Good cooking doesn’t have to mean long recipes, fancy techniques, or endless shopping lists. With just a few overlooked ingredients already in your kitchen, you can add real depth, flavour, and variety to everyday dinners.

Maybe it’s a tin of chickpeas, a jar of harissa, or a spice blend bought in a moment of inspiration and then left untouched – these simple ingredients can turn an ordinary meal into a flavour sensation.

Here, chef Gurdeep Loyal reveals new and liberating ways to reuse the unsung heroes in your cupboard…

Gurdeep Loyal (Photo: Patricia Niven)

Thai fish pie with turmeric potatoes

Serves 4

50g desiccated coconut
30g lemongrass
30g fresh galangal
Zest of 1 and juice of 2 limes
3 tbsp Thai green paste
1 tsp fish sauce
350g uncooked fish pie mix, in bite-sized pieces
150g uncooked peeled prawns
2 large celery sticks, finely diced
450g floury potatoes
300ml coconut milk
2 tbsp cornflour
Pinch of caster sugar
Handful of Thai basil leaves, chopped
50g butter
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp nigella seeds
Fine sea salt

Dry-toast the coconut in a frying pan over a medium-low heat for two to three minutes until golden brown, then tip on to a plate to cool.

Make a paste in a small grinder or blender by whizzing together the lemongrass, galangal, lime juice and zest and 1½ tsp of salt – add a splash of water if needed.

Pour into a bowl, then whisk through the Thai green paste and fish sauce.

Add the fish pie mix, prawns, toasted coconut and diced celery. Stir well, then pour into a deep-sided 18cm x 22cm pie dish. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas mark 6.

Meanwhile, use a mandoline or sharp knife to slice the potatoes into thin round discs 1½-2mm thick. Whisk together the coconut milk, cornflour and a pinch of sugar, until combined. Pour over the fish and prawns in the pie dish, then scatter the Thai basil on top. Layer on the potato slices, overlapping into a spiral design to cover the filling.

Melt the butter in a pan with the turmeric, nigella seeds and a pinch of salt, whisking well. Brush the turmeric butter over the potatoes.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until cooked through. For extra crisp, finish under a hot grill for three to five minutes. Rest for 10 minutes before serving with a green salad.

Chipotle-hoisin chicken wings

(Photo: Patricia Niven)

Makes 14 wings

6 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp Chinese five spice
2 tbsp fine polenta, ground to a powder
1 tbsp onion powder
14 chicken wings, skin on (about 1.25kg)
6 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp chipotle paste
3 fat garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas mark 6.

Prepare a coating by whisking together the baking powder, Chinese five spice, ground polenta and onion powder in a bowl.

Pat dry each chicken wing using paper towels. Dredge in the coating, ensuring they are covered all over and in the crevices.

Place on two baking sheets, spaced well apart, and bake for 40-45 minutes until crispy.

Meanwhile, prepare a glaze by whisking together the hoisin sauce, chipotle paste, garlic and vinegar in a bowl.

Remove the cooked wings from the oven, brush liberally with the glaze, then bake for a final three minutes. Serve hot from the oven, brushing with more glaze if you like.

Cacio e pepe risotto with brown-butter lemons

(Photo: Patricia Niven)

Serves 4

1 unwaxed lemon
85g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
2 large celery sticks, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
1 tbsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
300g arborio or carnaroli rice
200ml dry white wine
2 tsp Dijon mustard
800ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
75g pecorino romano, grated, plus extra shavings to serve
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Slice the lemon into thin discs, removing the pips. Heat 50g of the butter in a pan and cook over a medium heat for five minutes until it starts to turn toasted brown. Add the lemon and cook for three to four minutes, turning regularly, until tender. Set aside.

In a separate saucepan, melt the remaining butter with the olive oil, then add the onion. Cook for seven to eight minutes over a medium heat until translucent. Add the celery and garlic, cooking for another three minutes, adding a splash more oil if needed. Add the black pepper, mix well and then add the rice.

Cook for two to three minutes, coating the rice with the oil and toasting just slightly. Pour over the white wine and add Dijon mustard, cooking for two minutes until it has fully dissolved.

Very slowly add a ladleful of hot stock at a time, stirring constantly for 18-20 minutes over a medium heat until the rice is tender and the risotto creamy. Only add more stock once it has been absorbed fully.

Remove from the heat and mix through the grated pecorino, stirring until it has melted. Serve generous dollops of risotto topped with the lemon slivers, brown butter, a grating of fresh nutmeg and extra pecorino shavings.