Learning to cook is a fun and rewarding process, and you don’t have to become a master chef overnight.
Master these basic cooking skills and you’ll be able to whip up some incredible dishes soon enough! Keep practising and your repertoire will only grow over time.
Eggs
One of the simplest ingredients of all is the humble egg. As unassuming as they may look, eggs are packed with protein and other important vitamins and nutrients which we all know make the perfect breakfast. Eggs are good for all sorts of meals though – lunch, dinner and even a hard-boiled egg as a healthy afternoon snack.
Learn the basics of how to fry the perfect egg, boil and poach, and even prepare a delicious omelette, and you’re already skilled in a few meals.
Steak
Another great protein source is a good cut of steak from a quality meat supplier like Crowd Cow. Steak with some vegetables and potatoes is a healthy and hearty meal for any day of the week, but it can also be a good crowd-pleaser if you have people over for dinner. Learning how to cook a steak well is a home-cook essential.
Once you’ve mastered the basics of steaks, you can learn how to cook A5 wagyu and impress your friends at your first dinner party.
A Pasta Dish
First of all, simply learning how to cook pasta according to the packet instructions will open up a bunch of easy meals to cook for yourself. Add a jar of pasta sauce and some protein and you’ve got an easy, healthy meal ready in under 30 minutes.
However, it’s a good idea to learn how to make some sauces and other recipes too. Once you’ve mastered pasta and figured out two or three easy pasta dishes, you’ll be set for life.
Roast Chicken
Roasting a whole chicken is intimidating for even experienced home cooks, but this simple skill is worth being brave for that first try. Find and follow a simple and basic recipe and learn from any mistakes you make during the process. After that, you can experiment with marinades, seasonings, spices, butter, herbs and other ways to flavour and cook your chicken.
Once you know how to make a good roast chicken, there are about half a million chicken dishes you could create with it.
Bread
There are plenty of reasons to learn to make bread at home. While this is something that many people never bother to dabble in, it’s a great way to practice your cooking skills. Baking your own bread is healthier and cheaper and it can be a therapeutic practice too.
Plus, serving your friends warm, homemade bread as a side with their soup when they come over for dinner will not only elevate the meal but impress them beyond words.