Basic food essentials
Risotto recipe
When we say “cupboard”, we mean fridge and freezer too. It's all very well talking about quick cooking, but it's pointless if you spend more time shopping for food. So get organised and stock up on essentials to save time and unnecessary effort. These are some of our favourite things…
Pulses and beans: tins of chickpeas, beans and pulses, such as lentils.
Vegetables: rustle up tasty Mediterranean pastas and pizza by having pitted olives, tinned tomatoes, marinated artichokes or other vegetables in the cupboard.
Pasta: good-quality dried pasta is just as good as most from the chiller cabinet, especially tagliatelle, spaghetti and linguine, which are great all-rounders, and work well with tomato, fish and meat sauces.
Rice: Arborio for risotto, basmati for curries and long-grain for pilaf.
Fruits: Handy tinned fruits include lychees, apricots and peaches.
Stock: Pouches of stock that don't need to be chilled are always handy.
For the fridge: keep unsalted butter (which you can also freeze), crème fraîche and Greek yogurt, all of which have a long shelf life. Lemons, limes, onions, garlic and ginger are also a must.
For the freezer: frozen petit pois, edamame beans, sweetcorn, oven chips, potato wedges or rosti are good for quick accompaniments.
