Читать книгу The First-Time Cook - Sophie Grigson, Sophie Grigson - Страница 8

The most important advice here is to make sure you have a sharp knife before you begin (see knives and knife sharpeners below). Chopping an onion is easy when the blade glides smoothly through the layers, a right pain when you have to push hard and saw your way through. As so many savoury recipes begin with chopping an onion, it will improve your kitchen life considerably if this basic operation is painless and swift.

1 First cut the onion in half, slicing from stalk to root (photo 1). Place one half flat on the chopping board and cut off the upper stalk end (photo 2). Now pick up the onion and peel the brown skins back towards the root, without ripping them right off – it isn’t disastrous if they do come right away, but left attached to the onion root, they act as a handle to grip hold of when chopping. So bend the skins back, away from the onion (photo 3).

2 Place your left hand (or right if you are left-handed) flat on top of the onion to hold it still, then slice it horizontally, stem end towards the root, but stopping just short of the root, so that the pieces stay together (photo 4).

3 Now, keeping the onion flat on the work surface, grasp the skin handle holding the onion steady, and make parallel vertical cuts, from root end towards the stalk end (photo 5).

4 Finally, make parallel cuts at right angles to the previous set of cuts, working your way from stem end back to the root.

And there you have it: a mound of perfectly chopped onion (photo 6).