'Ready for any meal or occasion': Donna Hay names the pantry staples everyone should have in their kitchen
It's late afternoon or early evening. You just got home from work and you didn't have time to stop off at the supermarket.
You need to cook dinner for the family but you are devoid of inspiration – and groceries.
Then you remember you stocked up the pantry last week and look inside, and suddenly you are presented with endless opportunities – or maybe just one – but hey, that's all you need.
READ MORE: Donna Hay's refreshingly honest food admission
Donna Hay has revealed her must-have pantry staples. Supplied
According to cookbook queen Donna Hay, a well-stocked pantry can mean the difference between cooking at home and reaching for the UberEats app.
And she should know. Hay has just released her 28th cookbook.
Too Easy is filled with simple recipes that can be made quickly using just a handful of ingredients.
"It's the things you have in your pantry plus a few fresh ingredients," she told 9honey earlier this month, during an interview at her Darlinghurst headquarters.
READ MORE: The lasagne shortcut you didn't know you needed
A pantry should be stocked with a variety of esentials. Getty Images/iStockphoto
According to Hay, pantry staples are so important, she even devoted a whole chapter to them in her new book.
"One thing I am always asked is what are my favourite things to keep in the pantry," Hay writes.
"I like to be ready for any meal or occasion, even if it's just a last-minute weeknight dinner."
Hay included an extensive list of all her favourite pantry items, ranging from basics, such as pasta and rice, to the more elaborate.
"I have provided a list of pantry staples at the front of the book as a little bit of a reminder of what you could have in your pantry," Hay said.
But while she listed her so-called 'powerhouse pantry' items, she suggested home cooks customise their list to suit their own tastes.
Donna Hay says a well-stocked pantry is essential. Supplied
"There is no point buying things like pomegranate molasses if you're not going to use it," she said.
"Or wasabi or curry pastes if you don't like spicy things."
But there is no doubt her pantry list comes in handy if you are planning to cook a recipe from her new book.
For instance, her Butter Chicken Naan Breads, from her "Faster than Takeaway" chapter, includes four of her pantry staples – butter chicken curry paste, store-bought mango chutney, store-bought naan bread and plain Greek yoghurt – and just three fresh ingredients – chicken mince, coriander and green chillies.
You'll always find tinned tomatoes, which retail for as little as $1.10 a can, in Hay's pantry. Getty
So what does Hay have in her own pantry?
Her pantry shopping list is divided into eight categories: Basics, Fridge, Freezer, Baking, Sauces, Pastes, Spices and Blends, and Condiments.
Her basics include pasta, rice, grains, canned or dried pulses, canned tomatoes, passata and tomato paste, oils and vinegars.
Her fridge items include lemons and limes, fresh herbs, cheeses, yoghurt and cream, dips and unsalted butter.
Freezer items include peas, spinach and edamame, puff and shortcrust pastries, vanilla bean ice-cream, raspberries, blueberries and mango, homemade breadcrumbs, cooked rice, Thai lime leaves, chips and French fries.
Her baking musts are nuts, fried fruits, flours, sugars, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking chocolate, honey and maple syrup.
The food icon always keeps edamame in her freezer, along with peas and spinach.
Hay's must-have sauces include hoisin, mirin, pomegranate molasses, fish sauce, chilli sauce and soy, while her favourite pastes include harissa, gochujang, miso, wasabi, chipotle in adobo and curry pastes.
Her go-to spices are smoked paprika, Chinese five spice, ras el hanout, shichimi togarashi and Sichuan peppercorns.
Finally, her favourite condiments include mustard, chutney and relish, crispy chilli oil, pickled ginger, kimchi and sauerkraut and capers.
Too Easy is available in stores now.
