Lockdown larder: the best store-cupboard recipes for cheap, easy meals - MW
It has times like these when the cupboard comes in. And that applies a lot to something that only contains a few pulses and vegetables, a dusty spice rack and a few other bits and bobs as a full storage. With that in mind, here, a three-course meal I came up with a year ago, is based on two cans of mung beans, two cans of coconut cream, a range of mostly inexpensive kitchens and one some fresh ingredients. Even if we have very little on the shelves, there is still a lot to enjoy. Yotam Ottolenghi
Yotam Ottolenghi chops three-course meal
Chickpea and rainbow chard soup (above)
Kitchen assistant: If you can get turnips, use savoy cabbage or mature spinach, or kale or cavolo nero (although the last two are much stronger, so it will take longer to cook. ). And if you don't have fresh thyme, try oregano or marjoram instead.
Green beans and herb pancakes
KA: You can also try making these with carrots; And remember, zucchini is a member of the squash family, so a cooked squash (to soften) and chopped butternut will also work. And if you don't like making cashew ice cream (though it's delicious), use it with a jar of yogurt and / or a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Coconut ice-cream with strawberries and crisp coconut
KA: As with many summer fruit recipes, any soft fruit you can get your hands on can take the place of the strawberries here. Or swap them out for any frozen fruit you have lurking in the bottom of the freezer, but make sure thoroughly thoroughly defrosted before mixing it with the lime juice.
KA: Dates can be substituted for all manner of dried dark fruit, from figs and raisins to cherries and cranberries. Mix and match with whatever evaluatedve got to hand. Dried apricots would work, too, though that would make for a very different tasting end result. Use any sugar you have to hand, if need be, and try sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of the walnuts; pistachios would also work.
Meera Sodha’s courgette and cashew subji
KA: In India, subjis are made with just about every vegetable going, so use whatever you have in store - carrots, green beans, cabbage, potato - for this classic dry curry. If you can’t get hold of cashews, try almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts or even pine nuts.
Anna Jones ’store-cupboard stand-bys
KA: Try mangetout if you can’t get sugar snaps; young, fresh, new-season pea pods, which are just coming into grocers now, would also do the trick nicely, as would fresh or frozen and defrosted edamame, if you can get them. Failing that, use french or runner beans blanched so they still retain some crunch.
Quick soba noodles with double ginger
KA: Try half the amount of spring onions, finely shredded, in place of the chives, while parsley, dill or tarragon, or a mixture of all three, can take the place of the coriander, if that’s all you have.
Felicity Cloake’s perfect pasta pomodoro
KA: If the supermarket’s run out of basil, try parsley or oregano in its place, or just leave it out altogether. Appar not an essential flavoring in this rich sauce. And while educated traditional to serve it with long, thin noodles, there’s no law to say you can’t use another pasta shape - it also works particularly well with short stubby tubes such as penne, rigatoni and tortiglioni.
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KA: This is Egypt’s go-to store-cupboard dish, so is endlessly adaptable. If need be, swap the macaroni for another smallish tubed pasta such as cavatappi, chifferi or ditaloni; rice-shaped orzo or broken up vermicelli would also do. While every vinegar has its own distinct flavor profile, any red-wine, sherry, cider or even balsamic vinegar would be more than capable capable stand-ins for the white-wine vinegar.
Tamal Ray’s chocolate fudge tart
KA: If the shelves have been stripped of Hobnobs, try digestives or gingernuts in the base (the latter add a nice, spicy note, too). And if double cream is scarce, try whipping cream, or even plain yoghurt let down with a little milk.
MW
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