Not the most inspired of beginnings, but an all-too-real
after-work scenario for many of us. However, it needn’t spoil your evening. Julia Watson shines a light into the storecupboard and gives
us hope

It’s been one of those days. You stagger home, in need of comfort and sustenance and open the fridge. What’s inside? Something on a saucer that flew in from Mars and a sweaty chunk of cheese you could use as a doorstop.

Days such as these aren’t like a winning lottery ticket – one in a gazillion, always someone else’s. They happen frequently, sometimes coming like rush hour buses in clumps. And always when there’s nothing in the fridge.

So you should be ready for them. Organising your lifestyle to make sure you’re guaranteed to have something fresh to cook might be the perfect solution. But who is perfect? It’s a stratagem that may survive a week or two, but pretty soon you’re back to the scrape-last-night’s-leftovers-from-the-pan,
-pat-em-together-and-pretend-they’re-a-Rosti syndrome.

What you need to do is sort out the back up. Tins! With a single trip to the supermarket and a careful selection process, you can create a storecupboard full of supplies that will save you the next time it’s been one of those days. And save you with great satisfaction, providing just the right kind of comfort and sustenance to restore the spirits.

Take a simple tin of tuna fish, for instance. It’s a treasury of possibilities once opened, from single-dish suppers, to salads, to dishes fit for dinner party starters.

Tuna preserved in olive oil is the one to pick. Give the dish a fancy name. You’ll feel better.

Spaghetti al Tonno
Heat a little olive oil or butter in a frying pan. Add the tuna, broken into small chunks and heat through, stirring gently. Add 240ml stock, freshly ground black pepper and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cover with chopped parsley, if you have it, and serve over spaghetti.

Tonno e Fagioli
Tinned tuna has a great affinity with white beans. Drain a tin of cannellini beans and decant into a bowl. Add a tin of tuna fish, forked into large chunks. Toss over the finely cut rings from half a medium onion, a good grinding of fresh black pepper and a slosh of olive oil. Turn roughly and eat with hot crusty bread.

Tuna Brandade
Mash a tin of drained cannellini beans and a tin of tuna separately as finely as possible (with a fork if you haven’t got a processor) then combine. Stir in 75g grated Cheddar, and a finely chopped clove of garlic. Butter a baking dish, pile in the mixture, scatter with 3 tbsp dry breadcrumbs (or finely crushed cornflakes or crackers), dot with butter and bake in the oven at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 20–30 minutes till browned.

Tuna Soufflé
Add a tin of mashed tuna to white sauce made with 1 level dsp flour, 25g butter and 150ml milk. Beat 4 egg yolks into the mixture, then fold in the stiffly beaten whites, pour into a buttered soufflé dish and bake for 25 minutes at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 till risen. (If you’re happy about discarding a yolk, an extra white will make it rise even better. This is true of all soufflés.)

Potted Tuna
This can be quickly made. Then, while you have a glass of wine with the guests you’ve spontaneously invited for dinner, you can chill it in the freezer.
Drain a tin of tuna and flake it with a fork. Season with freshly ground black pepper, a good grating of nutmeg and the juice of half a lemon. Spoon into ramekin dishes. Melt 175g butter to the nutty brown stage, then pour through a sieve over the tuna. Chill in the freezer until set and eat with hot buttered toast and a salad.

Tuna Cheese Melt
This is totally basic, but heaven. Tuna goes wonderfully with cheese. Mash a small tin of tuna with a spoonful of mayonnaise and generous grind of black pepper. Toast a thick slice of bread. When done, spread it with the tuna and then with enough thin slices of Gruyère to cover it. Slide under a hot grill until the cheese is bubbling. A salad makes it a meal. Even a slightly wilted one.