How big is your pantry? When was the last time you cleaned it out? Did you find stuff that was a little old? Maybe not pre-2000 but possibly pre-2010.
I admit it. I have found those jars and cans. I meant to use them. I really did.
Thing is, many of us have a pantry but do not really use it. So in The Kitchen Shelf authors Eve O’Sullivan and Rosie Reynolds introduce a twist on that “just use a few ingredients” concept. They want you to cook out of your pantry, selecting from their recommendation of thirty pantry essentials. Combine the pantry items with one or two fresh ingredients you’ve purchased today, and you have a solid, delicious, pretty easy meal that offers satisfaction.
Thirty items? Don’t worry. It’s mostly basic stuff, things you are very likely to already have. But with the thirty, plus some fresh ingredients, and with an eye to recipes from around the world, you can craft some very interesting dishes. Consider:
Eggplant Pasta Pie
Pea and Mint Dip
Smoky Garlic Monkey Bubble Bread
Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Moroccan Spices and Chickpeas
Sausage and Sage Toad in the Hole with Gravy [that’s sausage atop Yorkshire pudding!]
Some of the recipes are simple, like that pea and mint dip. And some have a little complexity: that lamb requires both the lamb and cilantro – from the store – and over a dozen items from your pantry.
What are thirty things? Well, they divide into two groups actually. Ten of them are termed key ingredients and there is a chapter in the book for each of these:
- Can of chickpeas
- Bag of rice
- Can of chopped tomatoes
- Bag of flour
- Jar of peanut butter
- Box of eggs
- Bag of pasta
- Can of coconut milk
- Bar of chocolate
- Bottle of Milk
And the other twenty? Simple things you may already have: salt, pepper, olive oil, white wine vinegar, … Maybe you don’t have smoked paprika yet, but it would be a good idea.
I love the ideas in this book, the ones that riff on things I already know. Have you ever had monkey bread for breakfast, little balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked together in one gooey mass? The version here, Smoky Garlic Monkey Bubble Bread, is not meant for breakfast, but it is meant to partner with curries, soups, and stews. It will be a happy marriage. Here's a picture for you:
If your kitchen and your pantry frustrate you, if you want dishes that are better, a little exotic, and more fun, then The Kitchen Shelf is just the ingredient you need.