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"Food for me is everything," says professor Stephen Simpson, who is also the academic director at the Charles Perkin Centre, a Sydney-based research institute for medical conditions.
"It is a pleasure."
Simpson thinks food is about hunting and gathering, foraging and growing things. He also sees it as social connectedness.
"Ultimately, it is all about creating something that tastes wonderful."
Spices and condiments
With an affinity for international cuisines, Simpson's pantry is stocked with an array of condiments, vinegars, mustards and aromatic spices.
"There's kecap manis. I also have Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and tomato paste for English-inspired slow braises."
His vinegar collection includes caramelised balsamic, cider, red wine, sherry and rice vinegars.
"I also like having mustards – wholegrain and Dijon – on hand."
Contents of Stephen Simpson's pantry. Source: Supplied
His spice collection features in Indian curries, but he likes experimenting too.
"Every now and then, I mix a bunch of things like fresh ginger, galangal, curry leaves, lemongrass, [makrut] lime leaves, cumin, coriander and fenugreek.
"I guess the spice mixtures I make are kind of a hybrid – they're Indian with a slight Thai edge to them."
Ultimately, it is all about creating something that tastes wonderful.
He often pops his curry mixtures into the freezer to cook with later.
Pulses, beans and nut shells
Paprika gives dishes a rich flavour. Source: maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com
Simpson keeps lots of pulses, dried beans and lentils in his pantry. And when he has peanuts, he keeps the shells to smoke his dishes.
"I do a lot of roasting, barbecuing, and a lot of hot smoking fish and chicken. I found that nut shells are great to use for smoking."
Cook like Stephen
Roast vegetables and spiced chickpeas
Yeast and besan flour
Simpson prefers to make pizza bases and bread from scratch, so he always has dry yeast in his pantry.
He has different kinds of flours with which to experiment.
Food for me is everything.
"I use besan [chickpea] flour a lot. I love fishing, so we do a lot of fish dishes at home. I found that besan flour makes for a really good coating for a fish fillet. I use it instead of plain white flour and it gives the fillet a nice crispness after you fry it."
Tinned things
Stephen Simpson showing a queenfish he caught. Source: Supplied
A lot of preserved, processed foods come in tin cans, so Simpson tends to only stick to a few "tinned things".
"Essentially, I only stick to whole foods [unprocessed and unrefined food with no added ingredients] when it comes to tinned food. Coconut milk and chickpeas are probably the two on the top of my list. I buy tinned tuna and kidney beans as well."
A healthy pantry
Good food is sometimes only a tin away! Source: Flickr
It may seem difficult to forgo junk and processed foods for healthier options, but Simpson says that there are three things to make this easier.
"Fresh vegetables and good quality meat are the heroes of your dish, so the first thing to remember is to have pantry staples that augment your fresh food." They add to, and can even change, the flavour of your fresh food.
Stephen on The Cook Up
Crab, celeriac and apple lettuce cups
"Secondly, have an appropriate selection of herbs, spices, and condiments." These give your dishes different flavour profiles.
"Finally, opt for [whole] ingredients rather than pre-made mixes."
