Store cupboard spaghetti

The ultimate pasta recipe for when you're low on fresh ingredients

This recipe for my 20 minute meal series is such a saviour when you’re low on fresh ingredients. And the beauty of it is that even if you only have some of the ingredients listed below, just use what you do have and it will still taste gorgeous.

Jarred ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes work really well here, as they have a wonderful flavour as does the oil they are in, which is used as the cooking oil.

You can use any pasta you like. Confession: despite the recipe title, I actually used bucatini (hollow spaghetti) but spaghetti sounded much better (love a little alliteration).

You’ll need (per portion):

• 100g pasta

• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced or diced

• small handful olives (black or green), halved

• 5-6 artichoke quarters in oil, roughly chopped

• 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped

• small handful parsley

• parmesan cheese (optional), leave out to make vegan

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Prepare the garlic and olives. Take the artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes out of the jar (allow excess oil to drop off but a bit of oil on them is good). Roughly slice them both.

In a large frying pan, add the garlic, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. If you need more oil, add a little from the sun-dried tomato jar. Fry for a few minutes.

Once cooked, lift the pasta out of the cooking water into the frying pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of pasta water too. Add the parsley, season with salt and pepper and mix well. If you want, add more sun-dried tomato oil.

Serve the pasta and finish with grated parmesan. Dig in.