Top of the pots - The Jewish Chronicle

With food and energy costs rising stratospherically, one-pot recipe cooking is having a moment. Even without soaring costs, the minimal washing up involved in throwing all your ingredients into one pot or pan makes it a no brainer. Our cholent-producing predecessors were ahead of the game.

Alan Rosenthal has devoted himself to the genre. After training as a chef at Leiths School of Food and Wine, he launched meal-pot business Stewed.

He initially sold hearty casserole-style meal pots at farmers’ markets but quickly upscaled his fledgling business to supply supermarkets as well as opening a couple of hot food kiosks.
A book — Stewed: One Pot Dinners — followed.

Since then, he has gone on to work as a food consultant for a variety of companies, including Picture House Cinemas; Gousto recipe boxes and bakery and café chain Gail’s. He has also written two more cookbooks — Foolproof One-Pot and, published this week, Foolproof Veggie One-Pot.

So, I asked him, what are his top tips for one-pot cooking success:

GettyImages-182374258

You only need two differently sized pots

Low-cost investment
You only need two pots: one 25cm wide and 15cm deep and a second one, 38cm wide and 10cm deep. Expensive brand names are unnecessary – any cast-iron pan or heavy-bottomed, solid stainless-steel pan is great. They’ll last you a lifetime.

Vegging out
Take the time to braise your vegetables slowly. Slow braising over a low heat brings out the gentle sweetness of the vegetables.
And make sure you chop the veggies in line with the recipe instructions. There’s a reason the recipe has asked for finely diced or roughly chopped veggies.
A rough chop is better for a slow braise as you’ll be cooking it for longer whereas if you are chopping them smaller it’s for a quicker cook or where you want them to break down fully and melt into the sauce.

Beetroot Puy Lentil Stew Horseradish Dill 009

Puy lentils and root veg make an economical meal Photo: Rita Platts

Freedom of choice
Where you don’t have the exact ingredients there’s no need to rush to the shops. You can make suitable substitutions by swapping in a different type of lentil than the one specified, for example, or replacing spelt with barley or vice versa.

Double no quits
It’s worth doubling up quantities and freezing half of what you’ve cooked. Not only is it more economical but it will save you time when can just pull a meal out of your freezer.
If there are only two of you eating a recipe to serve four, make the full quantity and either freeze any leftovers or repurpose them for next day’s lunch.

Oven economy
If you’re using the oven for your one-pot meal, chuck some potatoes or other veggies in to bake alongside it. It’s a good idea to plan how many dishes or ingredients you can prepare when your oven is on to get the most out of it.

Time saving tip
Pouches of ready-to-eat rice and grains are tremendously useful. They may be slightly more expensive, but because they are par-cooked, they can go straight into the pot without the need to cook them separately first, saving time and money overall.

Ovenbaked Barley Risotto Celeriac Tarragon Orange 019

Photo: Rita Platts

Salt and shake
Do follow recipe quantities for seasoning. If the recipe specifies an amount of salt and pepper it’s because the recipe writer has carefully tested it for the best flavour.
The salt quantity may seem high, but don’t forget that it’s divided between the number of portions, so considerably less per person.
Do use sea salt, which contains a range of minerals, and not table salt. A pinch of salt added to sauteeing onions will speed up the cooking process as it draws moisture out of them.

Peeling good
Keep vegetable peels and trimmings to use in stocks and soups. Even the outer onions leaves will impart plenty of flavour, as will the skins and trimmings of vegetables such as fennel, carrots and leeks.