Sick of uninspired leftovers and dodgy 'fridge medleys' when the kitchen cupboard looks bare? Ross Dobson, author of Three Ways With ... Stale Bread, shares his favourite recipes for turning overlooked pantry fillers like beans, mayonnaise or tomatoes into quick and creative meals.

When it's been too long between grocery shops, when there's nothing inspiring in the fridge, or when all you've got in the cupboard is a bag of flour and a couple of dusty tins of chopped tomatoes, it's time to get creative in the kitchen. But where do you start?

Chef and food writer Ross Dobson has the answer with his new compendium of recipes based around cupboard and freezer basics like tuna, kidney beans, frozen sweetcorn and oats. Ross gives three takes on each ingredient - a great way to use up all those odds and ends taking up valuable kitchen shelf space: the half-full packets of filo pastry and the rapidly expiring pots of yoghurt.

Choose your pantry fillers wisely and you'll never be short of dinner ingredients, Ross says. "My list is full of basic, readily available ingredients that have multiple uses and have the added benefit of making my cooking life easier...

"These basic ingredients are here to act as a framework for the start of something good."

Mid-week meals should be easy and fuss-free, he says - either recipes with a short cooking time that require only a little chopping, whizzing, or boiling, or those with a short prep and a longer cooking time, where food can be placed on the hob or in the oven and virtually ignored until it's done.

"Simplicity is the key here," he says. "The important thing is don't fuss too much and you will enjoy it even more."

Here Ross shares a little of the inspiration that lurks inside his kitchen cupboard, with three quick and easy recipes based on ingredients you already have in your home.

Frozen peas: Pea soup with crispy prosciutto and ricotta toasts

Cook one chopped onion in 40 grams (1 1/2 ounces) of sizzling butter for two to three minutes. Add 465 grams (one pound/three cups) frozen peas and one litre (35 fluid ounces/four cups) chicken stock and boil for 10 minutes. Pour into a food processor and blend for one minute until smooth and return to a clean saucepan. Taste for seasoning and leave on a low heat.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan and cook four to six slices of prosciutto in the hot oil for two minutes each side, so they brown and crisp. Remove from the pan. Toast four slices of sourdough until golden, and thickly spread three tablespoons ricotta on each slice. Crumble the prosciutto over the soup and serve with the toasts.

Curry powder: Chicken curry

Have your oven hot and ready at 180C/350F/Gas 4. Cut a whole chicken into 10 to 12 pieces. Combine three tablespoons plain flour and three tablespoons curry powder in a bowl and toss the chicken pieces around in the mix to coat them all over.

Heat a few splashes of vegetable oil in a heavy-based casserole dish and cook the chicken in batches for three to four minutes, turning often, so they sizzle and turn golden in the oil.

Pour off all but one tablespoon of oil from the pot and stir one chopped onion and two chopped garlic cloves in the spicy oil for two to three minutes, so the onion sizzles and turns golden. Return the chicken to the pan with 500 millilitres (17 fluid ounces/two cups) chicken stock and one chopped carrot.

Bring to the boil and cook in the oven, uncovered for 50 minutes. Stir through 130 grams (4 3/4 ounces/one cup) peas (defrosted if frozen) and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with rice and naan bread.

Mozarella: Tomato, pesto and mozarella pizza

Have your oven hot and ready at 220C/425F/Gas 7. Spread one tablespoon good-quality pesto on a small, round pitta bread and top with one sliced tomato and six thin slices of mozzarella. Grind over some black pepper and place on a tray and into the oven for 10 minutes. Top with some basil or spinach and a drizzle of olive oil.