The twenty products that make a Mediterranean pantry work are the same foods the scientific literature places at the center of the pattern: vegetables, legumes, grains, oily fish, extra-virgin olive oil and nuts. All are available in ordinary supermarkets, at different budgets, throughout the year. This is not an aspirational list. It is the kind of pantry I keep at home, the starting point for most of the meals I cook during the week.

There are two kinds of pantry. The one full of things bought with good intentions and never used — kamut flour, tahini, miso, coconut milk — and the one that actually works, the one you can open every day and pull something decent out of without needing an emergency shopping trip at seven in the evening.

This list is the second kind. Twenty products. No more and no less. They are here because they translate the core Mediterranean pattern — vegetables, legumes, grains, oily fish, extra-virgin olive oil, nuts — into food you can find in almost any supermarket, on almost any budget, all year round.

It is not an aspirational list. It is what I keep at home, and where most of the meals I cook during the week begin.

Extra-virgin olive oil. The main fat. Not one of the fats — the main one. It replaces butter, margarine and seed oils in everyday cooking. Use it raw on almost anything. If possible, choose an oil that gives a harvest date, not only a bottling date, and has acidity below 0.8%.

Dried or canned legumes. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, broad beans, peas. They are a central part of the Mediterranean pattern. Dried legumes cost less and keep for a long time. Canned versions, ideally plain and without added salt, are the honest shortcut for days when there is no time.

Canned peeled or whole tomatoes. The base of half the traditional dishes of southern Italy. Whole is often better because you control what happens next. Check the label: tomatoes and tomato juice should be enough.

Durum-wheat semolina pasta. Every day, if you want. Pasta itself is not the problem. What matters is what goes with it and how much you eat. Bronze-die pasta is useful if you can get it: it holds its texture well and takes sauce nicely.

Rice. Brown is useful, but white rice is fine too. It is not the enemy of dinner. Combined with vegetables and a protein source, it simply does the job a grain is supposed to do.

Durum-wheat or wholegrain bread. Stale bread does not have to be thrown away — it becomes friselle, bruschetta, panzanella or the base of a legume soup. Buying one good loaf a week and using it well can be cheaper than buying mediocre bread every day.

Oats. Breakfast, soup thickener, base for quick mixtures. They are whole grains, filling and inexpensive.

Canned sardines or mackerel, in olive oil or water. Pantry oily fish. Affordable, practical and rich in omega-3 fats. No cooking required — open the can and you already have a complete protein source for lunch. Mackerel in water is especially neutral and easy to combine with almost anything.

Tuna in water. The other canned fish. Choosing it in water lets you control how much fat you add yourself. The original Italian article suggests limiting regular use to two or three times a week because of mercury exposure.

Eggs. Complete protein, versatile and affordable. They can fit comfortably into a balanced Mediterranean pattern for healthy people. There is no reason to fear them as a category.

Walnuts and almonds. Nuts are one of the components of the Mediterranean pattern supported by a strong evidence base. A small handful a day — as a snack, in porridge or in salad — is enough. You do not need elaborate mixes; unsalted walnuts and almonds do the job.

Plain full-fat Greek yogurt. Not the berry-flavored version with large amounts of added sugar. Plain, full-fat yogurt with a good protein content. It is a modern, practical version of the moderate dairy intake that has always been part of Mediterranean eating.

Garlic and onion. Basic aromatics. They are not interchangeable and they change the flavor of a dish dramatically. Keep them in the house.

Fresh tomatoes, in season. In summer, a good fresh tomato can carry a meal. In winter, canned tomatoes are often a better choice than watery, flavorless tomatoes transported from far away.

Seasonal leafy vegetables. Spinach, chard, chicory, rocket, catalogna. Whatever the market offers. Leafy greens are nutrient-dense and inexpensive when bought in season. Once a week, look at what is available and start there.

Zucchini, eggplant and peppers, in season. The cooking vegetables of Mediterranean kitchens. They keep for several days, work in countless dishes and are inexpensive when they are in season.

Herbs. Oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary. Dried is fine. They add flavor without adding salt. Salt is the seasoning that genuinely deserves moderation — not olive oil.

Red-wine vinegar or apple-cider vinegar. Not only for salad dressing. Acidity balances flavors, can reduce the amount of salt a dish needs and belongs next to extra-virgin olive oil as a basic seasoning.

Lemons. Juice and zest. A squeeze over fish, vegetables or legumes can do the work of several seasonings at once. Keep two or three around.

Low-sodium stock cubes or vegetable broth. Not a glamorous ingredient, but an honest one. Legume soup, risotto, cooked vegetables — stock makes a difference when there is no time to make it from scratch. Choose a lower-sodium option and avoid products where monosodium glutamate is the first ingredient.

These twenty foods do not fill the whole pantry. They give it structure. From here you can build breakfasts, lunches and dinners for weeks, varying according to the season and what is available. Meat, fresh fish and specialties can be added when you want and when you can. But this is the base.