

4 Great Store-Cupboard Meals To Try This Week
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My mother had the best pantry ever. It was chaotic, messy and over-stocked but had an amazing array of ingredients. When I was little, I used to check out what was in the cupboard to see if I could find a sweet or savoury treat. Cunningly my mother always put the chocolate on the top shelf because she knew I would be trying to find it. I always thought I could overcome this obstacle by climbing up the drawer handles to find the hidden gems.
These items were mostly procured during summer holidays. We would drive from England to southern France and then on to Italy. Over this three-week family holiday, we would visit various places of architectural interest, art museums and plenty of galleries, which wasn't my favourite thing to do at that age, but I tended not to complain as the days always ended with good food. Along the way we would also visit vineyards and food markets, packing various bottles and jars into the trailer with all the camping equipment. When the trailer was full, we moved on to cramming things into the boot and the footwells of the car – my father was a master at squeezing everything in. These days we don’t have to travel half of Europe to buy amazing ingredients, however I can’t help taking an extra suitcase on holiday, as you never know what you’ll come across that’s too good not to bring home.

A well-stocked pantry should always have some essential Italian ingredients: olive oil, passata, dried mushrooms, fennel seeds, dried chillies, preserved anchovies, saffron, capers, olives, dried oregano, vinegars, nuts, pasta flour, cheeses, semolina, risotto rice, polenta, dried pasta (lots of that), dried fruit and, of course, chocolate. I can get very carried away with overzealous purchases for our pantry, but my wife Natalie keeps me on my toes, and tells me when we are getting over-stocked or if I’m simply making a mess!
Inspired? Here are four simple recipes to try…

Meatballs In Tomato Sauce With Burrata & Crostini
This dish was on the menu at Theo’s Simple Italian in Kensington – the restaurant is no longer, but the dish is still very much a classic. The richness of the meatballs with the vibrant tomato sauce is very comforting and it’s a perfect dish to serve to a large gathering. I love the addition of the chopped burrata, as it makes the tomato sauce taste even sweeter and adds a soft, creamy texture. Scale the quantities up or down as required.

Slow-Cooked Chicken Thighs With Porcini Mushrooms & Marsala
Chicken thighs are tender, inexpensive and really easy to cook. I like to use the ones with the skin on as it keeps the flesh juicy and tender, and the skin adds lots of flavour. Leeks and porcini mushrooms go really well together – I first had this combination in a restaurant called Da Cesare in Monforte d’Alba. The restaurant is sadly no longer but the memories of eating the brilliant food cooked by Cesare live on.

Venetian-Style Fried Chicken With Lemon & Sage
Lemons
If you dream of fried chicken, do try making it yourself – I promise it tastes so much better than shop-bought versions that you reheat in the oven (or buy as fast food). I have a portable deep-fat fryer, which I plug in outside when I’m frying chicken because it makes my wife Natalie a lot happier – the smell of fried chicken can linger somewhat. However, you can simply use a deep, heavy-based saucepan on the hob if you prefer. This is a favourite in our household – a dish to serve in the warmer months, outside as part of a BBQ, and with cold beers alongside.

Polenta Fritta With ’Nduja Butter
I love deep-fried polenta and when served with ’nduja it is heaven. Combining butter and ’nduja isn’t a classic combination, and I’m sure a few Calabrese would be disapproving of the idea, but hey, it tastes really good. I remember first tasting ’nduja many years ago when Rose Gray had just got back from a holiday in Calabria. We had a wine event that evening at The River Café and Rose was adamant that they tasted the ’nduja with their glass of Franciacorta, the way the locals ate it in the village in which she had been staying, so it was served on tiny bits of dry toast. The ’nduja Rose had brought back was a huge traditional ‘orba’ that tasted amazing but had a serious kick to it. The wine connoisseurs were a little taken back by this spreadable salami and one of them, with a red face and watery eyes, said he wasn’t impressed with the canapés and they had ruined his palate for the night. Rose and I laughed in the kitchen – and those laughs quickly turned to chilli-fuelled tears when we tasted the ’nduja.
Theo Randall’s The Italian Pantry is out now – buy it here.
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