Neven Maguire - Home Chef

1. Filleting round fish: cut V-shape

2. Cut down the length of the back

3. Cut the fillet away from the bone

To remove the guts, locate the gut cavity by pressing on the whitest side of the fish just below the head until you find an area that is much softer. Make a small incision across this area and pull out the guts with your little finger. Trim the fish by snipping off the fins with kitchen scissors.

4. Remove the fillet and turn over

5. Repeat same cuts on the other side

6. Two perfect fillets from round fish

Lay the fish on the board and, on the uppermost side, cut closely around the head in a V-shape so that you don’t lose too much of the fillet. Lay the fish with its back towards you (unless you are left-handed like me, in which case place it with its back away from you). Cut along the length of the back, keeping the blade of the knife above the horizontal backbone.

Starting at the head, cut the fillet away from the bones, keeping the blade as close to them as you can. Once you have released some of the fillet, lift it up with your fingers to make it easier to see where you are cutting. When you near the rib bones, cut as close to them as you can or, if very fine, cut through them and then remove the bones from the fillet afterwards using tweezers.

Turn the fish over, again cut the V-shape around the head, and repeat the rest of the cuts to remove the fillet from the second side.

7. Filleting flat fish: cut around head

8. Cut down the centre of the fish

9. Fold back the fillet as you cut

You will get four fillets from a flat fish. Lay the fish on a chopping board and cut around the back of the head and also across the tail. »

Then cut through the skin down the centre of the fish, very slightly to one side of the raised backbone, working from the head down to the tail.

Starting where the backbone meets the head, slide the blade of the knife under the corner of one of the fillets. Carefully cut away from the bones, folding the released fillet back as you do so. Keep the blade of the knife almost flat and as close to the bones as possible. Remove the adjacent fillet in the same way. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side.

Place the fillet skin-side down on a chopping board with the narrowest (tail) end nearest to you. Angling the blade of the knife down towards the skin, start to cut between the flesh and the skin until a little flap is released.

Flip the fish over. Firmly take hold of the skin and, working away from you, continue to cut between the flesh and skin, sawing with the knife from side to side and keeping the blade of the knife close against the skin until all the skin is removed.

Firmly twist the head away from the body and discard, or rinse and keep to use for stock (see page 219). Lay the prawn upside-down and break open the shell along the belly, then carefully peel the shell away from the flesh.

With large, raw prawns it is important to remove the intestinal tract, which looks like a thin black vein running down the back of the prawn flesh. Run the tip of a small knife down the back of the prawn and then lift up and pull out the vein.

Always shake or brush off any loose earth before washing vegetables. All vegetables must be thoroughly washed before cooking, with the exception of mushrooms, which should be brushed or wiped using a pastry brush. As cultivated mushrooms are grown in sterile soil this is sufficient. If they are genuinely wild, then trim them down, cutting off any bruised or damaged bits with a small, pointed knife, and brush or wipe as before.

Vegetables with inedible skins (such as onion, thick-skinned roots and tubers, and some squashes) need to be peeled. A vegetable peeler or small paring knife is best for peeling. A really sharp knife (see pages 20-1) and a good, heavy chopping board are essential for slicing and chopping.

Some vegetables, notably celeriac, artichoke bottoms, Jerusalem artichokes and salsify, rapidly discolour and begin to lose their vitamins once they are cut. To prevent this, try not to prepare them too far in advance. When peeling and cutting the vegetables, use a stainless steel knife and drop them immediately into ‘acidulated’ water. To prepare acidulated water, simply add the juice of one lemon to 600ml (1 pint) water.

Cut the root end off the clove of garlic. Lay the clove flat on the chopping board and rest the blade of a large knife horizontally on it. Lean heavily on the flat blade with the heel of your hand. The garlic clove will crack under the weight and will simultaneously be released from its papery skin. Remove any green stalk from the centre and finely chop using a rocking motion.

Peel the onion and chop off the root and tip. (If you’re less confident, you can leave the root attached until the last minute to hold the pieces securely together. But don’t forget to remove it before cooking!) Cut the onion in half through the root end (see the step by step pictures over the page). Place one half of the onion flat-side down on the chopping board. » Make about six parallel cuts downwards with the knife tip pointing towards the root end, but cutting short of the root end so that the onion continues to hold together.

Next, with the onion still facing downwards, and holding it steady from the root end, make three horizontal cuts one above the other, towards the root. Again, be careful not to slice all the way through – the half must still hold together.

Finally, chop down repeatedly across the width of the onion. Perfect cubes will fall from your knife!

1. Onion: cutting in half

2. Making downwards cuts

3. Making horizontal cuts

A mandolin is a plane-slicer tool, which originated in the Far East and is used to cut potatoes or other vegetables. Most models offer various cuts and thicknesses but typically they have three blades – one each for fine, medium and large ribbons. If you haven’t used a mandolin before, try to purchase one that has a tripod and a guard for your fingers.

This is a term used when vegetables or fruit rind are cut into very fine strips. Peel the skin from the vegetable if necessary. Trim away any root or stem parts. If the vegetable is round, like a potato or carrot, cut in half and lay it cut-side down on the board. This will keep it from rolling. Cut the edible part of the vegetable into slices about 3mm (1/8in) thick. Cut around the seeds and discard if necessary. Turn these slices on their side and slice again into even strips 3mm (1/8in) thick. Use as required.