Practical tips, suggestions & ideas to make food go further during Covid-19

In difficult times like these, we are facing varying degrees of the inevitable isolation/lockdown that is slowly gripping so many countries as a result of the spread of corona virus (COVID19) and in the interest of containment, many of us have no choice but to stay home until further notice.

So many people have asked me for advice on simple, pantry/store-cupboard based recipe ideas as many face limited stocks and really need to make a little go a long way and also get the best out of dried goods, spices, tins and jars. When it comes to cooking at home, the one thing I know how to do is turn nothing into something and because I am self-taught, I never played by the traditional rules of cookery. I know how to inject flavour into humble ingredients because in the Middle East and beyond, this is exactly the kind of food we make. Simple, flavourful and economical make up non-European culinary repertoire almost entirely and so I’ve put this little guide together to help give you some ideas of simple things you can do at home to aid you through this period. 

USEFUL INGREDIENTS

• Dried and tinned pulses,

• Rice, pasta, noodles, barley, couscous, bulgar/cracked wheat

• Tinned soups

• Stock powders, cubes, gravy granules

• Tinned fish, ham, corned beef etc.

• Ketchup / brown sauce for bolstering flavour

• Tomato purée/passata/tinned tomatoes

• Chutneys/jams

• Spices and seasonings

• Dried herbs

• Cooking oil

• Dried milk powder, dairy creamer

• Marmite/Bovril

• Flour (any kind you can find)

• Eggs

• Crackers, oatcake, crispbreads

• Sugar and honey

• Hendersons Relish, Worcester Sauce, Soy Sauce

• Vinegar

• Potato flakes/dehydrated mashed potato

• Peanut butter, tahini etc

UTILISING FRESH PRODUCE FOR THE LONG HAUL

• Freeze batches of minced garlic and minced ginger in ice cube trays with a little oil to use for soups, stews, pies and more

• Freeze batches of chopped onions

• Freeze batches of finely diced celery, carrot and onion to create flavour bases for soups, stews, casseroles, pasta sauces, risottos and pulse-based dishes

• Crack eggs and freeze them whole or separated for various recipes and baking

• Chop and portion up fresh green and leafy vegetables and freeze for use later

• Pickle fresh vegetables (google pickling techniques online)

• Use fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, citrus zests and spices and mix with butter to create flavour base for meat, fish, pastas, rice, pulses, soups. This butter can also be frozen and used straight from the freezer

• Grate or dice portions of peeled root vegetables and freeze for use later

• Choose and freeze bones, meat and poultry on the bone for bigger flavour in your cooking

SIMPLE TIPS TO BOLSTER FLAVOUR

•  Tomato puree, curry powder and other spices add wonderful flavour to pulses (both dried and tinned)

• Vinegar is a great ingredient to add a tangy roundness to soups, stews, sauces and casseroles

• Hendersons Relish, Worcester Sauce, Soy Sauce all provide depth of flavour to dishes

• Milk powder is useful to make sauces, soups and casseroles creamy

• Rice, pastas and pulses make soups far more interesting and help them feed more people

• Spices are great for stews, soups and casseroles when added just after the onions

• Marmalades, jams and chutneys are fantastic as part of marinades and glazes for meats, fish and perfect additions to certain stew/casserole/curry recipes

• Ketchup is a wonderful way to round out tomato-based recipes with just a little sweetness and it also works beautifully as an ingredient for marinades

• Brown sauce although very British lists tamarind as a main ingredient and is fantastic with bean ragouts, curries, marinades and in soups and meat dishes

• Powdered mash to thicken soups and stews and use as mash obvs

• Tahini or peanut butter to thicken soups and stews

SIMPLE RECIPE IDEAS

• FLATBREADS: Simple flatbreads can be made with just plain (white or wholemeal) flour and water and a total bonus if you have melted butter or oil. You can also add so many spices and dried herbs to mix up the flavours and simply pan fry them in a dry skillet/frying pan over a high heat until nicely browned on both sides (175g plain flour, 30g melted butter/oil, 100ml milk/water, a couple of teaspoons of spice or dried herbs, salt and pepper – mixed into an even dough ball, rest for 20 minutes in cling film, divide into 4 and roll out into 4 thin round breads approximately 6 inches in diameter and cook, one-by-one in a dry pan until nicely browned on both sides) Flatbreads can be used for wraps, kebabs, as pizza bases or to accompany soups, stews, curries and more.

•  YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS: Equal parts plain flour to milk and eggs (measure in a measuring jug to get exact volumes, start with eggs and let that determine how much flour and milk to add) don’t beat the batter too much, simply mix well and then preheat oven to 200 fan, fill a muffin tin or even any ovenproof dish with enough vegetable/sunflower oil to well coat the base and preheat the pan in the oven for 15 minutes, then using a measuring jug, pour the batter in and bake for 22-25 minutes without opening the oven, remove and serve with a variety of savoury accompaniments or even clotted/double cream with jam/syrup/honey

•  LENTIL STEW: In a saucepan, soften a large chopped onion in some oil over a medium heat, then add 250g dried green lentils, stir and add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, 1 heaped tablespoon of curry powder and a generous amount of salt and pepper and stir well. Pour over enough water to cover the lentils, stir and cover with a lid. After 10 minutes, remove lid and stir and check salt and pepper. Leave to cook uncovered for a further 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and once lentils are cooked to your liking, serve.

•  SIMPLE PASTA IDEAS: Tomato and chilli (Arrabbiata), Cheese and black pepper (Cacio e Pepe), Garlic and chilli (Aglio Olio), Garlic, chilli and any leafy green veg like cabbage, tomato and tinned fish like tuna.

For more specific recipe ideas, you can simplify recipes from my books Persiana, Sirocco, Feasts and Bazaar and also follow me across social media, Instagram and Twitter.

If you have specific questions, keep an eye out for live Instagram stories or tweet or Instagram your questions to me and I will do my best to answer them as quickly as possible.

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Stay safe, stay strong and let’s do what we can to get through this time as quickly as possible.