Food and Cooking
Glossary
P
Paella
A Spanish dish of rice and saffron that usually includes tomatoes,
chicken and seafood. It originated in the Valencia region of
Spain and gets its name from the broad shallow pan (paella or
paellera) in which it's traditionally cooked and served from.
Pak Choi
Closely related to bok choi, this leafy green Chinese vegetable
belongs to the cabbage family (although it tastes nothing like
cabbage!). It has long green, slightly ribbed leaf stalks and
soft oval green leaves.
Pancakes
Pancakes are thin cakes made from a batter of milk (or milk
and water), eggs and flour which is then cooked in a frying
pan or on a griddle until golden brown on both sides. You can
buy special pancake pans which are shallow and non-stick with
curved sides.
Papaya
Also called a paw paw, this is a large fragrant fruit that looks
a bit like a large mango, with green skin and sweet orange flesh
filled with round black seeds. It's delicious on its own with
a squeeze of lime juice, or use it in salsas, add it to fruit
smoothies or fruit salads or even savoury salads.
Paprika
Paprika is the ground bright red powder from sweet and hot dried
peppers. It's much milder than cayenne pepper and has a characteristic
sweetness. It's a favourite ingredient in European cookery:
in Austria and Hungary paprika is a main flavouring in meat
stews such as goulash, of which paprika is the essence.
Parboil
This means to boil vegetables until they’re just slightly
cooked. It’s a technique that’s used to part-cook
potatoes and other hard root vegetables prior to roasting them
at a high temperature to ensure the inside is cooked while the
outside crisps up well. The technique can also be used for meats,
such as pork or chicken, before it is cooked on the barbecue,
in order to ensure they're fully cooked throughout.
Parmesan
Originating from around Parma in the north-west of Italy, this
is one of the world’s best-known cheeses. It's stamped
with the official Parmigiano Reggiano mark as a guarantee of
origin. Fragrant and tangy, it has a hard, grainy texture and
a buttery yellow colour. Buy fresh parmesan where possible;
the taste is far superior to pre-packed cheese - and avoid ready-grated
cheese at all costs.
Parsley
This is a multi-purpose herb. It can be used as a garnish and
flavouring and as a vegetable. Parsley can be used in almost
any savoury dish. It's especially good used in great quantities
in fresh salads or in soups and sauces. Chop or shred it and
mix with butter to melt over fish or to glaze vegetables.
Passata
Passata is made from ripe tomatoes that have been puréed
and sieved to remove the skin and seeds. It's sold in jars and
can be smooth or chunky depending on the level of sieving.
Pasta
Made from a dough of durum-wheat semolina, water and sometimes
eggs, which is kneaded and cut into a wide variety of shapes.
There are basically two types - fresh or dried.
Fresh pasta is often made with eggs, giving it a richer flavour
and texture than the dried varieties; it has the consistency
of a soft dough and only needs to be cooked for a very short
time compared with dried pasta.
Patty Pan
A small, round flattish summer squash, yellow, green or white
in colour with pretty fluted edges. It's sometimes known as
a custard squash or custard marrow and can be cooked in a similar
way to courgettes. They don't need to be peeled, just washed
clean and the ends trimmed.
Patty Tin
A baking tin with six, nine or 12 shallow round compartments
used for making individual pies and tarts.
Peanut
Also known as a groundnut or monkey nut. This edible nut is
the seed of a member of the pea family, so is not a true nut.
The pods mature underground and each contain two to four seeds.
Peanuts can be roasted, salted and eaten whole or used in cooked
dishes. They're used a lot in South-east Asian cookery.
Pecan
Also known as a hickory nut, the pecan is related to the walnut
and grown mainly in North America. It’s a delicious nut
with a toffee-like taste that’s perfect for just eating
as it is. In cooking it’s probably best known as the basis
for pecan pie, but it can be used in all kinds of cake recipes,
in sweets and in savoury dishes.
Pectin
A natural gelling agent found in ripe fruit. Pectin is an important
ingredient in making jams and jellies. The levels of pectin
vary from fruit to fruit. Some fruits, such as citrus fruit,
blackberries, apples and redcurrants have high pectin levels.
Others are low in pectin such as strawberries - so lemon juice
is added to strawberry jam to help it set. It's possible to
buy pectin as a liquid extract or in powdered form.
Penne
Ridged pasta tubes shaped like quills and cut at a diagonal.
Penne is a good pasta to serve with fairly thick creamy or tomato-based
sauces as its shape holds the sauce well. It’s also good
for using in pasta bakes. Rigatoni makes a suitable substitute.
Perry
An alcoholic drink, similar to cider, made from specially grown
varieties of pears. Look out for single variety perry, which
is still made in small amounts by artisan producers; otherwise,
sparkling perry is available in supermarkets. A subtly flavoured
vinegar is made from perry. Use it in salad dressings and marinades.
Cider and cider vinegar are suitable substitutes.
Pesto
An Italian dark green sauce for pasta originating in Genoa.
It's made from pine nuts blended with fresh basil, parmesan
or pecorino cheese, garlic and olive oil.
Pilchard
An adult sardine, pilchards are an oil-rich fish. They're rarely
available fresh and are mainly sold processed and canned. You're
most likely to find them fresh during the summer months. If
you do, cook them as you would sardines.
Pine Nut
Also called pine kernels, pine nuts are the edible seed of about
a dozen species of pine trees. The cones are sun-dried, then
threshed to shake out the seeds, which are then hulled. Pine
nuts are oily and rich in protein, so they tend to go rancid
quite quickly; store them in the fridge and they'll keep longer.
Pink Fir Apple
A knobbly, pinky beige-skinned, waxy potato, good for use in
salads.
Piri-piri
Piri-piri is an African word for chilli and also a hot chilli
sauce used in Portuguese, African and Brazilian cookery. The
Portuguese introduced chillies to their African colonies after
discovering them in Brazil, so piri-piri plays a major part
in the fiery food of Mozambique - chicken, fish, seafood and
vegetables are all cooked with piri-piri.
Pistachio
A pale green nut encased in a creamy coloured shell, pistachios
have a sweet flavour and are eaten as a snack or used in cooking.
The green colour makes pistachio a popular flavouring for ice
creams, desserts and sweets, such as nougat and halva. In savoury
dishes pistachios go best with veal, pork and poultry. Buy unsalted
nuts and use them in homemade pâtés or crush them
and mix with breadcrumbs, herbs and seasoning to make a crusty
topping or stuffing for fish or meat.
Pitta Bread
An oval-shaped Middle Eastern flatbread. It can be opened up
to form a pocket which can be stuffed with a variety of fillings.
Throughout the Middle East, pittas are served alongside main
dishes or cut into wedges and used to dip in mezze dishes such
as baba ganoush and hummus. If they’re warmed for a minute
or two in a medium oven they puff up a bit making them easier
to cut open.
Pithaya
The fruit of a Central and South American cactus, the pitahaya
has a knobbly yellow skin and a deep-pink, dense flesh. The
fruit can be cut in half and the flesh, which has a mild, sweet
flavour, eaten with a spoon (along with the seeds) - a squeeze
of lemon or lime juice will help it along. Add the bright pink
flesh to a fruit salad for a splash of brilliant colour.
Plaice
An orange-spotted flat sea fish. It's available fresh or frozen,
whole or in fillets and has a mild sweet flavour. Fry or grill
it on the bone, poach whole fish or fillets and use the poaching
liquor to make a sauce, or coat fillets of plaice in egg and
breadcrumbs and pan-fry in butter and a little oil. Sole or
brill can be used instead of plaice.
Poussin
A small, immature chicken, sometimes called a spring chicken,
and weighing about 400g to 500g. Because the bird is only four
to six weeks old, the flavour hasn't developed and there isn't
much flesh on the bones, but one bird is perfect for a single
serving.
Praline
A brittle sweet made of almonds and caramelised sugar. It can
be eaten as a sweet, served as an after-dinner treat with coffee,
or crumbled or ground and used in desserts as an ingredient,
filling or crunchy topping.
Prawn
A type of shellfish. Prawns are available fresh or frozen, in
or out of their shells. Fresh, raw prawns are grey and have
a better texture than frozen prawns. If you buy whole prawns,
the shells and heads are excellent for making stock.
Prickly Pear
The fruit of a type of cactus and also called a Barbary pear,
cactus pear, Indian pear or Indian fig. The fruit contains yellow
or red flesh with a sweet mild flavour that's similar to watermelon.
The prickles are usually removed before they're sold but if
they’re not, take care when handling them because the
needles can stick into your hands.
Puff Pastry
A very light pastry made in layers that expand when cooked,
leaving large air pockets inside. Used for sweet or savoury
dishes. Puff pastry can be bought ready-made either chilled
or frozen. Look for all-butter varieties for the best flavour.
Purée
A word used to describe either the act of making a smooth sauce
or paste from various ingredients (verb), or the final result
of such a process (noun). Meats, fruits and vegetables can all
be puréed. Purées can be made in seconds if you
have a blender or food processor. Otherwise use a sieve and
push the ingredients through with a spoon into a bowl.
Puy Lentils
A small slate-green lentil with a delicate blue marbling. Puy
lentils are considered by many to be the best lentil because
of their unique peppery flavour and the fact they hold their
shape during cooking.
