Have you ever wondered what a top chef has in their kitchen cupboards; their must-have spices, or the key ingredients that are always stocked in their fridge?
Well Nigella Lawson has given us an insight into her ingredient stockpile after revealing the food items she really can't live without.
In a Twitter Q&A, a fan asked the chef what her pantry essentials were, and Nigella’s answer sounds pretty delicious.
First of all she gave the obvious: lemons, garlic, ginger, tinned tomatoes and pasta all featured. While good olive oil, and good-quality unsalted butter was a must for her as well.
Some more unconventionally “essential” ingredients featured in her list too, including good canned sardines, bacon and Parmesan cheese.
“I have to have lemon, garlic, ginger, tinned tomatoes, incredibly good canned sardines, obviously pasta, very good olive oil, always very good unsalted butter, Parmesan, bacon,” she revealed. “I think that’s really the main thrust of my basics. I need those.”
We like her style…
Freelance food editor Monaz Dumasia, agrees with some of Nigella’s choices.
“Whether its tuna, salmon, sardines or mackerel, having a stock of tinned fish means cheap, ready to eat protein in a dash,” she says. While she described tinned chopped tomatoes as the “backbone” to many classic dishes.
“They’re cheap, they practically last forever and they’re the backbone to many, many classics.”
“Add an onion, some dried herbs and/or spices, and you have the base for Bolognese, chilli con carne and a whole host of other meals.”
Monaz’s other essentials are:
- Cooking oil
- Salt and pepper
- Stock cubes
- Rice
- Penne pasta
- Tinned beans and pulses
- Tomato pureé
- Garlic pureé
- Cream crackers
- Dried herbs
- Noodles
- Soy Sauce
- Mango chutney
MORE: NIGELLA LAWSON REVEALS HER SECRET INGREDIENT FOR THE PERFECT CHILLI CON CARNE
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Vicky is our Food & Drink Director, where she oversees strategy and content across all of Hearst's brands, from recipe development to fun video franchises and everything in between.
With almost a decade's experience, Vicky was previously Editor of Delish UK, and Digital Food Editor of Good Housekeeping and she lives and breathes food content creation.
Outside of work, Vicky loves learning about wine, eating her way around the world, and hanging out with her dog Pickle.
