Escuelita de Cocina: 10 Pantry Items You Must Have

By Harry Pagancoss

OMG! Ok, that is a dramatic way to begin talking about food. However, in order to avoid saying that when you find out that your friends are coming over, I'm providing you with a few ideas to keep your pantry well stocked so that you can breeze through last minute get-together opportunities or quick meals.

Cooking is not hard, but it requires preparation. Doing it with passion and with the right ingredients is what will make a bland dish become something delicious. I certainly like to entertain my friends at home and do not mind last minute invites to come over because I know that I have the basics; having the right things to present decent tapas or plates to nibble is the idea here.

I don't include here ingredients such as meat or chicken, breads, milk, fruit, in other words, things that go bad and are highly perishable because you should buy those on a regular basis as you will probably eat them all the time. My 10 essential items for your pantry will simply allow you to prepare last minute dishes, tapas, quick bites, or will simple serve as the basis for creating a dish from ground up. Here is what I like to have.

10 Essential Items for Your Pantry

Garbanzo Beans

You can buy them dry, but if you are like someone I know, you must remember that if you leave them in water to soften for too long, they will sprout and grow! In order to avoid getting a garbanzo plant nursery, do what I do: buy them canned. Garbanzo beans are great for salads, stews, and my ultimate party favorite: hummus with some warm pita bread.

Quinoa

Forget white rice, quinoa is the "mother of all grains" and it is both delicious and beautiful to see on a dish. In a matter of minutes you will have cooked quinoa, which you can serve with some nice chorizo as a tapa, puree it to spread it on bread or cook in broth and add some herbs and spices to accompany your choice of meat, chicken or fish.

Pearl Couscous

Besides looking beautiful on a dish, pearl couscous is great to accompany any dish; I use it in soups, in salads or alone with herbs and spices. Best thing is that it is ready in 10 minutes and feels great in the mouth when chewing.

Eggs

Eat eggs alone, use them for baking, sauces, Spanish tortillas or a nice frittata. I sprinkle a little paprika over them. Let us not forget that Pisco Sour needs egg whites, why not have them in stock?

Honey

This sweet deliciousness is useful in dressings, drizzled over roasted onions, over pancakes, with cheeses, you name it.

Chicken, Beef or Vegetable Stock

Stock is so versatile and necessary that you will find a thousand uses for it: to cook rice, to give flavor to meats, to make reductions, to flavor vegetables or  to make sauces. In essence, I use vegetable stock, which is my favorite of the three, almost every day.

Unflavored Gelatin

Using gelatin is so cool and I believe, a lost art. Add it to juice and you have a quick dessert, you can make smoothies with it, quick custards, no-bake cheesecakes and a lot more. Keep a few envelopes in the pantry and be creative. You will love it.

Tomatoes, canned

I like to buy canned chopped tomatoes because they are good for quick pasta dishes, last minute chili, bruschetta, homemade pizza and to make salsa for Mexican dishes; we all love chips and salsa, right?

Olive Oil

I like to say that olive oil is like my religion! I believe in it, love it and use it. Drizzle it on Italian dishes, tapas, salads, rice;  infuse it with garlic or hot peppers and dip bread in it, oh...so good.

Cheeses & Crackers

Cheeses are good for cooking, entertaining and snacking; I snack on Laughing Cow cheese wedges every day. However, having one or two gourmet cheeses like Brie, Camembert, Asiago, or some kind of Blue cheese (the very stinky kind) is a great way to provide guests and friends with a quick appetizer, served with crackers of course, when they visit.

For more ideas on how to use these ingredients email me: harry@passiongourmet.net

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Tags cooking, escuelita de cocina, Food, Harry Pagancoss, kitchen, pantry