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It's time to take another look at neglected tinned ingredients.

Finding inspiration for great meals can be difficult when there's little more to hand than a tin of tomatoes or chickpeas. And it's a problem more of us could face if we find ourselves stuck at home over the coming months.

But chef Jess Elliott Dennison, author of Tin Can Magic, believes that the items which linger at the back of the cupboard are perfect for creating quick and delicious meals. Speaking on The Kitchen Café, she explained that lots can be done with canned food and other store cupboard items.

Use your noodle

One of the easiest meals to make is a noodle dish, says Jess. "Most people have got noodles in the back of their cupboard. You make a really quick rapid boil tomato sauce with miso [which] gives a lot of flavour very quickly, and some dried chilli flakes. While you cook your noodles, chop up spring onions, crisp up some garlic and within 20 minutes you’ve got a knockout noodle dish."

It's finally time to use up that can of chickpeas! (Image: Jacqueline Macou/Pixabay)

Comforting chickpeas

Turmeric chickpeas is one of Jess' most popular meals. "Drag all those spices from the back of your cupboard; most people have got cumin, ground coriander, maybe you’ve got some fresh ginger lying around, [to] make a curried turmeric sauce. Chuck in your chickpeas, if you want to go a bit fancier you can make a little salted garlic yoghurt, you can chuck on some coriander, some fresh mint, but if you’ve just got those curried chickpeas that’s a really comforting bowl of food."

Soup-er coconut milk

Coconut milk is one of Jess' stock items and she uses it to whip up a soup inspired by time spent in Thailand. "[It's] a really thin turmeric-y yellow curried soup; you chuck in some noodles, bean sprouts, [and] whatever veg is in hanging in the fridge. I add lots of dill to it and some pickles and it takes it on a different direction – really delicious."

Store cupboard heroes

"Tinned lentils, tinned coconut and chopped tomatoes are the heroes of my cooking," said Jess.

Aside from containing these heroic ingredients, she added that there are other benefits to using tins:

"It cuts down on wastage, tins can be recycled quite easily - and you can’t forget about cost. It’s a really affordable way to eat."

There has never been a better time to follow Jess' example and get creative with the items lurking at the back of the kitchen cupboard. And with such a large variety of food found in cans - from meat, to fish, to vegetables - even the fussiest member of the family will be likely to find a meal they love.