What you keep in your store cupboard will depend on your family’s likes and dislikes, but the following list is a good place to start. It will not only ensure you are well stocked for making many of the recipes in this book, but it will also mean you’re never far from rustling up a satisfying meal, such as the simple recipe ideas. We recommend you look online or in larger supermarkets for unfamiliar ingredients.
BAKING SUPPLIES
Flour is the backbone of countless recipes and, even if baking isn’t your forte, it’s invaluable for making white sauces, crumbles, Yorkshire puddings, fritters, pancakes and much more.
• Plain flour
• Strong bread flour
• Instant yeast
• Suet (for dumplings)
• Baking powder
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Caster sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• Oats
• Dried fruit and nuts
• Vanilla extract and / or vanilla pods
• Cooking chocolate
DRIED GRAINS AND PULSES
Inexpensive and filling, whole and refined grains and dried legumes are the building block of many meals.
• Dried pasta (a variety of shapes)
• Dried noodles
• Basmati and / or long grain rice
• Risotto rice
• Couscous
• Dried lentils, beans and chickpeas
JARS AND TINS
These are the kinds of ingredients that deliver and build flavour. They can also be a real help when you don’t have time to soak and boil dried beans or chickpeas, make pesto or roast peppers.
• Tinned and / or jarred anchovies
• Tinned tuna
• Jarred capers
• Black and / or green olives
• Roasted red peppers
• Jarred pesto
• Tinned or jarred beans and chickpeas
• Tinned tomatoes
• Tomato purée
• Coconut milk
• Tahini
OILS, VINEGARS, SAUCES AND CONDIMENTS
Everyone has a favourite condiment that they can’t imagine eating chips or a bacon sandwich without and, with the ingredients below to hand, you should always be able to whip up a salad dressing or a marinade, too.
• Olive oil
• Neutral cooking oil such as vegetable or sunflower
• Red and white wine vinegar
• Balsamic vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• Ketchup and / or brown sauce
• Chilli sauce
• Dijon, wholegrain and English mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Honey
• Golden syrup
SEASONING, HERBS & SPICES
Whole spices last longer but often require toasting and grinding. Keep dried herbs and spices away from light to maximise their lifespan, and sort through your drawers every six months or so to root out anything that’s past its best.
• Sea salt
• Table salt
• Black pepper
• Whole and ground spices (a selection of whatever you use most: cinnamon, cumin, coriander, chilli flakes, fennel seeds, garam masala, sumac, turmeric etc.)
• Dried herbs (a selection of whatever you use most: bay leaves, oregano, mint, parsley etc.)
• Good-quality stock cubes or pots (vegetable, chicken, fish and beef)
FRIDGE AND FRESH
Most cuisines have a few fresh ingredients that form the basis of many of its recipes, from the onion, celery and carrot that make up a soffritto or mirepoix, to the garlic, ginger and chilli that are the foundation of much Asian cooking. This is by no means a definitive list but, depending on what you like to cook, it provides a starting point.
• Milk
• Butter
• Cheese
• Crème fraîche and / or yoghurt
• Onions
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Fresh chillies
• Fresh herbs
• Carrots
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Eggs
• Bread and / or tortilla wraps and pitta bread
FREEZER
A freezer really comes into its own for batch cooking and preparing ahead, but there are a few basic items that it is helpful to have always tucked away, too.
• Ready-made puff pastry
• Frozen peas or petit pois
• Frozen berries
• Ice cream
ESSENTIAL KITCHEN KIT
What equipment we keep in our kitchens often depends largely on the space we have available. The following is a comprehensive list of ‘basics’ that covers most bases – we haven’t included gadgets (handy though these can undeniably be). If you have room on the worktop then a food-processor can be wonderfully efficient at whizzing things up; similarly, if you make a lot of cakes, then a stand mixer will prove to be an invaluable investment.
• All-purpose chef’s knife
• Serrated or bread knife
• Paring or small knife
• Knife sharpener
• Vegetable peeler
• Sturdy kitchen scissors (use for snipping herbs but good for cutting pizza into slices, too)
• Box grater and fine grater for cheese and zest
• Wooden spoons
• Long tongs
• Silicon spatula
• Metal fish slice
• Balloon whisk
• Ladle
• Slotted spoon
• Measuring spoons
• Tin opener
• Corkscrew or bottle opener
• Sieve and / or colander
• Salad spinner
• Chopping boards (wood is kindest to knives; different coloured plastic boards are good to use for different foods, such as meat, fish, vegetables etc.)
• Baking sheets – a range of sizes
• Roasting tins – a range of sizes
• Cake tins – loose-bottomed and non-stick
• Electronic scales (so much more accurate than the old-fashioned kind, and a must for baking)
• Mixing bowls – a range of sizes
• Rolling pin (it is tricky to make pastry without one of these, although a long, thin glass bottle can substitute if necessary)
• Pestle and mortar
• Good-quality non-stick frying pan and sauté pan
• Saucepans with lids – a range of sizes
• Wok (great for stir fries – or use a frying or sauté pan)
• Ovenproof flameproof casserole dish