On how to stock a pantry for lovers

When in pursuit of love it is important to pave the way by stocking your pantry correctly. You must be aware that food plays a major role in seduction and a romantic meal in a restaurant is not the only way to go. You need to have the sort of provisions in your pantry that can be readily turned into the perfect morsel for the perfect moment.

There is a good chance the first meal you find yourself preparing for your lover is breakfast. In my opinion that would have to be an omelette made simply with fresh herbs picked from the garden. I can vouch for the charm of this, having been seduced by my now-husband’s whipping up an omelette in my kitchen. I am not going to tell you how to make it since it is my sincere hope you will have it made for you.

I can say, though, that you should be sure always to have six organic eggs in your fridge, a few pots of herbs on your doorstep and a good heavy frying pan in the wait on the stove. If, however, you want to be confident in case you end up being the one making the omelette, then start practising. Now. Never add any water, cream or milk to your egg and only use butter to cook the omelette. And remember that an omelette, as Elizabeth David so pertinently pointed out, can be served very successfully late at night with a glass of red wine.

Of course there are a few other staples you should always have in that larder of yours.

Champagne or sparkling wine is an essential. Please, not the usual boring French plonk. Go to a bit of trouble and find yourself a few favorites that are more interesting and exciting. From South Africa there are some great Methode Champagnoise sparkling wines. An excellent everyday sparkling wine, something to buy by the case and leave scattered around the house, would be Pongracz. Then from the Veneto region of Italy you couldn’t go wrong with a Prosecco from Ruggeri. It would not be good to neglect Champagne so why don’t you try Champagne Deutz’s small and exclusive range of grandes marques Champagnes. Choose the very well priced Brut Classic NV or splash out with the Cuvée William Deutz Brut Rosé 1996, described by Tom Stevenson, the Champagne expert and writer, as “undoubtedly one of the greatest pink Champagnes ever produced.”

To go with all that perfection, you need morsels both sweet and savory.

We will start with savory.

A great standby that can be served at any time of the day is smoked salmon or smoked trout. You should always be able to find something on hand to serve it with – something green and/or bready. A combination of salad leaves, rocket, watercress, baby spinach, thinly sliced fennel or avocado. Don’t even make a dressing - just splash over some good olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. For the bread component – brown or rye bread or even a toasted bagel with a generous smearing of cream cheese or crème fraîche. Be sure to always add a good squeeze of lemon and masses of ground black pepper.

Then you should have some things to nibble on. Nuts are good and here my first choice would be big crunchy green pistachios in their shells. I like the idea of food being served not quite ready to eat. There is something nicely communal about lounging around with your lover shelling pistachios, chatting and sipping a glass of Prosecco. Peri-peri cashew nuts from Mozambique are also high on my list and although one can hardly call them nuts, those delicious Japanese rice snacks fall into this category too. Some fat juicy green olives would also be good.

And here I should probably mention again the possibility of drinking red wine although I firmly believe there is really no need to drink anything other than sparkling. My favorite red wine of all time is Allesverloren Shiraz and I like to have a case or two on hand at all times should a cold wet day tempt me away from sparkling.

A couple of boxes of de-veined prawns are a staple that should always be kept in the freezer. The minute you are aware that you might need to produce a quick and impressive meal whip a box out of the freezer, run the prawns under some warm water, drain well and toss them in a heavy pan that just fits them and marinate until you are ready to cook them.

For the marinade all you need is some olive oil, chili, crushed garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper and a splash of wine. Make enough marinade so that you can mop up the juices with some crusty bread. When you are ready to cook all you need to do is heat a plate on the stove to a very high temperature. Once it is hot, put the pan on the plate and cook the prawns turning once or twice until pink and no longer translucent. It’ll take you maybe ten minutes. Once again serve with something green and/or bready.

Of course it is always a good idea to stock a couple of cheeses, an assortment of crackers and something like preserved figs. Keep it simple. There is nothing nicer than one perfect generously sized piece of cheese rather than five or six miserable little bits of second rate cheese.

Some of my most favorite combinations:

Brie with preserved citrus fruits

Goats milk cheese with chili tomato jam

Manchego with quince paste

Blue cheese with preserved figs

Then the sweet things. Biscotti are good. Serve with coffee, champagne or a dessert wine. They are even good with tea. Always have dark chocolate and preserved ginger in your pantry.

One step up from this would be to have a Panettone in the pantry too. This Italian celebration bread, although strictly speaking served at Christmas and New Year, can be served with a variety of drinks so makes the perfect addition to the pantry.

Fresh or frozen berries, meringues and cream can make a very impressive desert with almost no effort. For frozen berries all you need to do is heat them in a pot on the stove, drain the berries and reserving the liquid which you should then boil and reduce until more syrupy. If you use thick organic jersey cream, crème fraîche or Greek yoghurt you don’t even need to waste time beating it. To serve, place a meringue or two in a bowl, then add a dollop or two of cream and the berries. If using fresh you can use anything available - even something as simple as just strawberries or cherries. I would leave any stalks on them. I never add sugar to anything unless I really have to and of course the meringues are practically solid sugar but you can sieve over a dusting of castor sugar if you like, purely for the look.

And always, always have Sally Williams nougat in stock.