Pantry
Nothing in the house? 12 meals from pantry basics
The fridge looks empty. It usually is not. Twelve meals from pasta, rice, eggs, tins and whatever is in the freezer.
"There's nothing in the house" usually means there is nothing that looks like dinner. Look again, at the cupboard and the freezer too: there is probably pasta, rice, a tin or two, eggs, an onion and some frozen peas. That is at least a week of meals. Here are twelve, all made from pantry basics, most in under 30 minutes.
From pasta
1. Spaghetti aglio e olio
Spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes. Slice the garlic thinly and warm it gently in plenty of oil with the chilli until just golden, then toss with the pasta and a splash of its cooking water. Parsley and lemon zest are good if you have them; parmesan if you like it.
2. Pasta with tinned tomato sauce
Soften an onion in butter or oil, add a tin of tomatoes and a pinch of sugar and salt, and simmer for 20 minutes. It is simple, and one of the best sauces there is. Add a tin of tuna or a spoon of capers for a different dinner.
3. Pasta, peas and cheese
Cook frozen peas with the pasta for the last three minutes, drain (keeping some water), and toss with butter, black pepper and whatever hard cheese you have. It is ready in 12 minutes.
From rice
4. Egg fried rice
Leftover rice, eggs, soy sauce, frozen vegetables and an onion or spring onion. Very hot pan, rice in, soy sauce, push aside, scramble the eggs in the gap, toss. If the rice is freshly cooked, spread it out on a plate for 10 minutes to dry off first.
5. Chickpea and tomato curry with rice
Onion, garlic, curry powder, a tin of tomatoes and a tin of chickpeas, simmered for 15 minutes. Frozen spinach goes in at the end. Serve with rice or flatbreads.
6. Rice and beans
Fry onion and garlic with cumin and a little chilli, add a tin of black or kidney beans with their liquid, simmer until thick, and serve over rice with a squeeze of lime or a dash of hot sauce. Cheap, filling and better than it sounds.
From eggs
7. Shakshuka
Onion, garlic, cumin and paprika, then a tin of tomatoes, simmered until thick. Make four wells, crack in the eggs, cover and cook until the whites set. Bread for mopping.
8. Spanish omelette
Thinly sliced potatoes and onion cooked slowly in oil until soft, drained, then set in beaten eggs. A proper dinner from four ingredients, and even better cold the next day.
9. Eggs on toast, done properly
Soft scrambled eggs cooked slowly in butter, on well-buttered toast, with black pepper. Add chilli oil, a few frozen spinach leaves wilted in butter, or cheese grated into the eggs.
From tins and the freezer
10. Tomato and bean soup
Onion, garlic, a tin of tomatoes, a tin of white beans and a stock cube. Simmer, blend half, and stir it back in. Toast with cheese on the side.
11. Tuna melts or tuna pasta bake
Tinned tuna mixed with mayonnaise or a little yogurt, onion and cheese, on toast under the grill (broiler). Or stirred through pasta with sweetcorn and tomato sauce, topped with cheese and baked.
12. Pea and potato curry
Diced potatoes and frozen peas in an onion, garlic and tomato curry base: the kind of thing that turns up in home kitchens across South Asia. It is cheap, filling and good with flatbread or rice.
A pantry that always has dinner in it
With these in the cupboard, freezer and fridge door, "nothing in the house" stops being true:
| Where | Keep |
|---|---|
| Cupboard | Pasta, rice, red lentils, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans or chickpeas, tinned tuna, stock cubes, olive or vegetable oil |
| Flavour | Garlic, onions, soy sauce, a vinegar, tomato purée, cumin, paprika, curry powder, chilli flakes, dried oregano |
| Fridge | Eggs, butter, a hard cheese such as cheddar or parmesan, mayonnaise or yogurt |
| Freezer | Peas, spinach, sweetcorn, sliced bread, and portions of any soup or chilli you made too much of |
Tell Make Do which of these you always have (it calls them staples) and it assumes they are there every time, so recipes never list salt, oil or garlic as missing.
When there is a bit more than nothing
Most nights the fridge is not empty. It is full of odds and ends that do not obviously go together. For those nights, photograph the shelves and Make Do suggests five recipes from what is there plus your staples, starting with anything that needs using up. Or read what can I make with what I have? for the method we use.
Questions
What can I make when I have no food in the house?
With pasta, garlic, oil and chilli you have spaghetti aglio e olio. With rice, eggs and soy sauce you have egg fried rice. With a tin of tomatoes and eggs you have shakshuka.
What pantry staples should I always have?
Pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, a tin of beans or chickpeas, onions, garlic, eggs, stock cubes, soy sauce, a vinegar and a couple of spices such as cumin and chilli flakes.
