5 Essential ingredients every pantry needs…
I consider these 5 ingredients my essential pantry ingredients. They are my go-to items for everyday cooking and really do enhance any meal they are used in. I love cooking from scratch, but who doesn’t want to make this process a bit quicker & easier, but no less delicious?
A couple of these ingredients I read about in Delia Smith’s cheat cookbook – Delia How To Cheat At Cooking – but others I discovered living (and cooking!) in various countries around the world. Thankfully, they are all available in the UK now, and I really couldn’t be without them!
#1 Herbamare
Herbamare is a gem of a seasoning. It is made with pure sea salt, infused with organic herbs and vegetables. I discovered it years ago in Switzerland and have been using it ever since – in practically everything!
What I particularly like about it is that you get a lot of flavour without a huge amount of saltiness. Often this type of thing is overly salty, but Herbamare isn’t, so you can use it fairly liberally. It is fantastic in creamy sauces, and delicious in scrambled eggs, but can be used in pretty much any western cooking.
Maggi liquid seasoning
Growing up in Hong Kong, Maggi was almost as commonplace in cooking, as soy sauce. It has a very intense savoury flavour, that should be used sparingly and not for dipping!
Maggi is excellent in meaty dishes, such as beef & pork and really perks up a soup. It is not exclusively for use in Asian food, and is great used in things like shepherd’s pie, spaghetti bolognaise, and gravy.
It even makes for a delicious meal when used on plain boiled rice, as anyone who grew up in the Far East will attest to!
Top tip: Try using Maggi instead of soy sauce in my Go-with-everything homemade salad dressing
Tomato frito
Tomato frito is the best pre-prepared tomato product of all time – fact! I first became aware of it through Delia, but didn’t actually try it for years. It was only after spending time in Menorca, where it is widely used, that it became one of my essential pantry ingredients!
For all intents and purposes it is a tomato passata, but is made using tomatoes that have been roasted in olive oil. The result is a tomato sauce bursting with flavour. It is also ready to go and so not require cooking, or reducing making a real time-saver.
Try using it with bacon & onions for a quick pasta sauce…
Roasted red peppers
This is another Delia delight! If I am using peppers in a salad, I home-roast them, but if I ever want to use peppers for cooking with, I reach straight for these.
They taste great, and save a ton of roasting time. I cut them in half and use them instead of lasagne sheets. I blitz them up for red pepper mayo, or hummus, and pop them in curries for a bit of colour.
Sometimes I use just the pepper-infused liquid to add extra flavour to dishes – a bonus you get, not roasting them from scratch!
Boursin
I know, this, technically, is not a pantry ingredient! But as a follower of a mainly Keto diet, where cheesy products are not a sin, I tend to use Boursin in cooking A LOT! A such I definitely classify it as essential!
Heated up with double cream (& Herbamare) I use it to replace white sauces in things like cauliflower cheese, and my carb free lasagne. This combination also makes for a totally indulgent potato dauphinoise cheat! Not keto, obviously, but it is entirely delicious!
A dollop of Boursin in soups and curries really livens them up, adding richness as well as flavour.
One of my favourite recipes using Boursin: Creamy Indian spinach recipe
Bonus pantry ingredient – Asafoetida
Asafoetida is a staple ingredient used in Indian cooking, often along with turmeric, in savoury dishes. It is derived from a variety of giant fennel, but somehow manages to mimic the taste of onions and garlic. This makes it incredibly useful for preparing food for those with IBS, who can’t tolerate the real thing.
My daughter has IBS, so this truly has become an essential pantry ingredient. And a taste-saver for her! Food without onions, or garlic, can be so lacking, but with a little sprinkle of this, a full flavour can genuinely be achieved.
Bon Appetit!
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