7 things we never buy ready-made #1
We’re often lazy enough in the kitchen: making spekkoek ourselves, or roti sheets, and much more – we simply don’t even start! But there are some things we just can’t bring ourselves to buy ready-made. Then we roll up our sleeves and get to work. Here are a few:
Pesto
Sharon: “Ready-made pesto?! Damn no! If there’s anything that’s simple to make and genuinely so much tastier than any pre-packaged tub, it’s pesto. Fresh basil, olive oil, pine nuts (you can cheat with hazelnuts, just as with walnuts; if you do, add a little sugar to take away the bitterness), Parmesan or pecorino, optional garlic (then you won’t be able to keep the pesto as long), and the ultimate trick for killer homemade pesto: half a stock cube. How do I know that about the stock cube? Ehmmm, I’ll save that story for another time. Anyway! Whizz it with the stick blender and you’re done. You couldn’t even get to and from the supermarket that quickly!”
Pasta sauce (part 1)
Delilah: “I find almost all ready-made pasta sauces absolutely disgusting. Tomato sauce with undefinable chunks, cream sauces that come plopping out of a tub or jar in solidified lumps; ewwww. You can just as easily fry a handful of cherry tomatoes in a knob of butter with a crushed clove of garlic and a spoonful of the pasta cooking water, or heat some cream with a quarter of a stock cube and stir it through the hot pasta. Less is more, people. I make only one exception: Magnani in Amsterdam sells the ragù classico and amatriciana from its big brother, Restaurant Toscanini, in jars. (Rightly) not as cheap as supermarket stuff, but my goodness, you get something special.”
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Pasta sauce (part 2)
Marcus: “Tomato sauce for pasta. Too easy to make yourself, and always much tastier than ready-made (the same goes for other pasta sauces such as carbonara or pesto). Also: mashed potatoes, and, without a doubt at number one: vinaigrette. Easy does it, and you can vary it to suit your own taste.”
Quiche
Adeline: “Apparently—I’ve heard this from other people—there are packets and sachets for baking a savoury pie. Which makes me wonder: what exactly does that sachet do? My repertoire of savoury pies basically ends with a good spanakopita, and I have no idea where such a sachet would fit in. In the pastry? No, that’s what the filo is for. Through the spinach? Uuuhh, I just fry that with some onion and garlic. In the egg mixture? But that already has feta and a gooooood dose of oregano, pepper and salt. I had no idea—correction: I still have no idea. Maybe I’ll stop by the savoury-pie aisle at the supermarket this week to see what such a sachet does. Even though I think I can manage without it, you never know.”
Soup
Lauretta: “Something I never buy ready-made is soup. From a bag or can, with those ultra-soft vegetables and soggy vermicelli: not exactly what I enjoy. On the other hand, making soup yourself is incredibly easy. Often, an onion, some vegetables and stock will get you most of the way there. Tip: roast vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and pumpkin before adding the stock; it makes that soup extra delicious!”
Pancakes
Sabina: “Pancakes. I can’t understand why people buy microwave pancakes. They have the texture of a dishcloth and a weird aftertaste. And surely you can whip up a stack of pancakes in no time? I’m a lazy, low-effort cook, but ready-made pancakes are where I draw the line.”
Guac
Steffi: “I have to admit that I buy quite a lot of things ready-made. Not all the time, but I’d be lying if I said I’d never bought ready-made tomato sauce, for example, or ready-made pancakes. Yep. Guilty. But what I have genuinely never bought ready-made is guacamole. With or without tomatoes, kilos of coriander and—my favourite—roasted garlic. Mmmm.”
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