Top chefs on using store cupboard essentials to cook Michelin star meals

Rummaging through the back of your cupboards and wondering what to make with your final tin of tuna?

Look no further.

Our favourite London chefs have shared their top store cupboard recipes to keep you going whilst you’re staying inside.

From Padella’s pasta heaven to jazzed-up versions of your old favourites, here are what the top chefs are whipping up from their homes.

Monica Galetti, chef founder of Mere and MasterChef: The Professionals judge

THREE TIN CURRY

“This is an easy curry made with just three tins. Top tip: allow the tomatoes to gently bubble for an hour or more. This releases their natural sugars, turning sauces from acidic to sweet.”

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 inches of ginger

¾ tsp chili flakes

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp curry powder

1 tin tomatoes

1 tin butterbeans

1 tin chickpeas

Sweat the onion for 10 minutes then add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin and curry powder, then cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and cook low and slow for an hour, then add the rinsed butterbeans and chickpeas, and cook for another 30 minutes. If you have an aubergine, dice it into 2cm cubes and roast for 20 minutes at 180C, then add to the curry. Season, serve with rice and some chopped coriander and a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Tom Aikens, Chef Founder, Muse

TINNED SWEETCORN PANCAKES, WITH GRILLED AVOCADO AND BACON 

“Tinned sweetcorn is such a good failsafe – it can quickly be made into a salad, salsa, soup or puree, or served with a jacket potato, mixed with cottage cheese & chili flakes. However, this is my favourite way to use it, and is a great one for kids.”

600g tinned sweetcorn

3 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp paprika

125g self raising flour

2 spring onions, chopped

Salt and pepper

Bacon

Avocado

Place 500g tinned corn, the eggs, baking powder, paprika and self raising flour into a food processer and blitz until combined. Stir in the remaining 100g sweet corn and spring onions, and season with salt and pepper. The pancake batter is then ready to fry in oil (about a tablespoon) until golden on both sides. Serve the pancakes alongside bacon and a little grilled avocado if you have it.

CUPBOARD RAID FLAT BREAD

“Flat bread is a comforting, warming vessel for literally anything. We all need bread at this time and this one can be filled, grilled and cut up to dip into something like hummus, or just toasted, buttered and eaten over the sink.”

600g of white bread flour

200g wheat or brown flour (if you don’t have any just use all white)

15g dried yeast

15g salt

130g olive oil

450ml warm water

Sieve the white flour, add the salt and yeast. Make a well, then gradually add the water and oil and place into a mixer for a few mins on a low-medium speed, before proving in a warm place for an hour. Knock back the dough and cut into 12 pieces, rolling out into balls. With extra flour, roll out into VERY thin with a diameter of approximately 20cm. Garnish with anything you like from your dry store cupboard, like dry herbs, seeds, spices, sesame seeds, Zaatar or Sumac. Or just bake them plain, with olive oil and sea salt. Brush the tops with the olive oil first so that the toppings stick, sprinkle on whatever you’re using, then bake on a hot, heavy tray or on bottom of the oven at 220c for 8-10 minutes.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO HUMMUS

1 tin of cooked chickpeas

30g Tahini

300g roast sweet potato

2g cayenne pepper

6g smoked paprika

½ tsp of toasted cumin seeds

1 red chilli, finely chopped, seeds removed

2 finely chopped garlic cloves

Juice of half a lemon

100ml olive oil

12g salt

2g finely crushed black pepper

Place everything but the oil into a blender, adding the oil gradually as you blend. Blitz to a coarse puree, and serve.  

Angela Hartnett, chef founder of Murano

SPAGHETTI PUTTANESCA

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

400g tin of tomatoes

12 white marinated anchovies

2 tsp small capers

10 black olives, chopped

Chilli flakes, a pinch

375g spaghetti or linguine

Flat-leaf parsley to garnish

Freshly milled salt and pepper

In a saucepan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion and garlic and sauté without letting them colour. Add the tinned tomatoes, season with freshly milled salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes, until it becomes a nice thick sauce. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water, according to the packet instructions (normally about 12 minutes) until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, add the capers, chilli and black olives to the tomato sauce. Drain the pasta well, toss in with the sauce and finish with the chopped flat-leaf parsley and anchovies. Finally, check the seasoning and serve.

Matt Bishop, head chef at Roast Borough Market

POSH SARDINES ON TOAST

“This was my Dad’s favourite dinner, and our staple Sunday night supper for when you haven’t got much knocking about in the fridge. I’ve amped it up a bit since we had it as children, and it never fails to impress – even though it’s based on retro tinned sardines in tomato sauce! Packed with vitamin B-12, it really does take ‘sardines on toast’ to the next level.”

2 shallots

1 clove of garlic

2 large tomatoes

25ml red wine vinegar

1 tin of sardines in tomato sauce

Fresh sardines (however many you like)

2 slices of toast

Finely chop one of the shallots and cook with the clove of garlic in a little olive oil until translucent. Chop the tomatoes into quarters, deseed and cut into little strips. Add to the softened onion mix and cook for a few mins before adding the red wine vinegar and reduce until syrupy. Add the tin of sardines in tomato sauce (sauce and all) and thicken a little before blending the whole thing coarsely. Brush your fresh sardines with oil, salt and pepper and grill for 2-3 mins each side. Make some toast and spread with your tinned sardine mix, top with the grilled sardines and a few rings of raw shallot for crunch. Add an extra drizzle of oil to finish and a little chopped basil if you’ve got it.

Gizzi Erskine, chef at The Nitery and TV personality

TUNA BEAN SALAD

“I lived off this salad as a poor catering student – it’s delicious and cheap to make, and the simple recipe can be adapted with whatever you’ve got in your cupboards and fridge at home.”

1 can of tuna (or sardines)

1 can of beans

1 onion (red, white, yellow or shallots will do)

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

Any other vegetables you’ve got (carrots, radishes, cucumber etc.)

For the dressing

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or any vinegar will do)

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Begin by very finely chopping half the onion, and add to a mixing bowl. Strain and rinse the beans, and add to the bowl. Drain the tuna or sardines and add to the bowl, along with the parsley. Mix up the dressing, and serve together.

Tim Siadatan, chef director of Trullo and Padella

PADELLA’S PICI CACIO E PEPE

“Cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) is a classic dish from Rome and one of our most popular on the menu. The Romans use pecorino but we prefer a high quality, aged parmesan because it gives the dish more depth of flavour.”

For the pici:

375g white bread flour

180ml water

1 tbsp olive oil

A pinch of fine sea salt

Add the flour to a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix together the water, olive oil and salt and pour into the well. Start incorporating the flour until a dough starts to form. Then take the dough out, transfer to a clean table and start kneading it until it becomes smooth. With a rolling pin, shape it into a rectangle about 2cm thick, wrap in cling film and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes somewhere cool.

To make the pici, cut the dough into 15g strips (weigh one to check and use as a guide) and keep covered with a damp tea towel. On a dry, clean work surface – you don’t want something too smooth as a little bit of friction is important; a large wooden chopping board would do – start rolling the strip outwards, with both palms of your hands, applying pressure evenly and pushing out, until you have a noodle the same thickness as a biro. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Cook straight away or if making in advance, store lengthways on a heavily floured tray covered with cling film and refrigerate for no more than 24 hours.

For the cacio e pepe:

1 batch of pici dough

160g unsalted butter

100g parmesan, finely grated

4 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

In a large saucepan, bring the water up to the boil and season with salt to resemble sea water. Drop the pici in water and cook for 5-6 minutes. Meanwhile, add the butter, black pepper, lemon juice and a splash of pici water to a saucepan on a medium heat and then turn down to a low heat until the ingredients emulsify (melt into each other). When the pici is cooked, remove it from the water and add to the saucepan with the butter and pepper. Keep the pasta water. Add the parmesan – but do not stir; leave it to sit and melt from the residual heat of the pan. Once the parmesan has melted, stir the pici and sauce together to incorporate. Season with sea salt and serve immediately.

Tom Booton, head chef The Grill at The Dorchester

HOMEMADE SUNDAE

1 tbsp peanut butter

410g tin condensed milk (half for the sundae mix, half for the topping)

4 egg yolks

120g caster sugar

250ml double cream

150ml milk (ideally whole milk)

100g cornflakes (crushed)

Optional: whole peanuts

Bring the milk and cream to a soft boil in a saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until really light and fluffy. Add half of the hot milk and cream mixture to the bowl and whisk. Return this mix to the saucepan. Over a medium heat, keep stirring the mixture for 6-8 minutes, waiting for the mixture to thicken and become glossy.  Make sure it doesn’t stick or catch at the bottom of the pan. When ready, take off the heat and add in half the tin of condensed milk and one tablespoon of peanut butter (if you have whole peanuts, add them in now too). Taste, then cool in a bowl before freezing for at least four hours, stirring every hour to stop ice crystals forming. Once frozen, ball the ice cream and place the balls back in the freezer. When ready to serve, roll your ice cream balls in the crushed cornflakes to give a fantastic texture. Drizzle over the remaining condensed milk if you want it sweeter

TINNED SWEETCORN & BACON SOUP 

1 tin of sweetcorn

1 onion

1/2 bunch tarragon (can be frozen)

200ml cream OR milk

600ml water

100g diced bacon (can be frozen)

Sweat down the onion slowly with salt until translucent, then add the bacon and fry. Add in the tin of sweetcorn, then water and cream or milk. Bring to boil, then add in tarragon and blitz.

Ben Tish, Culinary Director of Norma and The Stafford

TINNED BORLOTTI BEANS WITH PANCETTA, BASIL, TOMATOES and CROUTONS 

“This is a cheering speedy, easy store cupboard supper for all the family. It warms the soul, and is best mopped up with a hunk of bread.”

1 clove of garlic

100g bacon (can be frozen)

400g tin of tomatoes

1 slice of sourdough

1 tin of borlotti beans

Handful of basil

Heat a medium saucepan, add a glug of olive, the garlic and the bacon and cook to release the fat and colour a little. Add the tin of tomatoes and simmer, to reduce by half. Meanwhile, in a separate pan heat a glug of oil and a slice of old sourdough cut into pieces. Season well and toss through until crispy, then reserve on kitchen paper. When the tomato mix has reduced, stir in a tin of borlotti beans, season and add the basil leaves. Cook for two minutes and then divide out into bowls and top with the croutons, drizzle with more oil and serve.

AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA

8 aubergines, sliced lengthways, about 2cm thick

4 burrata or mozzarella balls (120g each), drained

5 x 400g cans chopped tinned tomatoes

250g grated parmesan reggiano

1 bunch fresh basil, leaves removed

250g dried breadcrumbs

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Place the tinned tomatoes in a saucepan over a medium heat and slowly reduce by half. This will take about an hour. Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat, pour in some olive oil and gently fry the aubergines slices, in batches, until they are all tender and golden brown. You will need to add extra oil as you go as the aubergines soak it up quite quickly. When the slices are fried, season well and drain on kitchen paper. Heat the oven to 180C. Rub the sides and base of an oven proof dish with olive oil and add a layer of aubergine slices, then a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and a few basil leaves followed by a ladle of tomatoes, a burrata ripped into pieces and a handful of parmesan. Ensure everything is evenly spread and then continue to layer this way until you finish with a layer of aubergine. Transfer to the oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until the parmigiana is bubbling away and the tops aubergines have begun to crisp. Remove from the oven to rest for 20 minutes and then sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs and cheese. Finish under a hot grill for five minutes before serving with a green salad.

Paul Leonard, head chef, Forest Side

FANCY BAKED BEANS 

“This one is so simple: sweat off a shallot, some garlic and chilli powder in a saucepan, then add to a tin of baked beans when warming through. Finish with some sour cream, serve on sourdough toast and you will have the best chilli beans on toast ever. Grated cheddar is always a welcome addition on top.”