love your cupboard

Not all great meals have to be made with fresh produce. A wealth of tasty, healthy options can be found behind the cabinet door.

Take for example this Delia recipe, which I cooked last night. Sardines? Check. Chopped tomatoes? Check. Linguine (or other long pasta)? Check. Capers? Chilli? Garlic? Well, in the fridge, but check.

Sardines may not be the most exciting ingredient ever, but they’re great and really flexible. Sardines on toast, or in salads, are easy (and cheap) ways to add some protein to your meal. A tin is usually less than 40p (and given the current economic climate, that’s real value). If you choose the ones in olive oil, too, then you can use some of that oil in the cooking rather than your own olive oil. Extra flavour at no extra cost.

The only ingredient that really has to be fresh here is the basil, I think. Chillis and garlic, while usually on hand in their fresh versions anyway, can be used in their jarred forms (or even in their dried spice forms). But if you don’t have basil, a spoon of pesto wouldn’t hurt here, I should think…

One suggestion: use a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes rather than a 200g tin. You’ll get a saucier consistency, ensuring the pasta doesn’t dry up or get sticky.

Calories for a serving with 100g linguine: 428. Not too shabby, really. Should you want to bulk out the meal with some fresh ingredients, a fresh spinach salad would be lovely.