Most weeknight dinners are decided long before six o'clock: they are decided on the shelves. Here is what is always in our cupboards, and why each one earns its place.
We test every Savorly recipe in ordinary kitchens, and the same twenty things keep appearing in the method. Keep them stocked and a recipe needs only the fresh things: a bag of greens, a few tomatoes, something from the butcher on a good day.
The Tins And The Jars
Chopped tomatoes, passata and a tube of tomato paste make half our pasta sauces. Coconut milk turns a tray of roasted vegetables into soup. Black beans, chickpeas and lentils are the dinner when the fridge is empty.
Keep twenty good things on the shelf and dinner is only ever one shop away.
Ruth Abernathy, Family Classics
The Dry Shelf
Two shapes of pasta, one long and one short. Rice, rolled oats, plain flour, a strong flour for pizza days, fast-action yeast and the baking powder you will need the day you forgot to buy it.
Our Twenty, At A Glance
- Tins & Jars
- Chopped tomatoes, passata, tomato paste, coconut milk, black beans
- Dry Shelf
- Spaghetti, penne, rice, rolled oats, plain and strong flour, yeast
- Bottles
- Olive oil, sunflower oil, balsamic and white vinegar, maple syrup
- Spice Rack
- Smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, flaky salt
Plan the week in the meal planner and the list leaves out what is already on the shelf: tick it once, and it stays ticked for the week.
2 Comments
I would add a jar of anchovies to the list. They melt into everything.
Printed it and taped it inside the cupboard door. Thank you!