Every now and then, something appears in your life that makes you unexpectedly happy.  So where it may appear unusual to you that one of these moments for me, came in the form of a frying pan I hope this article will go on to justify why.

We all have our favorite pan or kitchen gadget or tool, and I have to say, my cast iron frying pan is one of mine.  I find a smile on my face when grab it from my pan cupboard and as I am contemplating how I will be using it to rustle up a fancy dinner.

So, to share the joy, here are a few tips, tricks and recipe ideas that utilize this kitchen wonder-gadget.

When buying a cast iron frying pan consider the following features.

• Its super heavy
• It does not have a plastic handle, the whole thing is iron.
• It’s not a cheap piece of garbage. It’s thick and it’s surprisingly heavy when you lift it up.
• Its has ridges on the bottom is a personal preference, for 2 reasons; firstly you get those great grill marks, and secondly, most of the fat sits in the ridges and reduces how much ends up with the food.

• Wipe it out as best as you can, add a centimeter of water and bring it to the boil
• Wipe it again
• Make sure it’s totally dry before you put it away (putting the pan back on the heat again for a minute will ensure this).   Putting away a slightly damp pan will result in rust marks and require a total re-seasoning of the pan to fix.
• Never leave it standing with water in it for long
• Avoid using harsh detergents
• If it gets so messed up that you have to give it a good scrub then you are going to have to re-season your pan.

• From time to time this is essential.  Even if your pan gets into a real mess, don’t worry, it can always be recovered.
• Make sure the plan is clean
• Put a table spoon of oil in the pan and then use some kitchen roll to rub it around the entire pan. Try to leave some, but as little as possible – so the pan has a slight greasy feel to it.
• Be ready to be about for the next hour or so to keep any eye on things.

Now you have a couple of options:

1. Put it in the oven for about an hour at around 400 degrees. It’s going to smoke, so turn on the extractor fan.
2. As per step 1 but on the BBQ, the advantage here is you won’t fill your house with the smoke.

• Heat it up the iron skillet first, and then add a little oil.  Run it around the pan.  You can tell fat is hot because it has a slight ripple to the surface.
• If your pan has the ridges, place the food diagonally across the pan and let it start to cook, expect a nice big hiss as it hits the pan (very satisfying sound).
• Rotate the food 90 degrees so its diagonal again going to the other 2 corners, and let it cook again. This is going to give you that nice crisscross grill mark effect.

• If you have followed the above tip and bought a pan with a cast iron handle and not a plastic one you can finish off cooking in the oven, this is particularly good if you are cooking a thicker piece of meat or a thick piece of fish such as a salmon fillet.  Cook one side to get the grill marks, flip and place in an oven, say 350 degrees. The heat of the pan will immediately start to cook the other side and the oven will ensure that it is done all the way through.

Sprinkle the fish with salt or pepper of your favorite seasoning mix and follow the tips for fish and seafood.  The marlin in the above picture took about 4 minutes a side and it was done – cooking time varies so much on the type and thickness of fish, and the heat of the pan. Don't forget to create the grill marks!

Cast iron pans are excellent for cooking tuna - as the pan can be heated very hot, and so aids the browning of the outside leaving the inside rare.

Tip: If you are using a seasoning mix, watch out - they are often loaded with salt, so read the ingredients before you add salt and pepper.

1. Chop them long ways and rest them across the ridges of the preheated and oiled pan and cook for a couple of minutes, turning, so that they have caramelized lines surrounding them.
2. Lay them in tin foil, dot a little butter salt and pepper on top first, and finish them off in the oven.

This method of cooking veggies really brings out the flavor and sweetness of the vegetables probably because they don't end up getting their flavors all boiled away in water.

Ingredients:

    * About 8 large scallops, washed, patted dry
    * 1-2 lime leaves, very finely chopped
    * 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
    * 2 teaspoons of olive oil
    * 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
    * Grating of ginger to taste

1. Add the scallops to the freezer bag with the other ingredients (or a marinade of your choice)

2. Taste the marinade to ensure its flavors are balanced, lime leaves differ in size and some soy sauces are thicker and saltier than others.  Don't worry of the sesame is a little strong as much of its flavor will be lost in the cooking.

3. Leave for about 1 hour.

4. Heat the pan so you know it’s HOT, add a little oil – it should ‘shimmer’ immediately and then add the scallops.  Wait 1 minute and turn them 90 degrees.  Wait a further minute and flip.  Cook on the other side, for a further 1 to 2 minutes. SERVE IMMEDIATELY.

1. Marinate in a mixture of Garlic, Rosemary, salt and pepper – ratios as you see fit, but make extra.
2. Add lamb to the very hot pan, reserve some of the marinade. Turn 90 degrees after a few minutes.
3. After a few more minutes, flip and add to a 350 degree oven.
   Cooking time is going to vary on just how thick your butcher chopped
   them.
4. When you guess they need only 4 or 5 more minutes more cooking
   time, pour over the reserved marinade as evenly as possible and return
   to the oven. This is because the rosemary and garlic that was on them
   at the beginning of cooking will have done its job but it will have
   burned off.

© Article and Images helenkw

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