A well-stocked and smart pantry is key to getting creative and organised in the kitchen. There are so many dishes you can cook with a few basic ingredients.
Spice Rack
Move over salt and pepper - a carefully provisioned spice rack is an absolute must-have pantry staple. Spices are a great way to add flavour, warmth and depth to really elevate a dish. They are also a great way to limit your daily sodium intake since there are plenty of more exciting and flavourful ways to season dishes rather than table salt. Spices can be used in pretty much anything, from curry pastes and sauces to meat rubs and marinades, or simply sprinkled on vegetables or your morning cereal.
So where do you start when browsing the spice aisle? The first step is to work out which type of dishes you normally cook at home. If you like things spicy and frequently cook curries, chilli powder, paprika, coriander, cumin, turmeric and garam masala are good spices to start with. However, if you love baking, experiment with spices like cinnamon, cloves, all spice, ginger and nutmeg.
Spices are also extremely handy if you don't have any fresh ingredients to hand. For example, onion and garlic powder can be used as a substitute for onion and garlic. Whole spices stay fresher for longer than ground spices so, if possible, buy your spices whole and grind them yourself when you need them.
Brown Rice
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ARE YOU TO FU enough?
Love it or hate it, everyone has an opinion about tofu. Tofu is a very popular plant-based protein for vegans and vegetarians, but now this humble bean curd is starting to shine for meat lovers too as an alternative source of protein.
Sweet TRAYBAKES
Whether you want to feed a group of people or make a batch of treats for the week, traybaking is a no-fuss way to cook up something sweet and easy that will please everyone. Your family and friends will love you when you offer them some of our: cinnamon scrolls; fruity chocolate; espresso brownies; lemon & coconut slice; or ginger cake with brown butter frosting.
ROLL UP
When you roll food, whether in Lebanese bread, a thin pancake or whatever you choose, you can create a parcel of nutrition that is perfectly suited to your own tastes and needs. Here are some roll-up recipes that will suit every occasion including: mango, snow pea, & sprout rice paper rolls; oat crepes with coconut yoghurt & mixed berries; or beef meatball & tzatziki flatbreads.
RICE BOWL Lunches
If you are working from home, or even enjoying your weekend, and lunchtime rolls around but you have no plans for lunch, then a rice bowl is an ideal saviour.
PLANT-BASED PIES
Pies are a piece of gastronomic brilliance: a filling with a case and lid you can eat is food genius. The first pies date back to Egyptian times and there is a recipe for chicken pie that was carved into stone more than 4000 years ago. For millennia, however, the pie casing was mostly used to cook the filling, but for around 500 years or more we have been eating the pie crust too.
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Eggplant (Solanum melongena L)
Eggplant is a wonderful option for vegans and vegetarians, extremely nutritious and highly versatile in the kitchen.
5 PANTRY SAVIOURS
Whether you're cooking a simple breakfast or something more exotic, here are five pantry food staples you should have on hand to cook plenty of delicious meals in the comfort of your own home.
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
Cucumbers are delicious fresh but they also offer plenty more options in the kitchen.
Our Chefs
Meet the chefs who bring this issue's recipes to you: Lisa Guy, Georgia Harding, Lee Holmes, Sammy Jones, Raquel Neofit, Naomi Sherman and Ames Starr.
