Five dinners, all for two people, all made from things that keep in a cupboard or a fridge door: pasta, eggs, canned tomatoes, canned legumes, olive oil, garlic and whatever vegetable is around. The longest takes 25 minutes, the shortest 10. None needs a trip to the shop.
Pasta aglio, olio e peperoncino: 12 minutes
Put 160 g of spaghetti in salted boiling water. In a wide pan warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 sliced garlic cloves and a pinch of chilli, on low heat, until the garlic is pale gold and never brown. Drain the pasta two minutes early, finish it in the pan with a ladle of its cooking water and stir hard for a minute. The starch in that water is what turns oil into sauce.
Chickpeas and tomato: 20 minutes
Soften half a chopped onion in olive oil for 5 minutes, add 200 g of canned chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then a drained 240 g tin of chickpeas. Simmer 12 minutes, crush a spoonful of the chickpeas against the side of the pan to thicken it, and finish with rosemary or a spoon of pesto. Eat it with bread, or add 100 g of short pasta and another glass of water and it becomes a one-pot dinner.
Frittata with whatever is in the fridge: 15 minutes
Four eggs, 30 g of grated cheese, salt, pepper. Cook 250 g of any vegetable first, in a pan with oil, until dry: courgettes, spinach, onions, leftover potatoes, all work. Pour the beaten eggs over, cook on medium-low for 5 minutes, flip with the help of a plate and give it 4 more minutes.
Rice with tuna and lemon: 18 minutes
Boil 160 g of rice. Meanwhile mix a drained 160 g tin of tuna with the zest and juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, black pepper and a handful of olives or capers. Toss the drained rice through it while still warm. It is just as good cold the next day, which makes it a useful lunch.
Bread, egg and greens: 10 minutes
Toast two thick slices of bread, rub them with a cut garlic clove and oil them. Wilt a large handful of spinach or chard in a pan for 3 minutes. Fry two eggs in the same pan, put greens and eggs on the bread, salt, pepper, done. This is dinner when there is nothing else and it is 21:30.
What do you need to keep in the house for all this?
Pasta or rice, eggs, canned tomatoes, canned legumes, tuna, olive oil, garlic, onions, hard cheese, bread in the freezer. Ten items, and any of these five dinners is always possible. A shared list helps here more than a recipe book: when the chickpeas run out, whoever notices adds them, and the cupboard never empties.