TRUE BRIT

THE 7-WAY PANTRY

I’ve kept this to just five ingredients that I consider to be everyday staples. They aren’t included in each individual ingredients list as I’m presuming that you’ll stock up before you start cooking. The five you need are olive oil for cooking, extra virgin olive oil for dressing and finishing dishes, red wine vinegar as a good all-rounder when it comes to acidity and balancing marinades, sauces and dressings, and sea salt and black pepper for seasoning.

THE FREEZER IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Whether it’s preserving individual ingredients or keeping portions of batched recipes for future meals, food is brilliantly suspended, ready and waiting to help you out when you need it. If you’re batch cooking, remember to let food cool thoroughly before freezing, breaking it down into portions so it cools quicker and you can get it into the freezer within two hours. Thaw in the fridge before use, and use within 48 hours. If you’ve frozen cooked food, don’t freeze it again after reheating it.

BE SHREWD ABOUT QUALITY

There’s not loads of stuff to buy for each recipe, so I’m hoping that will give you the excuse to trade up where you can, buying the best meat, fish or veggies you can find. Also,