The words “January” and “cooking” are never going to be anyone’s favourite combination …
We’re all jaded from a month of overeating and drinking, and the thought of cooking is, well, at the bottom of the New Year to-do list. I get it – I feel the same. I’m just as uninspired and bored of the same winter vegetables as you are! I’m ready to put limited seasonal produce aside and wait for the first signs of sun and spring to return.
This month is all about simple, dry store cooking. Open up your food cupboard or cupboards, take everything out, and have a proper look at what’s been lingering at the back. Oh, and those jars cluttering up the top shelf of the fridge – get those out too. My cupboards are always way too full and, if I’m honest, a bit of a mess. Things constantly get forgotten, especially since I’m short and can’t see past the front row. But if your dry store cupboards aren’t a mess, I’m guessing you’re also one of those mythical people with an organised Tupperware drawer? (Still waiting to meet someone who actually is.)
The beauty of cooking from your cupboards is that it’s easy, economical and there’s no need to rush out into the cold for fresh ingredients. It’s also the perfect excuse to finally use up those impulse buys you were once convinced you’d turn into something spectacular but haven’t touched since. (Yes, I’m looking at you, jar of preserved lemons from that Ottolenghi recipe.)
And then there are the wildcard ingredients, the ones you bought on holiday or as part of some ambitious recipe that never happened. A bag of dried mushrooms? Rehydrate them, and you’ve got the base for an earthy risotto or a silky pasta sauce. A random tin of artichokes? Add them to a jar of beans with plenty of parmesan and black pepper for a perfect working-from-home lunch. You probably received a few chutneys over Christmas so add a generous layer to your cheese toastie instead of leaving it lingering there until next year.
Cooking from your cupboards is the perfect excuse to change your regular weekly menu rotation.
I remember a trip to Greece years ago. My sister and I rented a house. We had no car, and the house was perched at the top of a winding road with no shops or restaurants in sight. Faced with bare cupboards, it was a Ready Steady Cook moment: there was some pasta, a couple of tins of tuna, a questionable half jar of capers, and a tin of tomatoes. Somehow, we cobbled together a loose Sicilian tuna pasta. I reduced the tuna, capers and tomatoes into a ragu-like sauce, tossed it through pasta with plenty of pasta water, salt and pepper, then finished with some Greek olive oil we found in the house. It might have been the dodgy wine or the sea view, but it was memorably delicious.
SEE MORE: Dry Store Cooking – Comforting One-Pot Greek Roast Chicken
It made me realise some of my best meals are cupboard based. At least once a week, I make a simple pasta from gathering ingredients I have to hand. It might be just garlic, capers fried until crispy, tomato purée and chilli flakes. A generous splash of pasta water pulls it all together and it never disappoints. This pasta is never exactly the same – one week I might use anchovies instead of capers, the next crushed olives and chopped preserved lemons or just butter, lots of gently cooked onions and parmesan. Don’t be scared to mix pasta shapes too – check the cooking times on the back and add to the pan in stages. I’ve worked on a few pasta cookbooks and most include a minestrone with all the pasta scraps. If it’s ok with the Italians, it’s ok for us.
For something even lazier, crispy chilli oil (Irish-owned White Mausu is my favourite) is a must. Toss it through noodles with soy sauce and Asian black vinegar for a quick, tangy and addictive dinner or use it as a dressing for roasted veg or plain rice. It’s the kind of ingredient that makes you feel like you’ve actually put some effort in, even if you haven’t.
I’m hoping you’ve got a few of these essentials in stock: capers, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies, full-fat coconut milk, tahini, jarred beans, tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, lentils, olives, fish sauce, mustard, soy sauce, black vinegar, crispy chilli oil, tinned – or, if you’re fancy, jarred – tuna, a variety of vinegars, sesame seeds, jarred red peppers, and a mix of pasta and rice. Instead of trying to do more this January, do less and use what you’ve got. Don’t bother buying out-of-season watery tomatoes, limp asparagus or tasteless berries from the supermarket. Instead, simmer down those tins of tomatoes in the back of the cupboard with some chopped onion and garlic for an hour until rich and reduced, then eat it with mounds of spaghetti and parmesan. Forget the takeaways and thank me – for looking after your bank balance – in February. @kittycoles