olive oil + rice or peanut oil
red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar + balsamic vinegar
Dijon mustard
harissa or sambal (Indonesian chilli sauce)
soy sauce
fish sauce
stock cubes and/or stock pots
Thai and/or Indian curry paste
pasta
basmati or jasmine rice + risotto rice
tins or jars of beans, chickpeas and/or lentils
tinned coconut milk
instant couscous and/or bulgur and/or quinoa
instant polenta (if you like polenta – some people hate it)
tins of peeled tomatoes
tinned tuna + anchovies (+ sardines, if you like)
olives in jars or tins
capers, packed in salt or vinegar
nuts (if you freeze them, they’ll stay fresh longer)
peanut butter (so you can always make a peanut butter and sambal sandwich)
onions + garlic
eggs
lemons and/or limes
fresh root ginger (you can also cut this into pieces and freeze)
fresh chilli pepper (at least, if you’re a chilli-head like me)
butter
yoghurt
Parmesan cheese (can also be frozen, grated or otherwise)
bread
pitta bread and/or tortillas and/or naan (all three can also be used as a base for pizza)
frozen peas and/or spinach
at least 1 portion of meat, chicken or fish
Say you come home hungry and tired after a long day at work – cooking yourself anything more than a simple meal would be a challenge, right? To put it mildly. On a night like that all you want to do is kick off your shoes, pour yourself a glass of something and get a plate of food in front of you as quickly as you can. Enter the refrigerated supermarket ready meal. Enter the takeaway.
But the thing with those meals is that they get awfully boring after a while. And do you know why? Because they’re prepared by someone who doesn’t know you. Someone who doesn’t know how hot you like your curry, how salty you like your soup, how velvety you like your mash or how al dente you like your pasta. They’re made for the average palate. They haven’t been created with unique little you in mind. Which is why a home-cooked meal, no matter how simple, is always more satisfying than an anonymous one. The good news is that it’s not that hard to throw something together in 15 minutes – 20 minutes tops. Something that tastes much better and is far more enjoyable …
Cooking for yourself is a chance to figure out what pleases your palate. Or, to paraphrase Nicolas Cage in Wild at Heart, see it as a symbol of your individuality and your belief in personal freedom.
Preparation Time
15 minutes
olive oil, for frying
1 small (or 1/2 large) onion, sliced into half rings
1/2 long red pepper, deseeded and sliced into strips
4 slices of Serrano ham or chorizo, chopped
1/2 courgette or 1 baby courgette, cut in half lengthways and sliced into half moons
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 eggs
a few fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley leaves (or a pinch of dried oregano)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to season
bread, to serve
Heat a small splash of olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and a pinch of salt, and fry for 2 minutes over a high heat until the onion begins to brown. Add the pepper and fry for 2 minutes more. Add the ham or chorizo and fry for another minute. Add the courgette and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and fry for another 2 minutes.
Make two depressions in the vegetable mixture and break in the eggs, then cook for 2–3 minutes until the eggs are set, covering the pan for the last 30 seconds. Sprinkle over a little more salt, if necessary, and in any case with a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and finish with basil or flat-leaf parsley.
Serve immediately with some kind of rustic bread, or just use whatever bread you’ve got on hand.
Spicy lamb pittas with hummus & garlicky yoghurt
You can make these lamb pittas in the time it would take you to go out and get a takeaway doner kebab – and these are much nicer!
Preparation Time
10 minutes
1 tsp harissa paste
olive oil, for frying
125 g lamb fillet
2 pitta breads
1/4–1/2 garlic clove, crushed or pressed
2 tbsp Greek or Turkish yoghurt
a pinch of salt
100 g hummus
a small handful of lettuce leaves
Place a griddle pan over a high heat. Mix the harissa with half a tablespoon of oil and brush this on to the lamb fillet. Set the fillet on the hot griddle and cook for a total of 2–3 minutes, turning regularly – the inside of the meat should still be pink. Place on a cutting board and let it rest.
Meanwhile, cook the pittas in the same pan and stir the garlic and a small pinch of salt into the yoghurt.
Cut the rested meat into thin slices. Slice open the pittas and fill them with hummus, meat, lettuce and a dollop of the garlicky yoghurt.
Miso soup with noodles, shiitake mushrooms, spinach & an egg
Preparation Time
15 minutes
100 g Japanese ramen (or other noodles)
1 egg
300 ml vegetable stock (from a cube)
100 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 scant tbsp red miso paste
soy sauce, to taste
a small handful of spinach leaves
1/2