The rigorous new examination for 16-year-olds will require them to be able to tenderise, marinate, blanch, poach, fry and braise – as well as make their own pasta, choux pastry, bread and tagine.
If you are not using caul fat, unwrap the faggots and roast and braise as above.
Wild rabbit and chanterelle salad Serves 4 Wild rabbit is such a good-value meat; you can use the saddle fillets in a dish, then freeze the shoulders and legs to use in a braise or pie, and make a broth with the bones.
Hoping for more Greek influences on the menu apart from the odd dish of marinated olives and pickled radishes (£3) and a very nice, soupy braise of squid, fennel, leeks and white wine (£7.35).
Bring the water to the boil on a hob, then place in the middle of the oven and braise for 2 hours.
Turn the oven down to 160C/gas mark 3, Cover them with foil and braise for 30 minutes.
Budgetary concerns dictate a focus on vegetable dishes and they don't feel like a compromise: a sultry braise of Japanese sweet potato and lotus root, twanging with black bean sauce; plump, silken rice noodles, mushrooms and tofu in a clove-scented broth.
After cleaning and stuffing, I brown and braise them in wine and water on a bed of vegetables for at least two hours.
Braise with a lid on but leave a small gap for steam to escape.
Place a lid on the pan, lower the heat and braise gently on the top of the stove for an hour, or until the vegetables are tender and the sauce rich and emulsified.
Another starter, pastilla, a miniature version of the sweetened meat and fruit pie from Morocco, is simply one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted; crisp filo pastry enfolding a dark braise of spiced lamb neck, and a just-sweet-enough syrup of spiced fruit and nuts.
