Cooking Class: How to Freestyle in Your Kitchen

What would be your advice for women who are kitchen newbies and really don’t know much about cooking?
Don’t be afraid! Throw caution to the wind, find your inner chef and go for gold! Try the Gregg’s Freestyle Cooking approach - a good place to start is to open those yummy packets of Gregg’s Herbs & Spices you already have and inhale…. The aromas will inspire your taste buds! Grab what’s in the fridge and get started, tasting as you go. You’ll teach yourself a lot if you taste at every stage of your dish, adjust with seasoning until it’s delicious.

 

What items should everyone keep a supply of in their cupboard?
Pasta, tinned pulses such as chickpeas & beans, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes, onions, Gregg’s Crushed Garlic and rice. You’ve got the basics of lots of good healthy meals there. Just add Gregg’s herbs & spices, meat/fish and veggies.  

 

We all want to save money right now. Could you share your top budget-friendly cooking tips?
Buy fresh veggies from a veggie shop rather than the supermarket, make everything from scratch (no convenience, “just add water” or “ready to heat & eat” meals or sauces – they’re expensive and highly processed so not that good for you. Make things like cheese sauce from scratch with butter, milk, flour and cheese, make your bolognaise sauce from scratch with onions, Gregg’s Crushed Garlic, tinned tomatoes, Gregg’s Tomato Paste & Gregg’s Rubbed Oregano – this’ll cost you far less than a jar of prepared pasta sauce.

Any advice for making a plain meal look a bit more special for serving up to friends and family?
My favourite for this chilly weather and a real easy, fast meal to make is Rich tomato soup with Gregg’s Smoked Paprika & cheesy croutons – great for a winters weekend afternoon that’s nourishing, filling, warming and cheap to make! Tinned tomatoes, an onion, Gregg’s Crushed Garlic, stock cubes, water, Gregg’s Rubbed Oregano, Gregg’s Smoked Paprika and salt & pepper. Make the croutons with stale bread, Gregg’s Crushed Garlic, olive oil & grated cheese.

 

Take some diced braising steak, put it in the pot with a healthy slosh of your favourite red wine, a decent sprinkle of Gregg’s Thyme, a handful of sliced bacon, a diced onion, some Gregg’s Crushed Garlic, a sachet of Gregg’s Tomato Paste, some water, salt and pepper and a couple of tablespoons of flour to thicken the sauce. Got some mushrooms? Slice them up and throw them in too. Give it all a good stir, then cook with the lid on for 4 hours at 120°C. If you want to give it a stir during the cooking process then go right ahead, but if you can’t or forgot, it’s not a problem.

 

Tip: Buy whole pieces of braising steak and cut them up yourself – it’s better value than the ready diced stuff and won’t take you long at all to prepare.