Kitchen queen Maggie Beer cooks you her favourite recipe you can create in your own home.
Queen of food Maggie Beer has given her top tips on success in the kitchen. Source: Supplied
SHE admits she rarely follows a recipe and yet appears the picture of calm under pressure.
And now MasterChef guest judge Maggie Beer has dished the dirt on what Aussies get wrong in the kitchen and revealed the tricks to making our cooking lives easier.
As I sit down to interview one of Australia's favourite chefs at her farm shop, a toddler screams in the background, not once but constantly.
Then the scream gets louder as hot chocolate is dropped on the floor, then even louder when she falls off a chair. And then she is then pecked by a chicken.
While I'm dying of embarrassment at my child's behaviour, Beer remains a picture of calm.
So if a screaming toddler doesn't rattle her nerves does anything?
According to one of Australia's favourite chefs, cooking should never be a stressful experience and instead should be shared and enjoyed, especially when friends are concerned.
She said simple tricks and tips could turn even the worst cook into a wizz in the kitchen and you didn't have to be a MasterChef to do it.
From simple advice on how to cook a chicken to what the heck is verjuice, Beer dishes up some of the secrets behind her success.
1. Buy fresh and seasonal
Firstly the mother-of two says freshly picked produce can turn an average dish into a winner. And choosing seasonal food means it will be cheaper too.
"The flavour of food which has just been picked can make a huge difference," she said.
According to the cook, fresh is not only best but much tastier. Source: Supplied
2. Don't be scared to deviate from a recipe
Beer said she rarely followed a strict recipe instead preferring to cook by feel.
But she said they could be a good guide, and cooks should work a recipe around the food they have rather than strictly using everything in the book.
"Go to the markets and see what you like," she said.
"Then find a recipe you like and adapt it to you. Pick one food which shines on the dish."
3. Get your friends chopping
Beer reckons even dinner parties should be stress free. According to her a simple trick like cooking a lamb roast on 100 degrees for seven hours will not only leave the meat "like butter" but will win your mates over with its succulence.
And while you're busy dishing up the meat, she reckons get your guests onto chopping and veggie duties leaving all the little jobs to them, leaving you to concentrate on the bigger picture — the main event.
"Not only will you be more relaxed but your guests will feel they've played a part in the meal," she says.
Beer insists cooking should never be stressful. Source: Supplied
4. Don't overcook the food
Beer reckons the biggest food sin Aussies commit is overcooking food. Cooks afraid of serving undercooked meat can buy a thermometer if they're not sure.
And she has shared her secret for a smashing roast chicken every time, warning if you overcook the bird you'll end up with dry meat.
She said a bird is cooked perfectly after it is rested and sitting around 67 degrees.
"You need to rest the chook for between 20 and 30 minutes," she said.
"Once cooked turn it upside down and allow the juices to flow back in."
And she reckons a simple pour of verjuice about three quarters into the cooking process will add that extra zing to really make your dish shine.
5. Don't be scared to use extra touches like verjuice. Hang on, what is verjuice?
Beer, who was the first to produce the stuff commercially in Australia, reckons this simple stuff is as important as salt and can massively enhance a dish's flavour.
Made from the juice of unripened grapes, verjuice is a gentle acid that heightens the flavour of food.
"You can add it to stock, use it to make jelly or pour it over roasts," she says.
According to Beer, it's like salt and adds flavour to everything.
Verjuice adds flavour to everything, but what is it again? Picture: maggiebeer.com.au Source: Supplied
6. Don't be scared of making mistakes or starting again if disaster strikes
There's no such thing as a wrong dish as such, Beer reckons, but if disaster really does strike then start again.
"If you've done something wrong to stuff it up think back to what you did so next time you can fix it," she says.
"It just comes down to experience and confidence."
7. Have a good pantry and equipment
Having the basic ingredients ready and available and the right equipment such as a good pan can also make the world of difference.
It means less stress as cooks are better organised, so if something does go wrong you can take a different tact or at least have everything out ready to start again.
So while my hopes of getting a picture with the kitchen queen faded quicker than my toddler's screaming did, at least I walked away with a bit of knowledge which would help me next time I picked up a pan.
I also learnt something else — never work with kids or animals.
Beer pictured with fellow MasterChef stars Matt Preston, Kylie Kwong, Alla Wolf-Tasker, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan. Source: Supplied
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