Putting It Together
Cooking Skills: Knife Skills 1
Chapter 9 · Putting It Together
Skill goal
Prepare several dishes at once, safely and tidily, and record your own skills and recipes.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Every cut in this course is easy when you do it slowly and on its own. The skill now is doing several in a row without losing your tidy, safe, accurate habits. Mise en place ('everything in its place') is the answer: prepare everything before you start to cook.
The rules of a good prep
- Start with the slowest or messiest (onions, garlic), and keep the board clean as you go.
- Work left to right, from uncut to cut, with a scrap bowl nearby.
- Hardest ingredients first. Cut the hard vegetables when you are fresh.
- Separate things that cook at different times, so the stir-fry doesn't need you to cut while cooking.
- Wipe the board and knife between ingredients that mix badly (onion then fruit).
- Don't rush. Speed arrives with practice and careful habits; it can't be forced.
One prep, three dishes
Cut everything for three dishes in one session: a minestrone, a chopped salad and a noodle stir-fry. Follow the table, and time yourself.
| Step | What | Target time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set up: board on damp cloth, three bowls (uncut, cut, scraps), knife sharp | 2 minutes |
| 2 | Onion, garlic (the slowest, so first) | 3 minutes |
| 3 | Carrots and celery: dice (minestrone) and slice (stir-fry) | 5 minutes |
| 4 | Courgette, potato: dice | 3 minutes |
| 5 | Salad: cucumber, tomatoes, pepper, red onion | 5 minutes |
| 6 | Stir-fry: pepper, mangetout, spring onions, ginger | 4 minutes |
| 7 | Clear the board, wash it, wipe the surfaces | 3 minutes |
Try it
Level 2 · Dice
Minestrone (a lot of dicing)
A soup that rewards a good dice: onion, carrot, celery, courgette and potato all cut to the same size, so they cook together.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery sticks
- 1 courgette
- 1 potato (about 150 g)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g)
- 750 ml hot vegetable stock
- 1 tin cannellini beans (400 g), drained
- 50 g small pasta shapes
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley or basil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Prep first (about 15 minutes): dice the onion, carrots, celery, courgette and potato into 8 mm cubes. Mince the garlic. Keep the courgette separate: it goes in later.
- Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the oil for 8 to 10 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add the potato, tomatoes and stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beans, pasta and courgette and simmer for 10 minutes more, until the pasta is tender.
- Season and stir in the herbs.
Level 2 · Chopped
Chopped salad
A salad that is all about the knife: every ingredient diced to about 8 mm, so every forkful has everything in it.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 cucumber
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 red pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 1 tin chickpeas (400 g), drained
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley or mint
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Dice the cucumber, seeded tomatoes and pepper into 8 mm cubes. Dice the red onion finely.
- Mix with the chickpeas and herbs. Dress with the oil, lemon juice and seasoning just before serving.
Level 3 · Speed
Vegetable noodle stir-fry (prep-first cooking)
The finale: everything is cut and in bowls before the wok is hot. This is mise en place, 'everything in its place'.
Ingredients (3 portions)
- 200 g egg noodles or rice noodles
- 1 carrot, peeled
- 1 red pepper
- 100 g mangetout or sugar snap peas
- 4 spring onions
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- Cook the noodles as the packet says, rinse in cold water and drain. Prep: slice the carrot into thin diagonal slices, the pepper into strips, and the mangetout in half on the diagonal. Slice the spring onions on the diagonal (white and green separate), and mince the garlic and ginger.
- Mix the soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl.
- Heat the wok until very hot. Add the sunflower oil, then the carrot for 1 minute, the pepper and mangetout for 2 minutes, the white spring onion, garlic and ginger for 30 seconds.
- Add the noodles and sauce, toss for 1 to 2 minutes until hot, then add the green spring onion.
Experiments
Experiment
Slow and accurate or fast
Does speed matter?
- Dice an onion twice: once slowly, focusing on even pieces, and once as fast as is comfortable (with the claw).
- Compare the evenness of the dice and how safe it felt.
Look for: The slow dice is more even. A comfortable, steady speed gives almost the same result in less time. Rushing makes both worse.
Experiment
One board or two
Does a second board help?
- Prepare the stir-fry vegetables on one board, wiping between each. Then do it on two boards, one for onion and garlic and one for everything else.
- Compare the flavours and the washing up.
Look for: One board is fine if you wipe it. Two boards stop onion and garlic tainting the rest, and keep raw meat completely separate.
Experiment
Your own prep routine
Find what works for you.
- Time yourself on the table above, writing down how long each step actually takes.
- Change one thing (order, bowls or knife) and time it again.
Look for: Everyone finds their own order. Write it down in your house recipes.
Your skills table
| Skill | Can do it | Still practising | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinch grip and claw | |||
| Sharpening and honing | |||
| Dicing an onion | |||
| Chopping herbs | |||
| Batons, dice and julienne | |||
| Peppers, mango and avocado | |||
| Hard vegetables | |||
| Raw meat hygiene | |||
| Fish, bread and cheese | |||
| Prep for three dishes |
Your house recipes
| Recipe | Cuts used | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday soup | |||
| Favourite salad | |||
| Quick stir-fry | |||
| Weekend roast |
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minestrone | ||||
| Chopped salad | ||||
| Noodle stir-fry | ||||
| Timed prep | ||||
| Slow vs fast | ||||
| One board vs two |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Prep takes far too long | Dull knife, or cutting everything fine | Sharpen; cut only as fine as the dish needs |
| Board a mess | Scraps on the board | Use a scrap bowl and wipe as you go |
| Sore hand | Gripping the knife too tight | Relax; use the pinch grip |
| Pieces uneven when hurried | Rushing | Slow down; steady wins |
| Cut veg dries or browns | Prepped too early | Prep near cooking time, or cover and chill |
| Onion on everything | Same board and hands | Wipe the board and wash your hands between |
Safety: the whole course
Knife safety: a sharp knife is safer than a blunt one, because it needs less force and slips less. Always cut on a stable board (put a damp cloth underneath), tuck your guiding fingertips back (the claw), carry a knife with the point down and the edge away from you, and never try to catch a falling knife: step back and let it fall. Wash knives by hand and dry them at once; never leave one in a sink of water where you can't see it. Store them in a block, on a magnetic strip or in guards, not loose in a drawer. A cut-resistant glove on your guiding hand is a sensible aid while you learn. If you cut yourself, apply firm pressure with a clean cloth, and get medical help for a deep cut or one that won't stop bleeding.Raw meat, poultry and fish: the Food Standards Agency advises using separate chopping boards and knives for raw meat, fish and poultry, for fruit and vegetables, and for ready-to-eat foods such as salad and cheese. Bacteria spread from raw meat to a board and knife, and then to the next food. Wiping a board with a cloth is not enough: wash boards and knives in hot soapy water (or a dishwasher) before they touch anything else, and wash your hands after handling raw food. Keep raw meat, poultry and fish covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge, where juices can't drip onto other food. Don't wash raw chicken: it splashes bacteria around the kitchen, and cooking kills them anyway.
Hygiene: wash your hands, boards and knives in hot soapy water after handling raw meat, fish or eggs, and don't use the same board for raw meat and for food that won't be cooked. Wash fruit, vegetables and herbs that you eat raw.
Leftovers: cool cooked food quickly (within 1 to 2 hours), keep it covered in the fridge, and eat it within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and only once.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can set up a prep station and work left to right.
- I can cut for three dishes in one session.
- I keep my knives sharp and my board still.
- I use separate boards for raw meat and wash up properly.
- I have my own skills table and house recipes.
Next chapter
That finishes Cooking Skills: Knife Skills 1. Choose the next course from the series plan.