In praise of the AGA simmering plate

Of all the useful features on our AGA, the simmering plate is the one we use most often. Steady, dependable, always ready. After five years with our AGA Signature (AGA eR7) 150-5i, I genuinely can't imagine cooking without it.

The beauty of the simmering plate is tricky to describe until you've used one. The closest comparison I can give is an always-on frying pan, at the perfect temperature, ready when you need it. With the lid down it becomes a kind of mini oven – a contained space with gentle heat from all sides. It seems to intuitively know whether you want to gently warm something through, brown it, or fry it. And because the surface is so generous, there's plenty of space to cook a few different things at once.

One of the first things I remember the boys cooking when they were little was pancakes on the simmering plate – the two of them perched on stools, taking turns with the spatula, their dad standing beside them on a Saturday morning. The surface is flat, the heat is even, and once the lid is down everything is contained – no open flame, no spitting oil. They're teenagers now, and the simmering plate is still where they cook most. Arthur is making burgers for tea tonight – straight on the simmering plate, for the whole family. There's something rather lovely about watching them grow up cooking on it.

Cooking on the AGA simmering plate

Most days start with the simmering plate. Crumpets, teacakes or hot cross buns toast beautifully straight on the surface – golden, evenly crisp, never scorched. Fried eggs take about three minutes with the lid down and a spray of olive oil – healthier than a frying pan, no fat sizzling away, no pan to wash up afterwards. When the occasion calls for a proper cooked breakfast, there's room for everything in one place: a few rashers of bacon and some halved tomatoes fit happily alongside the eggs, all cooking at once.

Whenever we cook directly on the simmering plate, we use Bake-O-Glide. It's a reusable, non-stick liner that sits directly on the hot surface – think of it as a permanent, washable piece of baking parchment, pre-cut to fit the simmering plate exactly. A couple of sprays of olive oil and you're ready to cook almost anything with minimal fat and very little washing up. When you've finished, it goes straight in the dishwasher.

A small but very useful tip: make sure the Bake-O-Glide is lying completely flat before you crack an egg onto it. If there's any raise in the middle, the egg will slide – in my case recently, straight off the Bake-O-Glide and over the hinges of the simmering plate lid. A minor kitchen tragedy.

Later in the day, toasties – a staple in our house. It's wonderfully straightforward: butter the outside of the bread, fill with grated cheese, ham, chutney, leftover pulled pork, whatever you have about – and lay the sandwich directly on the simmering plate with the lid down. The butter crisps the outside while the inside goes soft and gooey. Flip after a few minutes. The result is far better than any sandwich toaster, with no extra appliance to store or clean.

We've recently discovered the joys of smashed tacos – a brilliant, speedy midweek meal. Mix 500g chicken mince with grated onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and seasoning. Press the mixture over mini tortilla wraps right out to the edges, then lay them mince-side down on the simmering plate – two will fit at a time. Cook until the chicken is browned and cooked through, then flip for a minute to crisp the taco itself. We serve them with shredded iceberg and a salsa made from pineapple, coriander, red onion, lime zest and juice, and jalapeños. Delicious. You could do the same with beef mince.

Scallops are another favourite thing to cook on the simmering plate. The quick, even heat cooks them in moments with minimal butter required, full flavour retained, ready in no time at all. Other seafood and shellfish work the same way.

Close the lid and the simmering plate becomes a small enclosed oven. In a pinch, fish fingers and chips cook surprisingly well this way – simply turn the fish fingers halfway through, and you have a meal for one on the table in under fifteen minutes.

I grew up cooking on an old oil AGA, and we used the simmering plate then – but nothing like as much as we do now. There are plenty of days when I don't want the main ovens of our AGA Signature (AGA eR7) 150-5i on at all, particularly in summer. The simmering plate ends up doing the work the ovens might otherwise have done, and as a result I've become more inventive with it.
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