🥫 The lifesaver pantry: what to always have at home to improvise a meal in 20 minutes

It's nine at night, you open the fridge and stare at it as if it might answer… and you end up ordering takeaway. We've all been there. The solution isn't cooking more, it's having a well-stocked pantry: a handful of basics that, combined, make a decent dinner in the time it takes to set the table.

🥫 The pantry (things that hardly ever expire)

• Pasta and rice: a couple of pasta shapes (one long, one short) and round or long-grain rice. They're the base of half the week.
• Jarred cooked pulses: chickpeas, lentils and beans. Drained and rinsed, they're ready in two minutes.
• Tinned food: tuna, sardines or mackerel, crushed tomatoes and roasted peppers. A jar of tomato and a tin of tuna are already a sauce.
• Stock: in a carton or homemade and frozen, for soups, rice dishes and express purées.
• Flavour basics: good olive oil, vinegar, salt, paprika, cumin, oregano, pepper and a stock cube for emergencies.
• Garlic and onions: out of the fridge, in a cool, dark place. Without them there's no «sofrito».
• Flour, breadcrumbs and nuts: for coating, thickening or adding crunch.

🥚 The fridge (what rotates every week)

• Eggs: the fastest protein there is. Omelette, scrambled, fried egg on top of anything…
• Cheese: a cured or semi-cured one that keeps for weeks and works for grating and snacking alike.
• Plain yoghurt: for breakfasts, quick sauces or to soften a spicy dish.
• Long-lasting vegetables: carrots, peppers, courgettes, bagged spinach, lemons.
• Some cured meat or diced ham, which rescues a pasta dish or a salad.

❄️ The freezer (your plan B)

• Frozen vegetables: peas, green beans, spinach or a stir-fry mix. Just as nutritious and already cleaned.
• Sliced bread: toast it straight from frozen.
• Homemade portions: a stew, a soup or a stock you made too much of (see our leftovers article).
• Fish and chicken in portions: thaw them in the fridge overnight, or quickly in cold water inside a well-sealed bag.
• Puff pastry or pizza dough: for a quick fix with whatever you have.

Tip: whenever you use up a basic, add it to your shopping list right away. On the site, save them in «My staples» and add them to the list with a tap.

⏱️ Five express dinners straight from the pantry

Pasta with tuna and tomato

While the pasta cooks, fry a garlic clove, add crushed tomato, salt and oregano, and finally the drained tuna. Ten minutes and it's on the table.

Sautéed chickpeas with spinach

Well-drained jarred chickpeas in the pan with garlic and paprika until lightly golden; at the end, a handful of spinach. With an egg on top, it's a complete dinner.

Whatever-you-have omelette

Potato, courgette, spinach, a little cheese or ham… A Spanish omelette takes almost anything. And cold the next day, it's a packed lunch.

Fried rice with vegetables and egg

Cooked rice (better if it's from the day before), frozen vegetables and a scrambled egg, all in a very hot pan. With a splash of soy sauce if you have some.

Express vegetable soup

Frozen vegetables, a small diced potato and stock to cover. Twenty minutes of cooking, a quick blend and a drizzle of oil. With croutons made from stale bread, it's restaurant-worthy.

A well-stocked pantry isn't about having a lot: it's about having just enough so there's always a plan.

Tip: if you don't know what to make with what you have, use the «What shall I cook?» button on the home page: type your ingredients (for example, «eggs, potato, courgette») and the site shows you the recipes that fit.