Back to basics

I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately from people wanting ideas for meat-free meals to make at home. They have health concerns, but also financial constraints. Arthur and I only eat meat once or twice a week and we cook every night: our weekly shop (excl. household and cosmetic products and including breakfast and lunch foods, which we make at home) is about R500. And we eat very, very well for that.

I first thought I’d just put together some of my favourite tried-and-tested recipes, but I’ve decided to make it a bit more complicated for myself :-). One of my friends asked me how I manage to cook supper when I know there’s “nothing in the house” and that made me realise the importance of the well-stocked pantry. Now, mine’s not nearly as extravagant as some, but it gets the job done and it could be a good blueprint for yours. So, here we go…

These are the things that can hang around for ages in your kitchen – you can even whip up a pretty decent emergency meal from them. Pilafs and pasta sauces are easy and with an extra ingredient or two (eggs, a couple of veg) you can make frittatas, tagines, risottos and more.

This is my most basic staple list. Once you have this pantry in place, you’ll find that it’s almost effortless to maintain – some things only have to be topped up every few months (if you’re cooking for two, like I do).

olive oil
very good olive oil (for salads, pastas etc)
sunflower oil
white wine vinegar
balsamic vinegar
white and red wine

Pasta and grains:
basmati rice
brown rice
arborio (risotto) rice
wholewheat couscous
spaghetti (Barilla)
pasta shapes (I like mini penne)
cake flour
oats

Dried pulses:
brown lentils
red lentils
split peas
soup mix
popcorn

Tinned food:
chickpeas
cannellini beans
baked beans
butter beans
chopped tomatoes
whole tomatoes
Mexican tomatoes

Spices:
sea salt (Khoisan Trading) and black pepper
celery salt
whole coriander
ground and whole cumin
nutmeg
ginger
cinnamon
bay leaves
chili flakes
paprika
curry powder

Nuts, fruit, etc:
flaked almonds
dried apricots
raisins
black olives
tomato paste sachets
veg stock (Telma)
onions (they keep for ages under the right conditions)

In the fridge:
butter
plain yoghurt
lemon juice
basil pesto
tapenade
soya sauce
(of course, also condiments: mustard, tomato sauce, chutney, atchar etc)

In the deepfreeze:
peas
creamed spinach
Fry’s burgers (although I’m weaning us off these)

Kitchen garden (yup, I consider this part of the “pantry”):
rosemary
mint
basil (most important!)

Nice-to-haves:
harissa paste
green curry paste
sundried tomato pesto
flavoured vinegars
dried herbs
ginger paste
sambal oelek
Italian tomatoes
tinned ratatouille
cloves
fresh marjaram and oregano
quinoa (keep in the fridge)
coconut milk
cashew nuts
pine nuts

Right, there you go, set up! I’ll be devising and passing on recipes for meat-free pantry suppers and fast foods over the next few weeks.

*Thanks to babaghan for sharing this cool photo on Flickr