Wicked combinations

Chefs have the knack of mixing different flavours and textures to make dishes that are interesting and delicious. Stir-fried warm salad of prawns and baby courgettes includes the crunch of raw courgettes, the zing of lime and ginger and the sweetness of charred prawns. A slug of vodka gives a fragrant freshness to yellow bean, vodka and smoked haddock risotto. The ingredients themselves aren't that unusual or exotic. It's how you put them together that makes the difference.

The texture of food has a lot to do with how much you enjoy getting your teeth round it. There's a world of difference between the way dried and fresh pastas feel when you eat them. 'Dried pasta,' says Jamie, 'has a fantastic bite, great for seafood and tomato sauces, while fresh pasta is silky tender, perfect with creamy and buttery sauces.'

A bit of crunchiness gives a dish an excellent texture. You can add crunch by deep-frying, or using a crisp, garlicky breadcrumb topping. Or try using raw vegetables and fruit with a bit of bite, as in Moorish crunch salad. By contrast, on a cold day, when you fancy comfort food, a crunch-free creamy and oozy risotto will slip down a treat. Contrasting textures in the same dish are always good news. Pot-roasted shoulder of lamb is a great example of two textures that set each other off to perfection. 'You want the meat to be nice and crisp on the outside,' Jamie reckons, 'but really melt-in-your-mouth and tender inside.'

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