The trick is to have a sensibly stocked larder. You will need the all-important basics such as the following: tinned tomatoes, pulses, beans, chickpeas, tinned tuna and salmon, anchovies, rice, dried pasta, noodles, couscous, grains, honey, mustard, olive oil, coconut milk, soy sauce, vinegars, herbs, spices, stock cubes, porridge oats, nuts, seeds, cocoa powder, flours and sugar. Not to mention the all-important biscuits and crisps key to larder living and cabin fever.
Here are five easy and nourishing recipes that you can create without leaving the house.
Store Cupboard Stew
Sainsbury’s Magazine
This is not a time to be snotty about tinned food. When you can’t nip to the shops because you’re self-isolating, your sensibly stocked larder will become your new best friend. You just need some good quality, all-important basics. Food writer Sophie Godwin has devised this store cupboard stew using a tin of tomato soup, garlic cloves, white beans, capers and chilli flakes. If you have some Italian hard cheese to spare, grate over the top of the soup. Add a little drizzle of olive oil and scatter with toasted seeds or nuts for extra protein.
Keralan Potato Curry
Red Online
Stave off the cabin fever by eating nourishing food. So long as you have potatoes and spices, the rest of these ingredients will (hopefully) be lurking in your well-stocked food cupboard. Heat oil and sauté the onions. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom, bay leaf, ginger and chilli. Cook for three minutes before adding the tomatoes. Meanwhile boil the potatoes in the coconut milk. When the tatties are soft, merge with the spicy onions and serve. This Kerala style potato curry really is very easy to prepare; just add the green chillies according to your spice preference.
Puy Lentil Spag Bol
Anna Jones
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need meat or fresh ingredients to whip up a jolly good Spaghetti Bolognese. Instead you can use up odds and ends that you can find in your larder. Food writer Anna Jones describes her lentil Bolognese as ‘quick, simple and an arm’s reach away.’ She adds canned puy lentils to a tomato sauce made with onion, garlic, celery, carrot and a tin of chopped tomatoes and tomato soup. Remember, you can buy Very Lazy chopped garlic, chopped ginger, chilli paste and others for your store cupboard – and the tomato sauce can be found in a jar. Then – if you do have any – add fresh vegetables, or substitute with veg that are lurking in the freezer. Anna calls it her ‘go-to dinner when the fridge is bare.’
Tuna And Caper Butter
Jamie Oliver
Armed with a little imagination, self-isolation can morph into a foodie feast. Jamie Oliver’s online site is full of inspired store cupboard recipes such as pumpkin, chickpea and coconut curry, hungover noodles, super toasted granola and Costa Rican black bean soup. Often the simplest recipes are the best, especially when you are relying on a limited supply of store cupboard staples stored in jars and tins. For this recipe by Jamie Oliver, chop the anchovies, then drain the capers and tuna. Blend in a food processor with the butter until smooth and serve with Italian flatbreads or crispbread (or Jacob’s crackers – right now anything goes, frankly).
Chorizo And Pea Risotto
BBC Good Food
If you’re self-isolating, the odds are that you will have time on your side. This chorizo and pea risotto is time-consuming because you have to stay stirring the stock into the rice. This recipe, originally spotted in the Good Food magazine online, relies on simple store cupboard and freezer ingredients. Fry the chorizo until crispy, then tip the rice into the pan to coat it into the oil. Pour in vinegar, add a ladleful of stock and keep stirring. Tip in the peas, parmesan and stock. You could also throw in frozen sweetcorn. As with most risottos, anything to hand works (within reason).
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