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Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.

999 replies

Ninkanink · 22/03/2020 09:47

Thought I’d start a thread for everyone to post their tips and ideas on how best to use foodstuffs. Hoping it could be an easy guide as well for those who maybe aren’t so used to home cooking or using leftover foods, or understanding how best to utilise everything you have, expiry dates etc.

We have always been very conscious of food waste so we plan very carefully to use every scrap of food, it’s not hard, it’s just a skill one develops.

I’ll post some of my favourite leftover/using up bits meals and menus here and if anyone else wants to as well, please do!

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Graphista · 01/04/2020 23:55

@Weedsnseeds1 thank you. Lovely to have ice cream I'd love some! Lovely too of you to share the bounty.

Sometimes when you've been working hard you don't feel like cooking.

I remember when I was working full time most evenings it was whatever was quickest!

Beetroot is lovely in soup too for that poster, a good toasted root veg soup would be nice.

Xiaoxiong · 02/04/2020 07:29

Beetroot does go nicely with feta and dill, especially if dressed with vinegar. You can just throw it into a salad, I also like to pile it (with the feta) into a jacket potato together with some creme fraiche and smoked trout or hot smoked salmon - and some caviare, if I can find it! (The cheap stuff from the supermarket, not the £££ kind).

I also like fresh roast beetroot sliced thin, break a fresh mozzarella ball over the top (buffalo or burrata for preference) and dress with a pesto dressing with pine nuts for crunch. A local restaurant to me does this as a starter and I have recreated it at home many times.

Nigel Slater loves his beetroot - if you google he has loads of recipes in the Guardian for it!

SunshineAvenue · 02/04/2020 07:49

I've got (cooked) bolognese in the freezer that was originally planned for a sleepover, feeding 6. Now too much for one meal for us but I know I can't refreeze it once it's defrosted.

Is it safe to split it once defrosted and leave one half in the fridge for a couple of days (how many is safe?) to be 'adapted' into a chilli (add beans and spices) or will it need to be eaten the next day?

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Mominatrix · 02/04/2020 08:30

Buttercream does freeze well. To use, simply defrost and rewhip prior to spreading.

I love beetroot and use it roasted with other root in gratins, warm salads, or as a side dish. Goat cheese, feta, and blue cheese go well as do toasted nuts. Raw beetroot is good shredded into salads. Nigella has a lovely dill flavoured salad with raw beetroot in her Forever Summer book which goes amazingly with her scandi-style salmon with a mustard crust and a side of hasselback potatoes.

Coincidently, I have a bunch of beetroot I need to use up prior to my grocery delivery tomorrow. I also have jerusalem artichoke which I had planned for an earlier dish which was omitted. I'm going to braise the beetroot in a balsamic vinegar/sugar/stock until it is fully cooked and I get a nice syrup. I will roast the jerusalem artichoke alongside some carrots with thyme. I'll cook up some pearled spelt or some lentils and serve the veg on top it with some toasted chopped pistachios and gorgonzola (have some which needs to get used up) and finish with the beetroot cooking syrup. I'll post a picture after I have made the dish.

Re the frozen bolognese, defrosted it should be fine in the fridge for a couple days.

ptumbi · 02/04/2020 10:07

sunshine I would totally use it up over a couple of days in the fridge - chilli with jacket spuds or rice, spaghetti , shepherds pie...

The cornbread recipe for the pp who wanted it; a Sophie Grigson from the Evening Standard at least 27 years ago!

3oz cornmeal
10fl oz water
8oz smoked streaky bacon (I used 2 slices of smoked back as that was all I had)
2 butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
10fl oz milk (I missed this out!)
4 eggs, separated
2 tblsps chives chopped
7oz cheddar, diced/grated (I used what I had, which was about half of this)

put the cornmeal in a pan with the water, bring to the boil and stir. Simmer until good and thick.
Cook the bacon in it's own fat till crispy; drain.
When the cornmeal is thickened, take off the heat and stir in the butter, garlic and bacon, followed by the milk, eggs yolks, chives, cheese and seasoning.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, and fold into the cornmeal.
Grease a 3pint ovenproof dish and pour in the mixture.
Bake at 170C for about 50 minutes, until risen, set and brown.

She suggests a 12inch Gratin dish 'which gives a depth of about 1inch' but I used a 12 inch square pyrex dish. I forgot the 10fl oz milk, and got a depth of 1 inch or so, so I imagine if I'd used the milk as well i would have had to use a bigger dish.
It can be served hot with veg/salad, or cold cut into squares as a snack. It is pretty delicious!

Beetroot - I would roast or boil and grate or chop and mix with horseradish & mayo to top jacket potatoes or even rye bread.

Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 10:08

@SunshineAvenue I’d thaw it and eat one portion on the day, and the other portion on the next. I usually aim to use previously frozen food within 24 hours.

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Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 10:54

This is what I’m reading today! Isn’t that just the most cheerful cover? Warms my soul. 😊 Most of our recipe books are in storage in our house that we don’t live in 😔 but I’ve still got a couple which I shall be poring over once again in weeks to come - it’s so quick and easy to google for recipes and most of the time that’s our go-to, but nothing beats sitting with an actual book and turning its pages.

Might have to do an order from amazon in a few weeks time...

Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
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Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 10:59

Oh, @SunshineAvenue I wasn’t very clear - I meant that usually I would aim to use frozen foods within 24 hours of thawing out but I personally wouldn’t worry about extending that by an extra day or so. I’ve even done so with raw chicken after my plans were messed up so that I couldn’t cook it on the day nor the day after, and it was fine (but I wouldn’t recommend that, really).

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PurpleDaisies · 02/04/2020 11:05

I’ve got a new one arriving Saturday Ninkanink. I use Vegan Richa’s weds it’s loads for daals and curries. My last amazon order for free delivery so I added it on. Can’t wait.

Still feeling grotty today so it’s easy and comfort food. Using up mash as potato cakes for lunch and dinner will be pasta and cheese sauce with whatever veg come in todays box.

Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 11:11

Ohhhh how exciting! I love the wait for new books. Post a photo when it arrives so we can all coo over it. 🙂

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PurpleDaisies · 02/04/2020 11:30

I will! This is her website...

www.veganricha.com/

Everything I’ve made has been brilliant. The recipes often look complicated but that’s only really because they have lots of spices in them.

In other news, my new veg box has arrived and it’s full of exciting things. Kiwi fruit and strawberries!!!! I’ve now got a glut of apples so I’m thinking of making crumble.

Mominatrix · 02/04/2020 12:35

Beetroot, jerusalem artichoke, gorgonzola, lentil dish finished and ready to serve for lunch.

Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 12:35

Sharing one of our favourite ‘chuck it all in’ lunches - sometimes I follow it exactly, other times I improvise according to what I want in there or what we need to use up. It’s very versatile and works with virtually anything in the mix, and it works equally well on all sorts of breads:

thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/tuna-melts/

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Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 12:36

@Mominatrix a perfect plate of deliciousness!

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PurpleDaisies · 02/04/2020 13:21

Today’s leftovers lunch. Couldn’t decide whether it justified a photo because it’s just leftover mash, cabbage and spring onion but bloody hell, it’s hit the spot!

Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 13:23

Oh it sounds (and looks) delicious! As far as I’m concerned all meals deserve to be photographed for this thread.

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Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 13:33

We had our first proper ‘lockdown lunch’ today - didn’t want to open our big packet of cheese because it’s got a good long date on it, and also didn’t want to use any of our last 4 eggs in case we don’t get any delivered today, so we shared a tin of ham hock soup and I made croutons with our last two slices of the little white toastie loaf, then we followed it up with a cup of tea and a cereal bar.

Tonight we’re having the leftover venison stew. I’ll add some more gravy and a handful of frozen peas. I was going to make a shortcrust lid for it but I’ve decided just to use the last of the baby potatoes that I cooked up earlier in the week.

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sugarcherry · 02/04/2020 13:47

I made beer bread this morning. Made in a couple of minutes then straight into oven for an hour.
It's got a lovely crust but it's a bit cakey.
We had soup for lunch made with left over cauliflower cheese, and chopped potatoes and onions. Cooked in veg stock, with some thyme and bay, then whizzed to smooth with some cream added. It was actually yummy. Had the beer bread with it.

If anyone wants the bread recipe just ask.

cakebythepound1234 · 02/04/2020 13:52

After a fridge rummage at lunchtime, I fried half an onion and some chorizo that was lurking at the back of the fridge. Scrambled in some eggs once onions and chorizo were cooked, then tossed in some coriander leaves (which were starting to wilt but I can't waste coriander, I love it too much) and grated some mature cheddar on top. Delicious rummage lunch using leftovers and DH and DS love it too.

Xiaoxiong · 02/04/2020 14:08

If you needed yet another reason never to throw leftovers away, here is my leftover risotto - only about one portion was leftover - but that stretched into 8 arancini for lunch! Plus a salad and some leftover cornbread.

Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
Weedsnseeds1 · 02/04/2020 14:11

Xiaoxiong aranchini look delicious.
I just remembered I have mung beans, so started some bean sprouts off today.
Tonight I am planning sushi

Xiaoxiong · 02/04/2020 14:13

Nink I think my FIL had that recipe book, the French Kitchen, and I read it many many years ago - is there a recipe in there for a whole roast chicken with lemon slices stuffed under the skin?

I feel like I've really got my mojo back now thanks to this thread, I've started posting on Instagram again with food and getting more creative with leftovers than I usually would be. It feels really important right now to make "proper" square meals, whereas normally if we were all really busy I'd make sandwiches or something. (Probably an anxiety related displacement activity as well.)

Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 14:18

Oh that looks fabulous! My DH doesn’t like risotto so I only ever have it when we eat out...Shame, as I quite fancy arancini. Might see if I can make Asian rice balls instead.

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Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 14:23

@Xiaoxiong

Yes, there is! 😊

Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
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Ninkanink · 02/04/2020 14:26

Let’s try that again!

Food thread! Favourite leftover dishes, avoiding waste, menu ideas.
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