My Big Fat Moussaka

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Mustard

  Mustard

  Worth keeping a few different types.

  • French mustard or Dijon is creamy and can be used in dressings, marinades or adding to sauces.
  • English is good for roast beef, steak, gammon or sizzling sausages.
  • Wholegrain is used in chutney’s and pickles
• Ground Black peppercorns

  Black peppercorns

  Best used as a condiment.

  They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.

  • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
  • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
  • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
• Salt

  Salt

  Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.

  Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.

• 1.2 litres Milk

  Milk

  organic, full fat, semi-skimmed.

  If milk turns sour (and this when it smells or tastes sour not when it has reached the best before date) it is excellent for making scones

• 700ml chicken stock from cubes or homemade Stocks

  Stocks

  Made from your meat and fish bones.

  Frozen in ice cubes for gravies, risotto and cooking rice. Once frozen, remove from the ice trays and pack into freezer bags. Use stock powder or cubes if you do not have any home made available.

• ½ teaspoon ground Cinnamon

  Cinnamon

  Great in buns, cakes, and puddings.

  • Add to baked apples or apple pies.
  • Break the stick and add to poaching syrup for fruits like pears, plums or bananas or use to infuse wine or punch.
• 2 x 400g Canned chopped tomatoes

  Canned chopped tomatoes

  Great for instant pizza sauce, pasta, curry sauces.

  • The tomatoes will keep for up to a week, but don’t store them in the opened tin because the metal will start to rust and spoil the food. Instead, tip the tomatoes into a plastic container, cover with a lid, or clingfilm and store in the fridge.
  • Alternatively, put the tomatoes in a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 12 months.
• 75g plain Flour

  Flour

  For pastry making or to thicken sauces, soups, stews and casseroles.

  • Raising agents are added to plain flour to make self-raising flour, used to lighten and give an airy texture to cakes and sponges.
  • Once opened reseal with quick clips or transfer to an airtight container or kilner jar. It will keep for up to 3-4 months
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil

  Olive oil

  Usually the darker green the oil, the richer the flavour.

  • Extra virgin olive oil is good for drizzling on salads and should never be heated as this destroys the fine properties
  • Lighter olive oil is good for adding to bread, or to flavour a salad or marinade for chicken, meat, fish or vegetables. Lighter olive oil can be gently heated and added to marinades and baking.
• 4 Eggs

  Eggs

  Always have some on hand for quick scrambled egg.

  • Keep eggs in the fridge in their box and never eat them after their use-by date.
  • The Health Protection Agency recommends buying Lion branded eggs, which come from vaccinated hens and are therefore less likely to contain salmonella
• 80g Butter

  Butter

  Unsalted is better for cooking.

  Easy spread butter is ideal for sandwiches and toast.

• 250g leftover grated Cheese

  Cheese

  Add to eggs for omelettes, grate onto soups or salads.

  • Parmesan often goes rock hard or becomes horribly sweaty. Ideally, all cheese should be stored in a cool, airy place at a temperature of 46-50F/8-10C. However, most of us put it straight into the fridge. This is fine providing the cheese is kept loosely wrapped in its own airtight container so it isn’t tainted by other foods.
  • Store it in the salad drawer, which is not quite as cold as the rest of the fridge and use a micro plane for grating.