Mushroom & Lentil Ragu

The trick is to leave the root end on while you cut — it holds the layers together so the onion does not fall apart.

1. Cut off the pointed top (not the hairy root end). Halve the onion from top to root.
2. Peel off the papery skin and the first tough layer.
3. Lay one half flat side down. Make a few cuts from top towards the root, stopping about 1 cm before it.
4. Turn the knife flat and make one or two cuts parallel to the board, again stopping short of the root.
5. Now slice across the first cuts with the claw grip. Small squares fall off. Bin the root end.

Ready when: Pieces about the size of a pea (finely chopped) or a fingernail (chopped).

Garlic is added in small pieces so it spreads through the dish. It burns in seconds, which turns it bitter, so it usually goes in after the onion, not before.

1. Pull one clove off the bulb. Trim off the hard little root end.
2. Lay the flat of your knife on the clove and press down firmly with the heel of your hand. The skin splits and slips off.
3. Slice it thinly, then rock the knife back and forth over the slices until the pieces are tiny. Or push the peeled clove through a garlic crusher.
4. In the pan it needs about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring, until it smells strong — then add the next ingredient.

Ready when: In the pan: fragrant and pale gold. Brown means it has gone too far.

Ring-pull lids have razor-sharp edges once open.

1. Pull the ring slowly and steadily towards you, keeping fingers away from the lid's edge.
2. Don't press food down with your fingers inside an open tin — use a spoon.

Plenty of salty, fast-boiling water and a taste near the end are the whole secret.

1. Use about 1 litre of water per 100 g of pasta. Bring it to a rolling boil, THEN add salt — about a level teaspoon per litre.
2. Add the pasta and stir for the first minute so it doesn't stick together. No oil needed.
3. Start tasting a piece 1–2 minutes before the time on the packet. 'Al dente' means soft but with a slight firm bite in the very middle.
4. Before draining, scoop out a mug of the cooking water. A splash of it makes sauces glossy and helps them cling.
5. Drain, don't rinse, and mix with the sauce straight away.

A boil is big bubbles rolling hard across the whole surface. A simmer is much gentler: small bubbles rising lazily, a few breaking the surface. Stews, sauces and soups simmer; boiling makes meat tough and sauces catch on the bottom.

1. Bring it up to the boil on a higher heat, then turn the heat down until the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer.
2. Check every few minutes and adjust — a lid on makes it hotter, a lid off lets it thicken.
3. Stir now and then, scraping the bottom, so nothing sticks and burns.

Ready when: Small, steady bubbles — not a still surface, not a rolling boil.