2020-03-01 Woolworths Taste

from London. Plum sauce from

Momofuku Ssam bar in New York.

All past their best-before date. Sob.

Thisparticularproblem,involving

exoticfooditemssmuggledbravely

throughcustomsbyfriends,relatives

andmyself,extendstomypantry.

Andhere,theproblemis evenmore

severe.Thisis largelybecauseI can

neverimagineanoccasionspecial

enough,orguestssodeserving,that

I canjustifyusinguptheagedbalsamic

“pearls”boughtformeat Borough

Marketbymyknowingstepsons,

ortheartisanaltrofiepastamymother

broughtmefromItaly,ortherosejam

fromtheGrandBazaarinIstanbulthat

I hadplannedtouseforricepudding,

butwhichI ammoreafraidtoopen

witheachpassingyear.

So,theylanguishinmypantry,

whichseemsdesignedforthepurpose

of hoarding,withglassshelvesand

spicedrawersanda helpfulsurfacefor

grindingnoveltycoffeebeansbought

ona whimfroma distantroastery.

WhyamI subjectingyoutothis

inventoryof myfridgeandpantry?

(I’mleavingthefreezeroutof this.

It’sbetterthatway.)Becausethisis the

decadeof change!Thisis theyearI am

goingtoreconmysaltcollectionand

cooksomethingthatrequiresa pinch

of PinotNoirfinishingsaltfromthe

NapaValley.Justdon’taskmewhat.

My life’s savings

meonInstagram

@ WilsonZA

Followm

@KateW

It’s a daunting task, using what

you have on hand, especially when

heirloom tomatoes are in season, but

this is the year I’m going to master it.

And you can too. All it needs is a bit

of planning, some inspiration and

you could clear your fridge, save

money, reduce waste and expand

your repertoire.

Check off what you have and

what you need (see p. 123), make a

wishlist of dishes guaranteed to please

the masses – Abi’s jammy roast chicken

(p. 62), Mogau’s potato rösti bake

(p. 90), Jax’s green fusilli (p. 96) – and

start cooking. If you play your cards

right you might even have time to

whip up Hannah’s amasi bundt cake

(p. 78) on the weekend, right?

Right.

WHAT IS ALWAYS
in your fridge? We often ask this
question in interviews with chefs,
TV cooks and other food aficionados,
but I’m not sure I’d want to answer
it myself. It’s not pretty, my fridge.
For starters, there are always at
least half a dozen plastic containers
(the shame). These do not contain
the carefully portioned results of
a weekend spent cooking big batches
of hearty family favourites while
wearing a Skinny LaMinx apron and
humming “La Vie en Rose”. No.
They contain things like the remains
of a Woolies’ free-range rotisserie
chicken, steamed broccoli for the
Cherub, a tub of mystery salsa
and, inexplicably, an assortment
of half-used lemons.
Some shelves are functional – there’s
always deli meat for the Salad Dodger
(for obvious reasons), soya milk for the
wannabe vegan, home-made rooibos
iced tea, and a wide selection of hot
sauces and mustards.
The jar shelf is a low point, which
is why I positioned it above eye level.
There is usually something home-
made that should be put out of its
misery – pickled cucumbers left over
from the Christmas gravadlax for
example; there is always at least one
almost full jar of olives from a random
farm stall and an assortment of half-
empty jars of condiments acquired
while travelling or given as gifts.
The latter are the kind of ingredients
I just cannot bear to either finish or
throw away. Seascape strawberry-and-
geranium jam from California.
Ottolenghi’s favourite rose harissa

8 TASTE MARCH 2020

EDITOR'S LETTER

There is “

usually a jar

of something

home-made

that should

be put out

of its misery”