Self-raising flour isn’t always readily available in some countries, or it’s very expensive because it’s imported. Maybe it’s better to DIY, but how?

Actually, it’s not all that difficult. At its most basic, all you need is plain all-purpose flour and baking powder. Most of the various TV chefs have their own recommended proportions of baking powder to flour – but about one or two teaspoon of baking powder to 250g/½lb of flour seems to be the right amount. (On the packet of baking powder we’ve got, the manufacturer recommends 2%-5% of the weight of flour being used, depending on the recipe the flour’s to be used in – that would work out as between 4g and 10g for 200g of flour.)

We like the version Ainsley Harriott uses in his recipe for Tabletop Naan Bread (from his excellent book Gourmet Express), which uses the following measurements:

• 450g/1lb plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt

A bit more complex than the straightforward “bung in the baking powder” formula, but it’s given good results for us every time. (On the other hand, if the thing you’re making needs to be lighter than naan bread, you might be better sticking with the 2 tsp of baking powder.)

Anyway, put the other ingredients into the flour and make sure it’s thoroughly mixed in. Some people recommend passing the whole lot through a sieve to make well and truly sure, but that seems like a bit too much faffing to me.

Shortcrust pastry isn’t difficult to make. You can buy ready-made, of course, but it can sometimes be rather expensive especially when you consider it’s only flour, butter and water. Home-made pastry generally tastes nicer too.

I’m making my shortcrust pastry in the food processor, but it’s quite easy to make it without the machine - just rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips - get your hands as cold as possible first. (See the glossary if you’re not sure how to ‘rub in’)

Ingredients

(Makes about 375g/13 oz)

• 225g/8 oz/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 115g/4 oz/1/2 cup chilled and diced butter (or other hard cooking fat)
• 45-60 ml/3-4 tbsp iced water
  (The less water you use, the better the taste and texture. It’s crispier and crumblier but it can be difficult to work with when it’s like that.)
• Pinch of salt (optional)

Method

Put the flour, salt and butter into the food processor and process for a few seconds until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle the water on and process on pulse until the mixture starts to hold together. Don’t let the pastry form a ball in the processor. If you overwork it, the pastry will be easier to handle, but will have a harder and less crumbly texture. Practice makes perfect!

Remove the mixture from the processor…

…and form into a ball. Remember, don’t knead or over-handle it! Wrap the ball in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

Place the ball on a lightly floured board and roll out to the desired thickness and shape for whatever it is you’re making. (If you’re making something like pasties, then you’ll need to cut the ball into smaller pieces and make balls out of them before rolling.)

 

There’s a lot you can do with cubes of stewing steak – goulash soup, beef & Guinness pie, brown Windsor soup, curries, meat pasties, chilli con carne... you name it! I like to buy a kilo at a time and do two or three different dishes with it – that way we get some ready meals for the freezer as well as the night's dinner.

BUT be warned – if you don't prepare your meat properly it's very easy to end up with tough, leathery, stringy, tasteless grey lumps.

First, you should seal the meat by frying it in very hot oil. This process browns the meat – giving it great flavour as well as colour! – and it starts to make its own tasty gravy too. After you’ve sealed it, you can proceed to make your stew or pie filling. If you chuck it all in, meat and liquid together at once, it’ll boil and you’ll get those grey, tasteless, and stringy lumps of meat I was talking about. And it’s not even as if the flavour goes into the liquid instead – that’ll just taste watery, like an over-diluted beef stock cube.

Anyway, once the steak cubes have been browned off (just like the ones in this picture on the left) you can add the liquid and other ingredients and then slow-cook the whole thing. Either you can simmer it for a couple of hours on a low heat, or if you’re in a rush you can stick it in a pressure cooker. The quality of the beef round where we live isn’t so great, so I’d generally pressure-cook a kilo for about 40 minutes.

That’s just the basic technique. Some recipes call for the meat to be browned together with other flavourings. So for instance Jamie Oliver calls for Marmite and Worcestershire sauce to be added while the meat’s browning when making his brown Windsor soup recipe. Or if you were making a curry you'd probably want to cook off the spices in the pot first, then add the meat to brown in the spices – yum!

Cooking is an art not a science so, as long as you follow some basic techniques correctly to avoid spoiling the food, you can have fun experimenting with your own ideas according to your own taste.