The Art of the Pantry – The Art of the Larder

The Art of the Pantry: Save Time and Money with 150 Delicious Meals Using Everyday Ingredients by Claire Thomson was published in October of last year in the US, previously having been released as The Art of the Larder in the UK the month prior.  Personally, I prefer the word larder to pantry –  it is the anglophile in me. Larder or pantry, the books are identical with measurements given in weights and volume and both sporting the same lovely cover. 

Claire is the voice beyond the blog 5 O’Clock Apron who also  writes about cooking for children for the Guardian (we index Guardian recipes for our members). Currently, she is the 2017 family food ambassador for the National Trust and wrote the National Trust Family Cookbook last year as well. How does she do it all?

In The Art of the Pantry, Claire takes us through the essentials of preparing a good pantry. I am guilty of a bulging pantry where ingredients that find their way to the back of shelves die in the darkness with little dignity. I’m planning to take this book and redo my pantry when we move this summer. The waste and ineffectiveness will stop.

With a pantry that works for us and the additions of fresh produce and proteins, a good dinner is never an exercise in frustration. Nine chapters covering Pasta and Noodles, Pulses, Grains, Flours, Spices, Refrigerator and Freezer, Vegetables, Meat and Fish and Sweet Stuff, sets the stage for creative, budget-friendly meals. Each of the chapters includes “pantry basics” and then recipes for using those ingredients. 

With recipes such as Firecracker noodles, Sourdough soup, Pork chops with rhubarb, honey, ginger and hazelnuts, and Coconut fish tacos – your menus will be revitalized, and your pantry will be the star. Photographs are beautiful, the illustrations are lovely, and the wealth of 150 recipes make this a must have book.

Update 4/22. Our will give you a closer look inside this beautiful book. 

Special thanks to the publisher, Quadrille, for sharing this impressive and tasty cake recipe for our members to try now and for offering three copies of this title in our contest below. 



Marzipan and roasted nectarine cake
Add this recipe to your Bookshelf (click the blue +Bookshelf button).

I’ve always hated marzipan served as a thick slice between the Christmas cake and the layer of fondant icing. Chopped small and cooked in a cake batter, however, the marzipan here does something wonderful to the cake crumb, turning fudgy, sweet and unmistakably almondy.

Makes 1 x 8 1/2-INCH CAKE

  • 4 1/2 oz / 1/2 cup butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 1/2 oz / just under 2/3 cup superfine sugar, plus an extra 2 tablespoons to toss and sprinkle
  • 4 1/2 oz / 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 oz / 1/2 cup ground almonds
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • a pinch of salt
  • 3 1/2 oz / 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 3 1/2 oz / about 1/3 cup marzipan, cold, finely chopped
  • 2 ripe nectarines, halved, pitted and sliced
  • confectioners’ sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 375°F/gas mark 5. Grease an 8 1/2-inch springform cake tin and line with baking parchment.

Put all the ingredients apart from the marzipan, nectarines and confectioners’ sugar into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Stir in the marzipan and spoon the batter into the prepared tin.

Toss the nectarine slices with 1 tablespoon sugar and lay them on top of the cake batter.

Sprinkle with 1 more tablespoon of sugar and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing, then peel off the parchment and slide the cake on to a plate. Dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Recipe excerpted with permission from The Art of the Pantry by Claire Thomson, published by Quadrille October 2017, RRP $29.99 hardcover. Photo: Mike Lusmore

The publisher is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US, UK, NZ and AU. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on May 17th, 2018.


Post a comment

108 Comments

  • jmay42066  on  April 4, 2018

    Black bean and bacon soup with chop chop and sour cream

  • FireRunner2379  on  April 4, 2018

    I'd like to try the Arugula with cherries, quick pickled shallots and almonds and also the Banana pain perdu with cardamom and buttermilk!

  • v.t  on  April 4, 2018

    Oat and golden syrup tart – yum!

  • PiaOC  on  April 4, 2018

    For me the olive oil tortas sound tempting.

  • amyz218  on  April 4, 2018

    Fire Cracker Noodles for the win!

  • Amdona  on  April 4, 2018

    Bean chili with cinnamon and bay

  • readingtragic  on  April 4, 2018

    How can you not be seduced by a recipe that has"Quick fix" in the title – Quick Fix Miso Ramen? But the baked zucchini flowers sound good – I love stuffed zucchini flowers, but hate the mess of deep frying…

  • ravensfan  on  April 4, 2018

    Quick fix miso ramen

  • lauriesk  on  April 4, 2018

    Egg, turmeric and coconut curry

  • matag  on  April 4, 2018

    Pork, ricotta and lemon meatballs

  • ebs  on  April 4, 2018

    Brown porridge with coconut milk, brown sugar and cinnamon

  • rchesser  on  April 4, 2018

    Oat and golden syrup tart!

  • NancyLynn  on  April 4, 2018

    Malted banana and rye bread

  • horselady57  on  April 4, 2018

    Quick fix miso ramen! 😍

  • lpatterson412  on  April 4, 2018

    Spiced hot chocolate!!

  • DarcyVaughn  on  April 4, 2018

    Spaghetti with breadcrumbs, chili, fennel seeds and sardines

  • GillB  on  April 4, 2018

    Firecracker Noodles

  • Angryyew  on  April 5, 2018

    Tagliatelle with spinach and hazelnuts

  • TippyCanoe  on  April 5, 2018

    Lentils with green olives, celery leaf, mint and orange

  • Laura1  on  April 5, 2018

    Lentils and tiny pasta

  • JRumi  on  April 5, 2018

    Black bean and bacon soup

  • Sueskitchen  on  April 5, 2018

    firecracker noodles!

  • sarahawker  on  April 5, 2018

    Khao soi noodles

  • contest718  on  April 5, 2018

    White beans with Toulouse sausage, broccoli and garlic & Chijimi

  • kellyyyyp624  on  April 5, 2018

    The firecracker noodles; the ingredients list sounds like this one would be right up my alley!

  • kmn4  on  April 5, 2018

    Ginger soba noodles

  • ktwalla  on  April 5, 2018

    Firecracker Noodles

  • lgroom  on  April 5, 2018

    firecracker noodles

  • jd5761  on  April 5, 2018

    pork, ricotta and lemon meatballs for me every time

  • Scotsman61  on  April 6, 2018

    Pork, ricotta and lemon meatballs

  • lapsapchung  on  April 6, 2018

    Firecracker Noodles – with such a lovely name I couldn't resist it!

  • maisietoo  on  April 6, 2018

    Fire cracker noodles for me.

  • Lmocooks  on  April 6, 2018

    Banana pain perdu with cardamom and buttermilk

  • JamieLondonK  on  April 7, 2018

    Ginger Soba noodles would be the first recipe I’d try

  • Ishtar  on  April 7, 2018

    Shrimp baked with tomato and feta

  • Karla123  on  April 7, 2018

    Black bean and beetroot burgers…my kind of burger–healthy and hearty!

  • infotrop  on  April 7, 2018

    Savoy cabbage with preserved lemon, dill and pine nut pesto sounds bright and light

  • Nancith  on  April 7, 2018

    Baked feta & sourdough with olives & oregano

  • Werepanda  on  April 8, 2018

    Butter bean paella!

  • kerrin1976  on  April 8, 2018

    Quick fix miso ramen

  • RSW  on  April 8, 2018

    Spaghetti with pecorino and black pepper

  • clairew137  on  April 8, 2018

    Bean chili with cinnamon and bay

  • sgump  on  April 8, 2018

    The sweet and sour pumpkin sounds nice!

  • mpdeb98  on  April 8, 2018

    Jerk chicken

  • AnneOther  on  April 8, 2018

    The recipe for cornbread with honey, brown butter and oregano sounds great; I'd totally make that first!

  • LaurenE  on  April 9, 2018

    Egg, turmeric and coconut curry

  • dmass  on  April 9, 2018

    Khao soi noodles because it is one of my favorite dishes to order when we eat out, and my husband's favorite.

  • ket06e  on  April 10, 2018

    Vegetarian Haleem

  • GregH  on  April 10, 2018

    Spelt and walnut cake

  • heyjude  on  April 10, 2018

    Sour Cherry and Pistachio Pilaf

  • verorenee  on  April 11, 2018

    Pappardelle with cream, radicchio and prosciutto

  • sugo  on  April 12, 2018

    Red lentils – a hummus of sorts

  • Teruska  on  April 13, 2018

    Black bean and beetroot burgers

  • Livia  on  April 14, 2018

    It has got to be the Baked feta and sourdough with olives and oregano 🙂

  • Mariarosa  on  April 14, 2018

    The Puglian mashed chickpeas with rosemary and black olives!

  • AnnaZed  on  April 14, 2018

    Spaghetti with breadcrumbs, chili, fennel seeds and sardines

  • rachael_mc  on  April 15, 2018

    Dried porcini with tomato, garlic and clams

  • tarae1204  on  April 17, 2018

    Many delicious and unusual looking items. I would try the preserved oranges and lemons.

  • robynsanyal  on  April 18, 2018

    Quick fix miso ramen

  • WCchopper  on  April 19, 2018

    Ooh quick fix miso ramen!

  • t.t  on  April 20, 2018

    Khao soi noodles

  • EmilyR  on  April 23, 2018

    Firecracker noddles

  • Siegal  on  April 24, 2018

    Firecracker noodles sounds amazing

  • aldebaran  on  April 26, 2018

    Pork chops with rhubarb, honey & ginger sound delicious!

  • mjes  on  April 26, 2018

    Ginger soba noodles

  • shellee  on  April 26, 2018

    Dried beans cooked under oil and water with sage sounds different and yummy!

  • LABeachGal  on  April 26, 2018

    Jerk Chicken sounds delicious!

  • demomcook  on  April 27, 2018

    Ginger Soba Noodles

  • Katiefayhutson  on  April 27, 2018

    Firecracker noodles

  • sequoia55  on  April 28, 2018

    Khao soi noodles

  • Dannausc  on  April 28, 2018

    Firecracker noodles

  • chimpbob  on  April 28, 2018

    Jerk chicken

  • Julia  on  April 28, 2018

    Pork chops with rhubarb, honey and ginger

  • gypsymagic  on  April 28, 2018

    Haleem – but without the meat

  • Curlyfatkins  on  April 29, 2018

    White beans with Toulouse sausage, broccoli and garlic

  • Sfgordon  on  April 29, 2018

    Butter bean paella

  • thewoobdog  on  April 30, 2018

    I want to try Lentils with green olives, celery leaf, mint and orange – I love all those things!

  • sfgirluk  on  April 30, 2018

    Miso – always miso.

  • sywcindy  on  May 1, 2018

    South East Asian stir-fried barley with chicken and cashew nuts

  • ccav  on  May 1, 2018

    Butter bean paella sounds good!

  • nancycg56  on  May 1, 2018

    Firecracker Noodles are right up my alley!

  • motherofpearl81  on  May 1, 2018

    Firecracker noddles

  • jillrowe  on  May 1, 2018

    Turkish eggs with yogurt, dill and brown butter – my pantry needs this book

  • SallyCristina  on  May 3, 2018

    Firecracker noddles

  • orchidlady01  on  May 3, 2018

    Spiced filo pumpkin pie

  • copycath2018  on  May 4, 2018

    Spaghetti with breadcrumbs, chili, fennel seeds and sardines

  • michalow  on  May 4, 2018

    Lentils with green olives, celery leaf, mint and orange, because I have all those things on hand right now — and isn't that the point?

  • Shelley.b  on  May 6, 2018

    Spiced filo pumpkin pie

  • Radley  on  May 7, 2018

    Harry's Bar Sandwich

  • cake17uk  on  May 8, 2018

    Halloumi saganaki – love Halloumi, and this would be a different way to serve it

  • KarenDel  on  May 8, 2018

    Haleem – but without the meat

  • auntietina  on  May 9, 2018

    Khao soi noodles.

  • lena46  on  May 9, 2018

    Spiced hot chocolate

  • artthecat  on  May 9, 2018

    Firecracker noodles!

  • Breeze81  on  May 11, 2018

    I love the sound of the oat and golden syrup tart. Delicious.

  • TRACY007  on  May 11, 2018

    Pappardelle with cream, radicchio and prosciutto sounds delicious.

  • mrsrlc  on  May 11, 2018

    Fire Cracker Noodles

  • Hannah88  on  May 12, 2018

    I'd love to try Oat and golden syrup tart ❤️

  • MumofMags  on  May 12, 2018

    It would have to be firecracker noodles

  • Vecta2  on  May 12, 2018

    Spiced hot chocolate

  • jessiecomp  on  May 12, 2018

    The Fire Cracker Noodles sound right up my street!

  • deanfromuk  on  May 12, 2018

    For me firecracker noodles, ate something similar before and loved it

  • ruthwollerton  on  May 12, 2018

    Fire cracker noodles would FIRE me up with yumminess. Thanks xxx

  • catmommy9  on  May 13, 2018

    Lentils and tiny pasta. My husband loves lentils.

  • Betsy775  on  May 14, 2018

    The lentils with green olives and celery

  • jthelwell  on  May 17, 2018

    Lentils with green olives, celery leaf, mint and orange (page 52)

  • JP  on  May 17, 2018

    Portuguese molasses cake

  • littleminxgirl  on  May 17, 2018

    Oh gosh so many options.. maybe the Portuguese molasses cake, just because I've never heard of it before

Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!