The Importance of Starting with Water: A Key to Cooking with Ease

When it comes to cooking at home, having a few key techniques under your belt can make all the difference in producing delicious meals. One technique that is often overlooked, but is incredibly important, is starting with water before adding other ingredients to a pan. This simple step allows you to gently simmer your ingredients as the water comes to a boil, setting the stage for a perfectly cooked dish.

To begin, start by putting water on first in your pan. You want it to be just simmering away, ready for the next step. While the water is heating up, slice your mushrooms and add them to the pan. Slice them with fingers one in front of two behind, going up and down to release their natural juices. This will help create a rich flavor in your dish. Once you've added the mushrooms, add olive oil to the pan and let it heat for literally 10 seconds before tossing everything together.

As you toss the ingredients, use a spatula to push down and pull back, allowing all the flavors to meld together. Next, chop a fat clove of garlic and prepare your leaks by turning them over and cutting them into quarters. Rinse the top of the leaks to remove any dirt or sand, breaking them up into nice little pieces as you go. Now it's time to add the leaked to the mushrooms, and the secret to this dish is to get rid of the water inside the leaks as they cook down.

As the leaks begin to cook, the water will evaporate, leaving behind a rich, intense flavor that is enhanced by the garlic. To add depth to your dish, you can also add a touch of chicken stock. If you're feeling adventurous, try using lasagna sheets instead of traditional pasta - they work beautifully in this recipe and add an interesting twist to the classic dish.

Once the chicken stock has been added, it's time to bring everything together with a couple of tablespoons of cream. This will enrich the dish and give it a luxurious feel. To finish off your sauce, turn down the heat and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, allowing all the flavors to meld together. The key to a great pasta dish is cooking it just until it's done, so be sure to remove it from the heat at the right time.

To serve, place a spoonful of the mushrooms and leaks on top of the pasta, followed by a sprinkle of chopped fresh taragan. This delicious herb adds a bright, citrusy flavor that pairs beautifully with the rich flavors of the sauce. But what really takes this dish to the next level is the addition of toasted bread - specifically, a crusty baguette that's been rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil.

To make the perfect accompaniment, start by toasting two slices of bread in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. As you toast, add a teaspoon of sesame seed oil for an extra boost of flavor. Once the bread is nicely browned, remove it from the heat and let it cool for a minute or two. Then, place a slice on top of each serving of pasta, and finish off with a sprinkle of taragan and a dollop of mushrooms and leaks.

One of the best things about this recipe is its ease of preparation - it's incredibly versatile and can be made in under 20 minutes using everyday ingredients. Whether you're looking to spice up your cooking routine or simply want to try something new, this dish is sure to impress.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enreally important to put the water on first so you can just have it gently simming away ready for the pasta while the water comes to the boil start the sauce by slicing mushrooms first off fingers one in front two behind up and down then add olive oil to a hot frying pan I want that nice color on the mushrooms off the heat literally 10 seconds and when you toss something really important you get all the ingredients at the end of the pan push down and pull back that noise that that's all the water coming out of the mushrooms next finally chop a fat clove of garlic then prepare your leaks just take your knife and go down through the center turn it over and again into quarters so you all that opening up and then just rinse the top of that to get rid of any potential dirt dirt or sand it just breaks up into nice little quarters add all that leak into those mushrooms beautiful and now the secret is to get rid of the water inside the leak as it Cooks down all the water's gone you just set that really nice intense flavor Garlic's gone nice and crispy now we're going to add a touch of chicken stock in there beautiful let's s your shets just going to drop the sheets in the water lasna sheets are an unusual choice for a dish like this but they work brilliantly although any type of pasta you've got in the cupboard will do and just twist that pan that stops any pasta actually sticking to the bottom of the pan chicken start to reduce down by half and it's almost delays the bottom of the pan basically washed all that wonderful flavor off turn the gas down and add a couple of tablespoons of cream this just enriches the dish bring it back up to the ball and let it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes now the secret with the pasta is just taking it out a little early so you got that nice texture hold up the sheet and just nip it and you can feel your fingers in the center is ready turn the sauce down and lay these beautiful sheets or lasagna into that sauce just going to turn the gas off now and let the has to sit in there and absorb that amazing sauce finish with chopped fresh taragan it's a delicious herb it goes brilliantly well mushrooms and Leakes just let that sit almost sort of Infuse to serve I'm making a quick Bretta by toasting fresh to patter bread two nice slices drizzle that and olive oil little bit of garlic just rub the bread the crust as well crust is what really takes that garlic now pan for the bread little touch of olive oil as it starts to smoke bread in but look at the pasta now it's been stained by that amazing sauce to serve a nice spoon of my mushrooms leaks and cream then I'll take my pasta just twist it and let it sit on top that Taron has just lifted everything Bread on and that's the beauty about something so simple that can be done in 20 minutes with everyday ingredients a stunning past the dish adding easy and versatile dishes like this to your repertoire is what cooking at home is all about so you can always make great tasting food at the drop of a hat fry off the chilies the ginger and the garlic first Sesame Seed Oil teaspoon only in fried corn on the cob in olive oil you want a really wonderfully charred flavorreally important to put the water on first so you can just have it gently simming away ready for the pasta while the water comes to the boil start the sauce by slicing mushrooms first off fingers one in front two behind up and down then add olive oil to a hot frying pan I want that nice color on the mushrooms off the heat literally 10 seconds and when you toss something really important you get all the ingredients at the end of the pan push down and pull back that noise that that's all the water coming out of the mushrooms next finally chop a fat clove of garlic then prepare your leaks just take your knife and go down through the center turn it over and again into quarters so you all that opening up and then just rinse the top of that to get rid of any potential dirt dirt or sand it just breaks up into nice little quarters add all that leak into those mushrooms beautiful and now the secret is to get rid of the water inside the leak as it Cooks down all the water's gone you just set that really nice intense flavor Garlic's gone nice and crispy now we're going to add a touch of chicken stock in there beautiful let's s your shets just going to drop the sheets in the water lasna sheets are an unusual choice for a dish like this but they work brilliantly although any type of pasta you've got in the cupboard will do and just twist that pan that stops any pasta actually sticking to the bottom of the pan chicken start to reduce down by half and it's almost delays the bottom of the pan basically washed all that wonderful flavor off turn the gas down and add a couple of tablespoons of cream this just enriches the dish bring it back up to the ball and let it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes now the secret with the pasta is just taking it out a little early so you got that nice texture hold up the sheet and just nip it and you can feel your fingers in the center is ready turn the sauce down and lay these beautiful sheets or lasagna into that sauce just going to turn the gas off now and let the has to sit in there and absorb that amazing sauce finish with chopped fresh taragan it's a delicious herb it goes brilliantly well mushrooms and Leakes just let that sit almost sort of Infuse to serve I'm making a quick Bretta by toasting fresh to patter bread two nice slices drizzle that and olive oil little bit of garlic just rub the bread the crust as well crust is what really takes that garlic now pan for the bread little touch of olive oil as it starts to smoke bread in but look at the pasta now it's been stained by that amazing sauce to serve a nice spoon of my mushrooms leaks and cream then I'll take my pasta just twist it and let it sit on top that Taron has just lifted everything Bread on and that's the beauty about something so simple that can be done in 20 minutes with everyday ingredients a stunning past the dish adding easy and versatile dishes like this to your repertoire is what cooking at home is all about so you can always make great tasting food at the drop of a hat fry off the chilies the ginger and the garlic first Sesame Seed Oil teaspoon only in fried corn on the cob in olive oil you want a really wonderfully charred flavor\n"