Five clever freezer shortcuts and flavour bombs, created by the delicious. food team to help you manipulate time itself. And all via the magic of ice and a set of storage boxes (re-used takeaway containers are ideal). Give these recipes a go for some seriously delayed gratification – your future self will thank you for it
RECIPES: TOM SHINGLER. PHOTOGRAPHS: INDIA WHILEY-MORTON
Make the most of your freezer.
What’s your freezer full of? Is it packed with half-forgotten leftovers, several opened boxes of fish fingers, some loose peas and a rarely used bowl from an ice cream maker? Or are you a meal-prep whizz, stacking neatly labelled tubs of portioned dinners for the months ahead? Whether you’re uber-organised or not, one thing we can all use our freezers for more is to save time in the kitchen. If you can cut out the more laborious parts of prep – chopping and slicing, mixing and kneading, slow-cooking – dishes that tend to be reserved for weekends suddenly become weeknight friendly. These kitchen hacks are low-effort, but if you can find a spare hour or two at the weekend to make them and fill up your freezer, you’ll be eating like royalty for weeks to come.
Pesto
Makes About 250g (enough to dress pasta for 6)
Put 50g basil leaves (around 2 bunches) in a colander. Pour boiling water over to wilt. Immediately tip into iced water to cool, then squeeze in your hands to remove as much liquid as possible. Blanching the leaves stops them turning black when they freeze, so don’t skip this step.
Put the leaves in a small food processor with 1 roughly chopped garlic clove (or 2 if small), 1 tbsp pine nuts and, if you like, a little chopped chilli. Pulse a few times to chop and combine, then add 100g finely grated parmesan (or 65g parmesan and 35g pecorino if you’re a pesto purist).
Drizzle in 70g extra-virgin olive oil, then pulse to make a thick pesto. Transfer to a container, then drizzle over another 30g oil to cover. Cover and freeze until needed.
TO USE Put the tub in a bowl of warm water to defrost.
Crumble mix
Makes About 850g (enough to top 2 crumbles, each for 4)
In a large bowl, mix 350g plain flour with 200g light brown sugar. Add 220g chilled and chopped unsalted butter and a big pinch of salt, then start rubbing the butter into the flour and sugar with your fingertips. Stop when roughly two thirds of the butter is mixed in – you still want some big lumps.
Stir in 5 tbsp oats and (optional) 3 tbsp roughly chopped pistachios. You can also add a little ground cinnamon. Tip into a container and freeze until needed.
