Recipes to cook while you self-isolate

We live in interesting times. Given the recent government guidance on not leaving the house for unnecessary reasons, the run on supermarkets, the advice to avoid restaurants and pubs, we’re all looking at food preparation rather differently. Whether you are quarantined because you’re symptomatic, self-isolating because you’re vulnerable, or social distancing to protect those who are at high risk, there are ways to inject flavour and interest without having every possible ingredient or convenience at our fingertips. This is not the reboot of Ready Steady Cook we were all hoping for, but with so few things within our control, being able to handle ingredients and turn them into something wonderful is reassuring and hopeful.

What I write here is not supposed to be scaremongering, and certainly not designed to encourage panic-buying. It should reassure you that, whether you are well or sick, whether you have nine chest freezers and an orchard, or are scrabbling through dusty tins that have stood in your cupboard for years and hoping for the best, it is possible to eat well, to eat nutritiously, to eat in a way that will lift your spirits, to eat in a way that is soothing and pleasurable. In times of uncertainty, cooking is both a means of grounding yourself – chopping and stirring, using your senses and judgement – and of engaging in normal routines, that remind you that life goes on. There is nothing frivolous about eating well in a time of crisis.

I’m not going to make spurious claims about the immune-boosting properties of various ingredients and foodstuffs. But we know that it is important to continue to eat nutritious food whether poorly or well, and that this can be trickier than normal if you suffer a loss of appetite. It’s also extremely important – and difficult – to keep your spirits up when stuck at home, possibly alone.