Things tend to collect at the back of the fridge and next to the toaster. Bay leaves, now brown at the edge and lusterless (though still perfectly adequate for a stew); lone rashers of bacon, deemed too greedy to prod into a sandwich but now dried out and wasted; pots of yoghurt, half-used for a raita and forgotten about, and endless jars of mustard, as good as empty but saved for some future sausage-related crisis (ah, the joys of sending a porky depth charge into a moribund jar of Colman’s).

Eggs are the worst. I’ll use a couple for mayonnaise and forget the rest (I’m not, in truth, a big egg eater), only to realise that the same 4 have been collecting dust and spattered oil for a month. Supermarkets should really start selling things like yoghurt and eggs by weight and number – you can buy one spud, why shouldn’t you be able to buy just the one egg?

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Today a few odds and ends were turned into one of the best omelettes that I have made in a while.

Serves 1

1 potato

1/2 small red onion

A few chunks of spicy chorizo

3 eggs

A few slices of pickled green jalapenos

Cheddar cheese, grated

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Chop the potato into chunks and boil in salted water until soft. Drain and allow to dry.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the potato until crisp. Slice the onion and add to the pan. Cook until the onion has softened a little (though I still like a little crunch in a red onion) and add the chunks of chorizo. Season with salt and pepper and fry for another minute, again until the chorizo is just thinking about crisping up. Crack in the three eggs and stir to break them up. Add the jalapenos and cheese, cook for 1 minute, fold and serve.

The fridge will be a little emptier, your belly a little fuller.

What are the covert ingredients that hide like ninjas in the nooks of your fridge? Do you think supermarkets should make it possible to buy more ingredients by item or weight?