Do you know the method that saves time, money, and provides you with fresh, homemade meals, effortlessly on a daily basis? We speak in the English-speaking sphere of “batch cooking”: cooking in series. It consists of taking a moment during the week to prepare a variety of foods in large quantities that can be stored, combined and accommodated for the rest of the week. It’s very simple but it changes everything! Tips and tricks to get you started and prepare your meals for the week.
ROOM TO STORE
To be able to store all these preparations in the refrigerator or freezer, start by making as much space as possible. Throw away what has been rotting away for too long, and plan a few empty-fridge or empty-freezer meals.
WHEN DO I DO THIS?
It is up to everyone to choose the moment that suits them best in terms of availability and supply. The ideal is to program the batch cooking in the wake of the races, to use fresh ingredients. For most people it is Saturday or Sunday, but for others it will be their day off during the week, or in the evening.
CONCRETELY, WHAT AM I PREPARING?
Basic elements, cooked in a simple and neutral way, and small complements more marked in flavor to accompany, season, spice up.
A cereal (rice, quinoa, millet, etc.) and a legume (lentils, chickpeas, dried beans, etc.) to serve hot as an accompaniment or cold in a salad, separately or together.
A few vegetables steamed or roasted in the oven, to eat as an accompaniment or in a mixed bowl.
Some raw vegetables and herbs, washed, possibly peeled and cut up, ready to be eaten (salad, shredded cabbage, herbs, red onions, raw vegetables in sticks, etc.).
Hard-boiled eggs, to put in a sandwich or a salad.
A roast or poached free-range chicken, whose meat can be served in various ways, hot or cold. As a bonus, enough to make a broth!
Nuts that are roasted in the oven (walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds), to keep in a jar and sprinkle everywhere.
A nourishing spread (mackerel or sardine rillettes, hummus, eggplant caviar) to serve with raw vegetables sticks or bread, or to add to a mixed bowl.
A small sauce or condiment (pesto, vinaigrette, tahini sauce, bo-bun sauce, express pickled vegetables) to season just about anything.
AND THEN, WHAT DO WE EAT?
By composing with these basic elements, adding spices and condiments, and possibly a simple cooking step, you can imagine all kinds of meals: meat or fish with the accompaniment already ready, a large satisfying salad, sandwiches in baguettes or pita, pancakes or meatballs, tacos, sautéed vegetables and cereals like fried rice, pasta, garnished broth, etc.
OTHER MEAT AND FISH
For these more fragile foods, and also more expensive, it is better to cook them from day to day. Except for the casseroles for which it is good to think big.
CONTAINERS AND STORAGE
The different preparations are stored in airtight containers, preferably glass. The washed salad and herbs will be wrapped in a clean tea towel. In an efficient refrigerator (which maintains a temperature of around 4°C), the food offered here will keep for about 3 days. If you do your batch cooking on Sunday afternoon, you are ready until Wednesday evening. We put the extra portions in the freezer on Sunday, to bring them out at the end of the week… or the one after, which allows for better mixing.
WOW, BUT IT’S ALL WORK!
The few hours you devote to this method on the day of batch cooking will pay you back a hundredfold the following evenings, not to mention the peace of mind of knowing that you have good and ready-to-eat things on hand. And it’s not at all or nothing: you can get started slowly, by first preparing only two or three elements. You will quickly find that it becomes easier by practicing, when you have taken your bearings and built up a small repertoire of preparations and recipes.
DOUBLE ACCOUNT WORD
Even outside of this well-organized weekly practice, I can only recommend that you systematically cook double (or even triple) whatever lends itself to it: vegetable curry, stewed meat, soup, tomato sauce, pie dough, crumble dough, etc. Freeze the excess (in small or medium portions, with date and description) and you’ll have the gift of a hassle-free meal in a week or a month.
