CANNED CANNELLINI BEANS Need a starch for that dinner? Some heft for the pasta or a salad? Some substance in the soup? A can of white cannellini beans comes to my rescue on many occasions, even to purée and season for a dip or thin out to turn into soup. Store cans upside-down, so the thick liquid is not on the bottom.
CAPERS IN VINEGAR Few ingredients will dress a fillet of fish, a chicken breast, hanger steak, pork loin, vegetables like cauliflower, or a salad, like a random scattering of capers. For eye appeal, I prefer the small ones in vinegar.
DRIED MUSHROOMS (PREFERABLY PORCINI) Soak dried mushrooms, porcini or morels in warm water, pat them dry, and you have a straight path to an elegant sauce for pasta, or a glorious addition to a braise or stew. Strain the soaking liquid to use in the sauce.
GOOD-QUALITY CANNED TUNA (PREFERABLY IMPORTED VENTRESCA) Whether your goal is simple tuna salad, salade niçoise, pasta to evoke Southern Italy, or a weeknight casserole, try to find imported tuna in olive oil. It’s a treasure of flavor and texture.
PITTED PRUNES Poaching prunes in lightly sweetened red wine with a couple of cinnamon sticks is my go-to emergency dinner finale, but one you will often see on dessert trolleys in Europe. Serve the dish at room temperature, embellished with some heavy cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream. Use wine goblets for serving, to add glam to the weeknight.
RED MISO OR BLACK OLIVE PASTE Miso or olive paste are ingredients I must have around to thicken soups, stews and gravies, and to add complexity to their flavor, as they unpack their umami when warmed (see anchovy paste). They seem to keep indefinitely in the refrigerator, despite their use-by dates.
SLICED ALMONDS I consider these to be the most versatile nuts to keep on hand. Toast them to use as a garnish, to add to a salad, or to scatter over a cake, panna cotta or ice cream. You can grind them for emergency almond flour. And I’m just getting started! Because they have less fat than pecans or peanuts, they are not likely to go rancid, though they are best kept in the freezer.
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