Storecupboard essentials

One’s ability to work magic with leftovers – which, by their very nature, can be rather random and unpredictable – is greatly enhanced by having a stand-by stock of trusted basic ingredients. The following is a list of the storecupboard stalwarts I try to make sure I rarely run out of – a combination of the sort of staples that can reliably form the beginning of a dish, and the flavour-packed condiments and seasonings that can finish it off with aplomb.

Anchovies, capers and olives I try to ensure I always have these salty, flavour-packed ingredients to hand. Either added alone or in combination, they are very often all it takes to lift a dish out of the doldrums. Look for sustainably fished anchovies, such as those from Fish4Ever.

Biscuits Good quality, shop-bought, all-butter shortbread, digestives and gingernuts are great standbys for quick puddings and treats. It pays to bear them in mind as potential ingredients, as well as elevenses.

Booze Red and white wine, beer and cider, are all splashed about routinely in my kitchen. Unfinished bottles go into the fridge and usually get called upon within a day or two. They give complexity to all kinds of recipes. My go-to spirit is Somerset Cider Brandy made by Julian Temperley – a sprinkle or a slosh is good for all kinds of things – from heady game stews to grown-up chocolate puds and trifles.

Bread My wife Marie makes wonderful sourdough bread regularly, but we also love checking out artisan bakeries to see what they are up to. And we usually have a loaf or two of bought or home-made bread in the freezer for back up.

Breadcrumbs I often turn any stray crusts, ends or slices of semi-stale bread into plain or seasoned breadcrumbs. You can freeze them in fairly small batches to crumb fishcakes and other patties, create a topping for gratins, or fry into pan grattato to add flavoursome crunch to pasta dishes. Or, if dried out completely in a low oven, they can be stored in a jar and kept in the larder for a couple of months.

Chocolate I find a good quality dark chocolate with around 70% cocoa solids the most versatile for cooking, but my kids prefer milk chocolate, which often gets used to make things like the tiffin.

Coconut milk Having a few tins of coconut milk in the cupboard means I can make creamy curries, soups and dressings in minutes.

Dried fruit Raisins, sultanas, prunes and unsulphured dried apricots are the ones I reach for most often. I will often soak these – in hot tea or apple juice – for half an hour or so, to use as fruity ‘juice bombs’ in salads or quickly improvised puds.

Dried herbs I don’t use a lot of dried herbs, as I’m lucky enough to have a productive herb garden, but I find it quite useful to have some dried bay leaves, oregano, sage, thyme and herbes de Provence on hand when I’m low on the fresh stuff. Check use-by dates from time to time – or simply use your nose to assess the potency of your dried herbs. Their flavour will fade as they age.

Flour These days I mostly use light brown flour in place of plain white in my daily baking and pancake making. My wife Marie keeps a range of flours for her bread making and I plunder them from time to time. Spelt flour has a pleasing complex flavour that I like in some savoury and sweet recipes. Rye flour is even more distinct, holding moisture – and spices – particularly well. Both flours can be used in improvised crumbles, or added to pancakes and drop scones, especially those destined for a savoury outing.

Honey I wouldn’t be without a good, fragrant, runny honey – I get mine, raw and minimally processed, from local beekeepers.

Mustard I use hot English mustard more often than any other kind. I also keep a milder Dijon mustard and a wholegrain variety, for when I fancy its lovely seedy texture in a dish or dressing. I’ve bought and been given many ‘fancy’ mustards down the years but never found one that came close to displacing these dependables. I keep mustard in the fridge, as it retains its true flavour much longer.

Nuts and seeds I always have walnuts, pecans, cashews, pine nuts and almonds to hand, along with pumpkin, sunflower, poppy and sesame seeds. To me, a bit of nutty or seedy crunch (particularly if those nuts or seeds have been lightly toasted in a pan first) absolutely transforms a simple salad. I’m never without a jar or two of nut butter, either – peanut is classic, of course, but cashew butter is also a favourite. Nut butters thicken up sauces and curries a treat. They are great binders in baked dishes too.

Oils When I’m frying or sautéeing and I don’t want the oil to contribute any taste to the dish, I use a flavourless sunflower oil. Otherwise, I use extra virgin rapeseed oil. I also employ this lovely, golden oil for roasting and dressings. For finishing dishes such as soups, roasted vegetables and salads, where the flavour can really shine, I turn to a good, peppery extra virgin olive oil.

Pasta I always try to have three different kinds of dried pasta on hand: long pasta such as spaghetti or linguine, pasta shapes such as farfalle, fusilli and penne, and small, rice-shaped risoni or orzo for soups and salads.

Pearled spelt or pearl barley These are both terrific for stretching a small amount of leftovers into tasty soups, stews and salads. I often cook extra, as ‘planned-overs’.

Pepper Freshly ground black pepper has an astonishing ability to lift flavours, and I make sure there’s a pepper mill always in reach when I’m cooking.

Pulses Dried pulses are better value for money, but you can’t beat tinned ones for speed and convenience. I use chickpeas, cannellini beans, borlotti beans, kidney beans and lentils all the time – you can build a substantial meal around any one of them.

Rice Basmati, both white and brown, and long-grain brown rice are my go-to grains, for accompanying curries and other saucy dishes. I tend to prefer brown rice, for its nutty texture, in dishes (hot or cold) where the rice is mixed through with other ingredients. I also keep arborio rice for ‘true’ risottos, and pudding rice – for rice puddings!

Salt I use ordinary table salt or fine-grained sea salt for salting cooking water and general seasoning. But I go for a flaky sea salt such as Maldon or Cornish for a final, sprinkled seasoning when its delicious crunch will really add something to the dish, for example on open sandwiches, creamy soups and salad-y assemblies of leftovers.

Soy sauce Soy and tamari (a Japanese-style soy sauce that usually doesn’t contain wheat) add intense, savoury flavour to leftover veg, fish and meat, whether in stir-fries, salads or broths.

Spices Of course it’s fantastic to have dozens of spices to play around with in the kitchen, but it’s surprising how often I come back to my small cabal of dependable friends: For heat, I use cayenne pepper for an all-pervasive background heat, dried chilli flakes (including seeds) when I want the heat ‘speckled’ through a dish (and visible), and smoked paprika for a smoky, sweet warmth. For their winning, heady aromas, coriander, cumin, fennel and caraway seeds are the other spices I turn to most often. If I have time, I’ll toast and grind cumin and coriander seeds myself, but I use the pre-ground versions and ground cinnamon too. And I always have cinnamon sticks and whole nutmegs for grating; these spices lend their spicy warmth to both sweet and savoury things. And I wouldn’t be without cloves, for bread sauce and the Christmas baked ham.

Stock cubes I use a lot of home-made stock, but I regularly use organic stock cubes too. The ones I reach for most often are Kallo’s organic, yeast-free veg stock cubes.

Sugar I use fine golden caster sugar and light muscovado sugar more than other sugars.

Tomatoes (tinned) I much prefer whole rather than chopped, tinned tomatoes – they are just more substantial and generous. It’s quite easy to locate and remove any bits of skin, along with the hard pale tops, which I routinely do. I also like to have some bottled passata (sieved tomatoes) on hand for quick soups, sauces and stews.

Vanilla extract Just a splash of this sweet, sexy, intensely fragrant liquid lifts the simplest of biscuits, cakes, pancakes and custards. Get a pure extract, or a seed-flecked vanilla bean paste, rather than vanilla ‘essence’. I always have whole vanilla pods too. Ndali vanilla from Rwanda is the best I’ve ever come across.

Vinegars The bottle of organic cider vinegar in my kitchen is in pretty much constant play. I use it in dressings, quick pickles and to add a balancing acidity to things made with sweet root veg. I also like the rich apple balsamic vinegar made by Aspall for doctoring sauces and gravies. I have almost given up using wine vinegars, although I have no strong objection to them.

FRESH ESSENTIALS

Butter We use a good salted local butter for daily spreading and off-the-cuff baking. But I do like unsalted butter too. It has a higher burning point than salted butter, so it’s good for gentle frying, though a dash of sunflower oil will raise the burn point of salted butter. If I’m buying butter, especially for sweet baking, I will also choose unsalted. It’s more creamy and lactic, which just gives it the edge for special puddings, cakes and tarts.

Cheese My capsule ‘cheese wardrobe’ usually includes a mildish, firmish goat’s or ewe’s cheese for crumbling onto salads and soups, a mature organic Cheddar (not too strong) and a hard, Parmesan-style cheese for grating – either the real thing, Parmigiano Reggiano, or a hard, mature goat’s cheese called Capriano. A luscious, tangy creamy blue, such as Dorset Blue Vinney or Cornish blue is useful too.

Chillies Medium-sized, medium-hot red chillies are the ones I use most frequently. Red jalapeños and fresnos are great, all-rounder chilli peppers.

Citrus fruit Because I hate to waste the zest, I always buy unwaxed citrus fruit. Lemon juice is almost as essential to me as salt and pepper, but I use a fair amount of orange and lime juice and zest in my cooking too.

Cream and crème fraîche Both double cream and crème fraîche are very useful, even in quite small quantities, for rounding out flavours and enriching dishes.

Eggs When our hens are taking a break from laying, we buy local free-range eggs. Why wouldn’t you?

Garlic This is a must-have for me. Stale garlic is worse than no garlic, so I buy it regularly.

Herbs I’d be stuffed without my bay tree – its leaves are essential for stocks, sauces and soups, and brilliant with fish. But dried bay leaves are great too, if you have no space for a bay tree. I grow lots of lovely herbs, but common thyme and flat-leaf parsley are the ones I pick and use almost daily; rosemary, mint and sage are the next in line.

Mayonnaise I often make my own, but I keep a jar of good ready-made in the fridge too, for adding to quick dips, salad dressings and sandwiches. There’s an organic one I really like called Laydilay.

Peas or petits pois Frozen peas hold their flavour and sweetness brilliantly, making them a highly acceptable alternative if you can’t get hold of the very freshest of fresh ones. And, of course, they can be used all year round.

Puff pastry Fresh or frozen, this is brilliant for the swift transformation of leftovers into tarts and pies. I always buy all-butter pastry – organic if possible.

Salted/cured pork Bacon, pancetta, chorizo, and cooked and air-dried ham are all incredibly useful for bumping up the flavour of a dish, even when used in quite small quantities. I make my own, but also buy good local products from outdoor-reared pigs.

Stock vegetables I always have onions and carrots on hand – celery too, when the English crop is in season (autumn and winter). I also think of parsley as a ‘stock veg’ and as it’s available all year round the thick stalks go in almost every fresh stock I make. These are the essential building blocks of stocks, soups and stews.

Yoghurt I use natural wholemilk yoghurt even more frequently than the richer alternatives, double cream or crème fraîche, in savoury and sweet dishes. For puds, I’ll often swirl yoghurt and cream or crème fraîche together.