If you enjoy cooking, having time on your hands is one of the key ingredients.
That is why holidays are the perfect time to try out new recipes, hone old ones and while away the afternoon preparing a delicious meal for your friends or family.
Cooking on holidays is great for so many reasons. As we all know, eating out night after night can get tedious ... and expensive! Cooking with new ingredients, local to the area, picked up from food markets or from producers is what gets cooks excited. Holidays are also a time to be extravagant, to splash out on food such as shellfish, charcuterie, cheese, wine, all the good stuff. When we’re away from home for that week or two, we can forget the diets, sit up late around the dinner table and indulge ourselves.
Anyone who is lucky enough to own a holiday home will know all about the art of decking it out: filling it with all the bare essentials, without breaking the bank or worrying too much about things getting broken. It is, after all, a space where people come to relax and forget their worries. The very same goes for anyone putting a property on Airbnb for holiday rentals.
So with the holiday season upon us, here’s my handy guide to kitting out a holiday home kitchen. It will see you through most cooking tasks and allow you to wow your guests with simple but effective presentation ideas for around the table.
Three good knives
Every kitchen needs one good chef’s knife. This will do your dicing, slicing, chopping, mincing, the all-rounder. Also essential is one smaller knife, such as a paring or a utility knife, for the smaller jobs and one bread knife. There is something wholesome and rewarding about getting fresh bread from the local bakery when you’re on holidays. It’s often a good reason to get away for an hour on your own. You will need a bread knife on hand to slice up that loaf with ease for all to enjoy.
Your essential cook’s tools
That second drawer or utensil holder needs a whisk, a grater (go with microplane every time) a soup ladle, silicone tongs, a spatula, a pastry brush, a good large all-purpose spoon, a potato masher, a skimmer, a sieve, a lemon press and of course, no kitchen would be complete without a wooden spoon. The versatile peeler is also an often overlooked tool for spuds, carrots, cucumbers, asparagus or the rind of lemons for predinner gin and tonics.
A set of serving bowls and large platters
The holiday table is all about indulgence and having lots of food placed out in the middle of the table for all to enjoy. Wooden boards have a natural style and also warm up a home when hanging from or leaning up against a wall. The bigger the better. The very same goes for bowls. Summer salads, risottos, pasta and curries are all great summer dishes and ideal for sharing. Get a mix of ceramic, enamel, terracotta, melamine and wooden bowls for indoor and outdoor use. They will not go unused, especially with big numbers around.
One nonstick and one iron frying pan
These two pans will see you through all your frying jobs. The nonstick pan is for eggs, omelettes, fish and vegetables. It is for lower heats and reheating food. An iron or cast-iron pan is for raising the temperature, for sealing, browning or grilling meats and fish. A seasoned iron pan will give your steaks added flavour. They are also tough as nails and will last you a lifetime as long as you treat them well and don’t let them rust.
A set of saucepans
A set of saucepans is essential for any kitchen. Most sets of three will contain pans of 14cm-20cm in diameter. The smaller, 12cm saucepan is a great size for sauces. Your holiday kitchen will also need a large stockpot for boiling pasta, potatoes and soups. It is also a great container pot if you are cooking for a crowd. When it comes to stockpots, how big do you go? Think about the kind of adventurous cooking you might only do on holidays, such as boiling a live lobster. Give it a go this summer.
A large sautépan
This has to be my favourite pan in the kitchen. It does everything: sauces, risottos, stews, dahls, curries, poaching eggs, frying fish or even sautéing potatoes. The trusted sautépan pops in the oven, acts as a roasting tray, holds plenty of food and can be presented at the table for all to share. I use a copper one, which looks fantastic and is a joy to cook with. I think if you are going to own one piece of copper cookware, a sautépan is the one to go for. It brings old world warmth to any kitchen.
Linenware
There are times when it’s nice to push the boat out and make an effort. Holidays afford us the time to do that. So, if you’re going to spend an afternoon preparing a tasty meal, why not match the effort with a well-laid table. Linen placemats and napkins will add a splash of summery colour to proceedings and are the perfect way to liven up a dining table. Candles are also a great fixture for the summer table, especially if there are mosquitoes about.
Enamel and melamine plates
The holiday home is an informal, loungey, carefree space, so having many plates that are not going to get broken is the way to go. Both enamel and melamine are two great materials that can be used indoors and outdoors and can be loaded seamlessly into a dishwasher or into the sink if you’re keeping it old school. Go for colour and funky designs.
Bob Toal runs The Triggerfish Cookshop in Blackrock, Co. Dublin
