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Two ingredients Pizza Dough: Gorgonzola and Caramelised Onion Pizza with Alternative Toppings

ABOUT THE BOOK

One pan really is all you need to solve those weeknight dinner dilemmas with these delicious, creative and simple recipes!

No more expensive kitchen kit and hardly any washing up! Serve dinner straight from pan to table using store cupboard staples and simple cooking methods to create comforting dishes to suit all appetites.

From Pan fried gnocchi with broccoli, hazelnuts and garlic, to Avocado and black bean quesadillas, Cheat’s frying pan lasagne, Sweet potato dhal, and Pizza.

Your modest frying pan can also create tasty sweet treats and bakes: try simple Soda bread, Fried cinnamon brioche, pies and tarts and even Chocolate brownies!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mari Mererid Williams is a seasoned food stylist and recipe writer. Starting her career with Tesco and the Seafish Industry Authority, Mari then took the helm as food editor of a couple of magazines including Asda Magazine. Now working as a freelance food writer and stylist, she has contributed to many of the foodie favourites such as the BBC Food website, Waitrose and the Weekend Daily Mail.

Mari is a go-to consultant for many of the staple food brands found in your larder, be it concocting delicious versions of classic dishes, making modern twists on favourite recipes, or creating innovative new ways to use ingredients. Mari’s recipes are accessible and easy to follow; her partner Steve often acts as kitchen apprentice by testing the usability of her recipes and making them foolproof.

Mari has contributed to and styled many recipe books over the years but this is her first complete book. One Pan, 100 Brilliant Meals was born from her desire to inspire everyone to discover what is achievable with just one frying pan.

She lives in Hertfordshire with her partner Steve and the light of her life, her son Jac – aka Sous chef!

The humble frying pan – every kitchen has one! We fry our onions in it, we get it out when making a full English and we use it at least once a year on Pancake Day. But could we do more with it?

Here we have adapted family favourites and created new recipes – and all you need is a frying pan. So give your saucepan a break, your baking tins a holiday and, more importantly, cut down on the washing up.

BEST PANS FOR THE JOB

Before you buy any pan (and this goes for any piece of kitchen kit) think about what your needs are. You want a pan that is large enough, but not so big that it dries out and spoils your food. Also, think about the depth of the pan. A deep pan should be deep enough to make a stir fry, stew or curry, while shallow pans are perfect for cooking crêpes and omelettes.

Whatever type of frying pan you buy, it should be sturdy. Thickness means that a pan will not dent, warp or have hot spots (which cause food in one area of the pan to cook faster or burn before everything else is done). Thinner materials can’t hold heat evenly, can buckle and then won’t sit level on the hob. A deeper pan should hold heat all the way up the sides; a weighty one will also be more durable and withstand frequent use and washing.

A large deep frying pan, sometimes called a skillet or sauté pan, is the true workhorse of the kitchen. Perfect for browning large quantities of vegetables or meat, it’s also excellent for braising and reducing sauces. It should have a tight-fitting lid and is often ovenproof (always check before buying, see here).

If you are a frying pan purist there is a difference between a sauté pan and a skillet and it’s all to do with the shape. A sauté pan, from the French verb sauter, meaning ‘to jump’, has a wide flat bottom and relatively tall, vertical sides. A skillet, on the other hand, has sides that flare outwards at an angle. The sloping sides of a skillet allow you to shake the pan easily, performing the jump-flip action chefs are so keen to demonstrate. But this is more than just a flamboyant manoeuvre – it’s the most efficient way to redistribute the food in the pan, ensuring even cooking of the ingredients. Messy when practising, but a skill worth conquering.

The kitchen heavyweight and a true favourite of our friends across the pond. Cast iron frying pans are a little bit like AGA cooking – you either love it or hate it, and if you love it you really love it. I have to admit I got rid of my cast iron pans; I just found them too heavy and cumbersome to use. Cast iron frying pans are relatively inexpensive to buy and a well-cared-for pan will stay loyal; if you use it and care for it properly, it will only get better with age and time.

During cooking, oil bonds to the surface of cast iron, making its surface increasingly non-stick. This process is known as seasoning. A newly purchased cast iron frying pan, even if it is pre-seasoned, isn’t going to have great non-stick qualities. Be sure to clean it thoroughly, scrubbing it with hot water and salt, then season it a few times by heating it over a large burner to dry, using a towel to saturate the surface with oil, and popping it into a hot oven for 20–30 minutes. Cook with it frequently, and with some patience, and you’ll begin to see better non-stick results. It’s essential to clean cast iron cookware properly. Once you’ve cooked with it, rinse it under hot water, scrubbing gently with a brush. Soap isn’t really necessary. Never, ever soak a cast iron pan in the sink or it will rust. Instead wash and dry it immediately, and then put it on the burner to dry well. Once it’s fully dry, add a few drops of oil and swirl to coat the pan, wipe away with kitchen paper until you’ve rubbed all excess oil off the pan.

Once the pan is well seasoned, you will need less oil than in a regular pan – and the more you cook with your cast iron, the better it will perform. Cast iron pans heat up slowly, but will hold their temperature well and conduct heat evenly. They are brilliant at cooking pizzas, frying chicken, crisping bacon and baking bread.

If your cast iron pan is years old, well used and seasoned, it should be non-stick. But sometimes you just need ease and the guarantee of a non-stick pan. If you can only afford one pan, opt for a general-purpose non-stick one. It will see you through most cooking tasks and is a breeze to clean up. To make the greatest use of it, buy a pan that is ovenproof. Whatever the manufacturers claim, only use wooden or silicone or plastic utensils on it to protect the non-stick surface and prolong its life.

These are not as versatile as deeper pans but are ideal for making pancakes, omelettes or rösti.

In many recipes you start the cooking process on the hob and then transfer it to the oven or under the grill. The entire frying pan should be ovenproof, including the handle. An ovenproof frying pan means you can serve many of the dishes in this book straight to the table, but remember the pan will be hot so make sure you have a heatproof mat at the ready.

MY PANS OF CHOICE

My frying pans of choice and those used to test the recipes in this book were: one large deep 28cm (11in) wide sauté pan with a lid – it’s one I have had for years, so is well seasoned and dependable; also two stainless steel non-stick ovenproof skillets measuring 20cm (8in) and 24cm (9½in). They are deep skillet/sauté hybrids, giving you the capacity of the sauté pan with a slight curved edge, but at the same time offering you the tossing ability of the skillet. The non-stick surface ensures the ingredients won’t stick to the pans, even the cakes! This also allows an easy, quick clean up. All three pans have worked hard for me and I loved testing and adapting recipes to work in them.

CARE AND CLEANING

Take care of your pans. Check the manufacturer booklet in case they have specific instructions, otherwise follow these simple rules and your pans will last longer.

* However tempting, do not put a hot pan straight into water. It can cause warping and damage the non-stick coating. If the pan is warped it gives an uneven distribution of heat. Leave the pan to cool and then wash.

* Whatever the manufacturer claims, try not to put the pan in the dishwasher but, if you must, dry it properly. Wash the pan by hand with soapy water. Do not use scouring pads as again, this can damage the non-stick coating.

* Use high temperature silicone utensils for non-stick pans. Some frying pan brands suggest you can use metal utensils with their non-stick pans but this is not recommended as you are more likely to damage the non-stick surface.

* When stacking the pans place a sheet of baking paper between them. This protects the surfaces from scratches.

It happens to us all – a knock on the door, we get lost in social media and oops, it’s burnt. The dish may be beyond redemption but don’t condemn the pan to the same destiny.

Fill the base of the pan with a layer of water and 250ml (9floz) vinegar and bring the pan to the boil. It should be looking a bit cleaner already. Remove the pan from the heat and add 2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda. It may fizz so step back. Leave for 5 minutes. Empty the pan and clean as normal.

Or even easier: fill the burnt pan with water and add a dishwasher tablet or 1 tablespoon biological washing powder. Bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for around 10 minutes and the burnt bits will simply lift away, leaving your pan as good as new. Repeat as necessary, and then wash thoroughly as normal.

OTHER USES FOR A FRYING PAN

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BAKE

Just think of your frying pan as a cake tin. If your pan is non-stick you don’t need to line the pan. However, popping two strips of baking paper across the bottom of the pan does make it easier to lift the cake out of the pan (see Plum Cake, here). If the recipe calls for the mixing to be done in the frying pan as well as the cooking, use either a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula. Crumbles and cobblers work especially well in a frying pan as you can stew the fruits in the pan, developing the delicious juices and flavours. Top with either the crumble or cobbler and pop in the oven. Bake and serve in the pan when ready.

ROAST AND TOAST

NUTS

Simply pour the nuts into a dry pan and place over a medium heat. Shake the pan to flatten the nuts into a single layer. Once you can smell the nuts toasting, toss the nuts to turn and shake the pan again to spread them out in a single layer. Toss and shake 3–4 times to make sure the nuts are toasted on all sides, then pour them onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to cool. This process should take 5 minutes or so. Don’t take your eyes off the pan or you’ll find yourself throwing a pan full of burnt and bitter nuts in the bin.

SPICES

Pour the whole spices into a dry pan and place over a medium heat. Stir and toss them around for 1–2 minutes, or until they begin to look toasted and start to jump in the pan. Transfer them to a pestle and mortar, crush them to a powder or coarsely grind them according to the recipe instructions. This will be easier to do now that they have been roasted.

CRUSH AND FLATTEN

MEAT

Use the frying pan to tenderise and flatten meat. Simply place the fillets between two sheets of cling film and use the weight of the pan to flatten them out (see Pan Fried Chicken Caesar Salad with Charred Lettuce, here).

BISCUITS

Put biscuits into a plastic bag and cover with a tea towel. Use the weight of the pan to bash the biscuits, until they are finely crushed.

GARLIC

Place garlic on to a chopping board and smash with the bottom of a pan.

TOO HOT TO HANDLE

LAST IMPORTANT NOTE!

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