Take One Can

Book excerpt: Our kitchen cupboards are full of cans - tomatoes, chickpeas, tuna, kidney beans, sardines, sweetcorn, even figs - that often are used as an addition to a recipe but never the main ingredient. Take One Can is a celebration of canned ingredients, offering 80 recipes that take one can and make it the focus of the meal. Arranged to showcase the range of canned ingredients available, the chapters begin with the staple that is Beans and Pulses, followed by Tomatoes and Vegetables, which play a central role in countless dishes, then Fish, and finally Fruit and Sweet Cans. The last chapter offers a few tasty accompaniments to eat alongside your meal. Lola's creative but simple recipes, such as jackfruit & red kidney bean chilli, sweetcorn fritters, pumpkin and chocolate loaf and pineapple, coconut & lime upside down cake make the absolute most of ingredients you will already have, topped up with one or two fresh ingredients. Substitutions are also suggested should you not have every ingredient on hand. Save money, be creative and waste less food by looking in your cupboard instead of visiting the supermarket.