Tofu

Tofu isn’t to everyone’s taste, but treat it as a blank canvas and be brave with flavourings and textures and it can be transformed into something quite special. Firstly, it’s important to drain tofu well and pat it dry using kitchen paper as any residual water will dilute a marinade or soften a golden crust. Tofu benefits from a feisty marinade, a thick, sticky glaze, or a coating of cornflour/corn starch, batter, panko or breadcrumbs for a crisp golden crust.

Tofu can be adapted to suit different styles of cooking: it’s perfect in Asian dishes, but also works in Western tomato-based dishes, omelettes and fritters. Look out for smoked tofu (with sesame seeds is particularly good); silken tofu, which can be blended to make creamy sauces; and golden fried tofu that needs very little embellishment.