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Welcome to the Schwartz glossary, an A to Z guide to cookery terms. Whether it's herbs and spices, names of dishes or cooking techniques, you'll find them here, along with suggested recipes and links to more information.

• Tabbouleh
  • A traditional Levantine Arab salad dish, made with bulghur wheat and flavoured with olive oil, lemon, tomatoes, herbs and Black Pepper. Traditionally eaten with a lettuce leaf. (See also Bulghur Wheat)
• Tagine
  • Also known as tajine, this is a dish named after the pot in which it is cooked in, typical in North African cuisine. The pot is a heavy clay one with a round, shallow base and a cone-shaped lid that rests inside the base throughout the cooking process. The lid is designed to promote the return of the cooking steam to the bottom of the dish. In Moroccan cuisine, tagine refers to a slow-cooked casserole resulting in tender meat and vegetables, usually delicately spiced with Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Mint and Parlsey.
• Tagliatelle
  • Flat, long and straight pasta noodles, available fresh and dried. Tagliatelle comes from Bologna, where it is traditionally served with Bolognese sauce. Often available flavoured, most commonly with spinach giving a distinctive green colour to the pasta. Delicious with both creamy and tomato sauces. If you can’t find it, try spaghetti or pappardelle. (See also Pappardelle)
• Tamarind
  • A spice used in Asian and Indian cuisine, which has a distinctive sour and fruity taste. Available in different formats, but most commonly sold as a block or as a concentrate. Both forms require soaking or blending with water before using. Tamarind can also be bought in a paste format in glass jars, this can be used as it is. If you can’t find it, try lemon juice.
• Terrine
  • Refers to the glazed earthenware cooking dish with vertical sides and a tight-fitting lid, generally rectangular or oval. By association the term also refers to recipes prepared and served in a terrine, mainly game and venison. Often the food is tightly packed in the terrine, chilled and then turned out, before being sliced and served.
• Tofu
  • Also known as bean-curd, tofu is made in a similar way to soft cheese, using soya milk. It is available most commonly sold as firm tofu or silken tofu. Firm tofu is generally sold in blocks to be cubed or sliced and used in stir-fries, salads, casseroles and soups. It is quite bland and benefits from being marinated. Silken tofu has a silky, smooth texture and is ideal for use in sauces, dressings, dips and as an alternative to cream cheese. Readily available in supermarkets.
• Tortilla
  • A traditional Mexican unleavened (made without yeast) flatbread, made from maize of wheat flour and water. Ideal for wrapping salads, meat and vegetables in, great hot or cold. Readily available vacuum packed in supermarkets. NB. Tortilla is also the word for a flat Spanish omelette traditionally made with potatoes and onions.
• Tuile
  • A very thin, light-weight dry biscuit, used to decorate desserts, originating in France. The term means ‘tile’ in France. The dough is soft and pliable and once baked the round ‘tile’ is usually gently moulded around something to form a curved shape. Made from flour, eggs, butter and sugar the dough can be flavoured with Vanilla, Cinnamon or Nutmeg. Delicious served with pannacotta or ice-cream.