The great kitchen food cupboard clear-out. Nothing in the fridge or food cupboard for dinner? Look again

Ongoing increases in the cost of food means people are watching their spending, and perhaps trying to cut down on food shopping bills by using up what they already have in their cupboards and fridges.

We gave some well known chefs and food writers a basket of random ingredients, the sort of thing that might be in your fridge and cupboards the day before you do the weekly shop, and asked them to create a recipe using those ingredients, plus an optional additional fresh ingredient costing no more than €5.

Here are the odds and ends of dried and fresh foods we gave them to create their dish with.

From the larder:

• Dried pasta
• A bag of lentils
• A bag of basmati rice
• Tinned chickpeas
• Coconut milk
• Tomatoes
• Sardines or tuna
• A tub of tahini

From the fridge:

• Three eggs
• Greek yoghurt
• Assorted cheese scraps
• Onions
• Red pepper
• A cabbage
• An orange
• A lemon

We also allowed them to use their store cupboard basics such as olive oil, butter, flour, seasoning and dried spices. Some were more, shall we say liberal, in their use of these ingredients and obviously have very well stocked stores (looking at you, Neven Maguire). Here is what Neven Maguire, Lilly Higgins, Gráinne Mullins, Richie Castillo and Áine Budds came up with.

Almond Bakewell

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Iced carrot cake

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Easy-to-make chicken and mushroom pie for a shared family dinner

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Neven Maguire

Chef and TV presenter

This is a very economical dish and is delicious garnished with a dollop of yoghurt. Serve with the corn and wheat tortillas that you can buy in supermarkets. They are super soft and flexible straight out of the packet and have a long shelf life. To keep it dairy-free, add a dollop of hummus instead of the yoghurt.

This dish is loaded with vegetables, and is very freezer friendly.

Red lentil and black bean chilli with yoghurt

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

• 1 jar (290g) of roasted peppers in olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp spicy pepper and herb seasoning (or dried mixed herbs and a few chilli flakes)
• 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp harissa chilli paste
• 1 tin (400g) of Italian chopped tomatoes
• 350ml vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
• 225g red lentils, well rinsed
• 1 tin (400g) of black beans, drained
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• To garnish: lime wedges and 4–6 tbsp thick Greek yoghurt
• To serve: Corn and wheat tortillas

Method

1. Drain the oil from the peppers and reserve, then finely chop the peppers. Put two tablespoons of the oil in a large deep pan over a medium heat, add all the vegetables, including the peppers, and sauté for 8–10 minutes until softened and lightly golden.
2. Sprinkle the spicy pepper and herb seasoning into the pan and stir to combine, then stir in the tomato purée and harissa and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes and stock, then add the lentils. Give everything a good stir and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 30 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are completely tender.
3. Stir in the black beans, season with salt and pepper and simmer gently, uncovered, for another five minutes.
4. To serve, ladle the chilli on to plates and garnish with lime wedges, dollops of yoghurt and a mound of shredded lettuce. Serve the tortillas on the side.

Lilly Higgins

Food writer

Mujadara is the ultimate thrifty, home-cooked comfort food, beloved of many Middle Eastern homes. I chose Palestinian mujadara because it makes the most of such humble ingredients and it is something my kids love to eat. I added the tin of chickpeas for extra protein. They could be crisped up in an air fryer with some paprika and served as a crunchy topping.

I love making a big pot of this for dinner and heating up the leftovers the next day for an after school snack. It’s such a balanced meal in a bowl. There are great carbohydrates from the rice and plenty of protein from the lentils and chickpeas. Drizzle the top with a good Palestinian olive oil, if you have some. Alard and Zaytoun are two great brands. The crunchy cabbage salad can sit happily in your fridge for a few days too. Fold through some fresh tomatoes if you have them.

Mujadara with tahini yoghurt and crunchy cabbage salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 200g brown or green lentils
• 250g rice
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Tin of chickpeas, drained
• Parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 200g yoghurt
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt
• ½ head white cabbage
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ tsp sumac

Method

1. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the onion, sliced or diced. I like the texture of slices. Leave these to cook on low until they soften and caramelise, and are crispy and golden brown in parts. Set aside.
2. Cook the lentils in plenty of boiling water for 20–25 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Rinse the rice and place in a pan with the cinnamon and cumin. Add half a teaspoon of salt. Add the drained lentils. Add water until it reaches one inch over the rice. Stir to combine. Place the lid on a simmer low until all of the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy and cooked. Fold in the chickpeas and return the lid to warm through.
4. While the rice cooks, mix one tablespoon of tahini with 200g of yoghurt. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
5. To make the salad, finely shred the white cabbage. Dress it with a pinch of salt, sumac, lemon juice, olive oil and fold through some of the chopped parsley. Set aside.
6. To serve, scatter the top of the mujadra with the caramelised onion and plenty of fresh parsley. Serve with the tahini yoghurt and the cabbage salad.

Gráinne Mullins

Chef and chief executive of Grá Chocolates

With this dish, you can marinate the lamb kofta in the spice mixture for 30 minutes before cooking, for extra flavour. If you don’t have a grill, you can brown the lamb kofta in a frying pan over medium heat. You can also use other spices to flavour your lamb kofta, such as cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala, or whatever spices you have in your cupboard.

Serve the lamb kofta with your favourite flatbread, such as pita bread or naan bread. Any of the dressings or sauces can be skipped if you want to use up what you already have in the cupboard.

Doner kebab salad

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the kofta:

• 500g lamb mince
• ½ onion, grated
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

Crispy chickpeas:

• 1 tin chickpeas
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ¾ tsp salt

Chilli sauce:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper

Lemon yoghurt dressing:

• 150ml pot of plain yoghurt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ½ tsp salt

To serve:

• Shredded lettuce
• Shredded ¼ cabbage
• ½ sliced onion
• Garlic sauce
• Tahini

Method

1. For the yoghurt dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, lemon juice, and salt until well combined.
2. For the chilli sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the spices and stir for a minute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Set aside and let cool.
3. For the crispy chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together the chickpeas, olive oil, spices and salt. Spread the chickpeas in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the chickpeas are crispy and golden brown. Set aside to cool.
4. For the lamb kofta: In a large bowl, combine the lamb mince, grated onion, egg, spices, and salt and pepper. Mix well, using your hands, until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Shape the mixture into a thick sausage, around 10cm in diameter. Wrap the lamb tightly in a sheet of foil, twisting the ends to seal. Place the wrapped lamb on a baking sheet or in a roasting tin. Bake for 35-40 minutes, turning the sausage occasionally, or until cooked through. Remove the kebab from the oven and let it cool slightly. Unwrap the foil and grill the kebab for a few minutes, until nicely browned. Slice the kebab into thin rounds.
5. To serve: Arrange the sliced lamb kofta on a platter. Serve with the crispy chickpeas, chilli sauce, yoghurt dressing, shredded lettuce, shredded cabbage, sliced onion, garlic sauce and tahini.

Richie Castillo

Chef and co-owner of Bahay, Dublin

This recipe is a perfect example of a cupboard clear out recipe. There’s always cooked rice in my parents’ house and usually an array of tinned fish. My father would always reach for a can of sardines and jazz them up with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and whatever else he felt like. He would serve it just with some plain steamed rice or garlic rice.

This version is an homage to that dish but with a few extra bits. We also love a pickle, and think it would cut the richness of the sardines very nicely, so I am including a version of the atchara recipe from my book Masarap, written with my partner and cofounder Alex O’Neill. You can use any veg, so using up the onions, cabbage and red pepper from the fridge would be perfect. A dollop of our banana ketchup would be delish with this dish.

Storecupboard Sardines

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 tin sardines
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 vine tomatoes finely diced
• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Take a medium sized pan, put in the oil and place on a medium heat.
2. Once the pan has come up to temperature, carefully lay your sardines into the pan.
3. Cook on each side for roughly two minutes or until you get some nice caramelisation. Once the sardines have some nice colour in them, go in with the garlic and cook for another two minutes, then place your tomatoes in, along with the salt and pepper.
4. Continue to cook this out for about 8-10 minutes.

Atchara

This pickle is traditionally made from unripe papaya, along with various vegetables such as carrots, peppers, radishes and onions, so use whatever vegetables you have lying around. It’s a good way of clearing out your fridge. This is usually served alongside fried or grilled foods in the Philippines, and rice, of course.

Ingredients

• 40g caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 75ml vinegar (sugar cane/apple cider or any vinegar)
• 100ml water
• Cabbage, julienned
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 1 bird’s eye chilli, sliced

Method

1. Put the sugar, salt, vinegar and water in a pot on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, stirring to make sure the sugar has completely dissolved. If you have a one-litre jar, put all the vegetables into it and pour over the hot liquid, otherwise a heatproof bowl will suffice.
2. Once the liquid has cooled down, your pickle is ready. This keeps for up to a month in your fridge in a suitable sealed container.

Sinangag (garlic rice)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 420g jasmine rice
• 545ml water (Or use the knuckle method: Add one first-knuckle’s worth of water regardless of the amount of rice being cooked, ie the water level in your rice pot should reach your first knuckle when the tip of your finger touches the top of the rice)
• ½ tsp salt
• 30ml vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

Method

1. Wash the rice until the water runs clear, this is very important. Add the rice, salt and water to a medium-sized pot. Turn on medium heat until it comes up to a simmer. Once it is simmering, place a lid on the pot and turn the heart all the way down. Cook for 10 minutes, until the water is all gone and the rice is fluffy.
2. While the rice is cooking, place the oil and garlic into a small saucepan and put on medium heat. When the oil comes up to temperature, the garlic will begin to fry and start to get some colour. You want it to be a light golden colour. This will take about 4-5 minutes. Once your garlic is golden brown, strain off the oil into a bowl and place the crispy garlic on a paper towel.
3. After 10 minutes of cooking the rice, turn the heat off and let it sit for five minutes before taking the lid off and fluffing the rice with a fork. Drizzle with the garlic oil and scatter the crispy garlic on top.

Áine Budds

Chef and master’s student

Like many of us, I find the winter months to be a particularly challenging period, when it’s cold and dark. In trying times like these, I want nourishing, spoonable dishes that I can wrap my hands around in the bowl and bring some much-needed warmth back into my life. This dish is testament to that sentiment.

Cooking for friends, family, or simply yourself, need not be expensive or complicated, especially when people are running low on energy and income. I like this meal because it is strategically lazy – the oven does most of the work.

Fragrant pot roast chicken with lentils and yoghurt flatbread

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• 4 star anise
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 1 medium whole chicken
• 1 can coconut milk (400ml)
• 150ml water (if needed)

For the lentils:

• 240g Puy lentils
• 720ml water
• Olive oil
• Salt, to season

For the yoghurt flatbread:

• 300g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 150g natural yoghurt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 30ml water
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Rinse lentils for a minute under cold running water, then add the lentils and water to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for 30 seconds and then reduce to a simmer over a low heat for 20-25 minutes until they are cooked but still slightly firm.
2. Drain, mix in the olive oil, season with salt and set aside for later.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the flatbread ingredients to make a rough dough. Tip on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes until slightly smooth. Cover dough until ready to serve.
4. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
5. In a medium heat pan, toast the dried spices until they are fragrant and add to a deep casserole dish with a lid.
6. Slice two onions and add to the casserole.
7. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. In a hot pan, add a tablespoon of oil and sear the whole chicken on all sides until golden brown. Place into a casserole dish, breast side up.
8. Pour in coconut milk and top up with water until legs are submerged. Pop on the lid and place into the oven for two hours. Once cooked, remove chicken from liquid and allow to rest.
9. To make the flatbreads, divide your flatbread dough into four pieces, roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown and charred in places.
10. In a pan, reduce the casserole liquid by half and add the cooked lentils, cooking out for a further five minutes.
11. Depending on your preference, either carve the chicken into portions or shred the meat from the carcass and mix through the lentil mix. Ladle the lentils and chicken into a bowl and serve with the warm flatbreads