Green veggies with flavoured butter
This wonderfully herby butter gives festive greens loads of flavour, and you can prep it in advance
13 recipes that use garlic, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Spaghetti aglio e olio, takes 17 minutes. It is most often cooked with onion, coriander and carrot.
Run out of garlic? ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Got a few things in the fridge? Search by everything you have
This wonderfully herby butter gives festive greens loads of flavour, and you can prep it in advance
A North Indian staple that comes together from the store cupboard. Toasted cumin, slow-softened onion and a good spoonful of garam masala give tinned chickpeas real depth. Serve with rice, naan or a stack of warm rotis.
Five ingredients and fifteen minutes. The secret is to cook the garlic slowly so it turns sweet and pale gold, then toss everything with a splash of starchy pasta water so the oil turns into a glossy sauce that clings to every strand.
A one-pan breakfast that works just as well for dinner. Peppers and onions are cooked down with cumin and smoked paprika, then eggs are nestled in and poached until the whites set and the yolks stay runny. Bring the pan to the table with plenty of bread for dipping.
The easiest way to cook salmon perfectly: a hot oven, a quick lemon-garlic butter and 12 minutes. Serve with new potatoes and greens, or flake it over rice.
The best fried rice starts with cold, day-old rice, so the grains stay separate and toast in the wok instead of turning mushy. A great way to use up leftover rice and odds and ends of vegetables.
Proof that a meat-free taco night can be the best one. The beans are mashed with chipotle and cumin so they hold together in the tortilla, and a quick lime slaw adds crunch.
Roasting the tomatoes with onion and garlic concentrates their sweetness and gives the soup a gentle smokiness you can't get from a tin. Lovely with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Comfort in a bowl. Split pigeon peas and red lentils are simmered until creamy, then finished with a tadka: whole spices, garlic and chilli sizzled in hot ghee and poured over at the last moment.
A quick coat of cornflour and soy keeps thin slices of beef silky, and a hot wok gives the broccoli char without overcooking it. Faster than ordering in.
A simple dough, a no-cook tomato sauce and the hottest oven you can manage. A heavy baking tray preheated in the oven does a good job of standing in for a pizza stone.
A punchy sweet-and-hot chilli sauce blended in minutes, with no cooking. Serve it with spring rolls, samosas, bhajias and nacho chips, or stir a spoonful into noodles. It keeps for up to 2 weeks in a clean jar in the fridge.
A light, clear vegetable stock with leek, celery, parsnip and fresh herbs, ready in under an hour. Use it as the base for soups, risottos and sauces. It keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.