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

[Ninkanink]

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!

@fairyfingers heh that’s good! Nothing better than when the family is well fed. sounds like you’ve got it covered, let us know how they like it and whether or not dd1 was converted.

So I broke off some of the nduja and put it in a tray cake along with some chicken that id marinaded in chipotle seasoning and it was so good but it was HOT, I don’t eat spicy food much these days and I wasn’t expecting it so hit me like a freight train. Really tasty tho and reminded me how much I love spicy food. My mum couldn’t finish it tho she just had to have more of the cheesy pasta instead!

Op I was just so shattered (and hot! Tiny kitchen? Oven on full blast and hob cooking jam = hot & sweaty me!)

Tomorrow I need to blitz the kitchen as can't move in it at the moment and I shall have to wash all those soaking pans = sore Tuesday! 

But after that I have the results of my efforts to enjoy.

I have quorn bacon and Brie that needs to be used up so possibly an omelette tomorrow...unless you guys have ideas?

@angelcakebananabrain I love spicy food but it doesn't like me these days, it's just not worth days of horrific heartburn for me.

But it sounds very tasty what you did I must admit I'd never heard of 'nduja before this thread I had to google.

@graphista yeah I’m not sure the heartburn was entirely worth it tbh but I’ve still got some left...

@Graphista I know what you mean about cooking efforts, I really only enjoy Xmas food on Boxing Day.
Borscht here as I found some vacuum packed beets here and they were only weeks out of date.

Does anyone have any ideas for what to do with celeriac? Would it be good mashed with a beef casserole? I got one in the veg box this week and I've only had it roasted or braised before. Also fresh beetroot, would it be good roasted with peppers, courgettes and butternut squash with pork loin? I've never bought it fresh before, always got the pre-cooked packaged stuff. I'm trying out veg and meat boxes from a local farm to minimise shopping. I am impressed with the quality and the amount.

We're having leftover lamb sort-of-tagine with cous cous tomorrow. Lamb left from a roast, shredded up, tinned chopped tomatoes, mixed with whatever veg is around (onion, peppers, a couple of cubes of frozen spinach, a few cauliflower florets, leek, butternut squash and green beans this time, I really pad it out with the veg), a few chopped up dried apricots, some ras el hanout and garlic, chickpeas, bit of lemon juice, chilli. A few flaked almonds at the end if I have any. Will do 2 days dinner and tastes amazing, loads better than the roast and I really do love a good roast. The lamb pretty much melts. So that's 3 meals for 3 adults from half leg of lamb (not from the meat box, taken out of the freezer), and we really don't do small portions here. I cook it in the slow cooker on low, it comes out nicer that way than in a casserole in the oven. Sometimes have it with houmous and flatbread instead of cous cous.

Gram flour - great for making veg fritters using a bit of water or milk. Not even sure you need an egg! Good way to use up cooked or odd bits of veg.

Vac packed beetroot great for making beetroot risotto especially if you have any cheese to go over the top. Goats cheese the best.
Nadia also has some kind of pink pasta recipe which I keep meaning to try.

Celeriac food of the gods! Excellent made into mash. Can add potato or butternut or swede etc. Have tried celeriac chips which are ok. Not brilliant but ok. Celeriac soup is also yummy.

Yesterday’s culinary achievements were 2 sticky malt loaves using up malt syrup nearly 4 years out of date! Also Jamie’s yoghurt flatbreads with lamb steaks and veg.

Wanted to make shepherds pie yesterday but only 2 potatoes so wizzes a can of butter beans up with seasoning and a little cream.....sure you could use milk or water. Mixed with paltry amount of mash. It was delicious.

Love the sound of the butter bean mash.

Celeriac gratin is delicious - will try to find recipe.

Minus the anchovy:
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/nov/25/recipes.spicy

Ooh I have a celeriac in the fridge! They last for ages.... so ugly but so tasty :)

Oh Celeriac - as a Low-carber, we ate loads of it! Mashed, roast, chipped, and in soup. Also Swede - swede soup is lush, also mashed with pepper, or roasted.

Or gratin-ed - celeriac, swede or Turn ip are all great in a cream/milk/stock dish.

I might use the pancake mixes in toad-in-the-hole I have some nice sausages in the freezer.

Today tho is prob jacket potatoes to use up a few more of the enomous, sprouting potatoes I have left. Tin of baked beans, or tuna, or just cheese.

@Ninkanink Could you make coleslaw with the carrots and cabbage?

Oh yes, celeriac is a firm favourite! I’m another long term low-carber of many years now, so I’ve much appreciation for the many delights of cauliflower, celeriac et al! I Need to get back into it at some point (I always take a break over Dec/Jan and then slowly taper off the carbs through Feb/March, but obviously it’s a little different right now).

You can pretty much treat it just as you would potatoes - mash, chips, roasted, gratin, etc. You can use it half and half in any recipe with potatoes, or other root veg. But I also love it raw in coleslaw or remoulade; my favourite is a recipe by Nigel Slater. It’s excellent with roast beef but pairs well with many things, including cold meats.

Beets - I love a good borscht, such a satisfying soup! When I was a child we used to eat them boiled, with butter on the side - a sprinkle of salt and a generous bit of cold butter on each bite of hot beet...so yummy!

@sueelleker yes I’ve used a quarter of the cabbage for coleslaw already, and I’ll probably make at least one more, but I’m also going to save some for stir fries and bubble and squeak-style things over the next week or two, since it lasts so well.

Hi all,

I have approx 1kg leftover cold beef from a pot roast yesterday. Please can you share your favourite recipes for leftover beef? I've thought about a cottage pie, but wondered if we there were any personal recommendations for something a bit more exciting?

Bonus points if able to use up either half a savoy cabbage, a bag of carrots, some sweet potatoes in the process (although recognise that essential is cottage pie waiting to happen!) x

You could make a bourbon sauce, shred some of the beef, heat it gently in water to keep it from drying out, combine with the sauce and serve in burger buns, with pickled gherkins, lettuce, and tomato.

Or maybe do a Chinese or Japanese glaze, and serve with noodles/rice and veg stir Fry.

Mini pies are always more exciting than one big one (I think, anyway), although I’d only bother to do those if they were going to have a pastry lid. Or you could do a pasty-style thing with fried onions and root veg.

If you have a couple of tins of beans you could make re-fried beans with cheese, then fry the beef, with or without rice, with tex mex flavours and serve inside wraps.

I would make sweet potato wedges to eat with tex mex style dinner, or alongside the bourbon bbq burgers.

Savoy cabbage and carrots could go in the pasties. Or into the stir fry.

The Thai beef salad from here is my favourite ever leftover beef recipe although it requires quite a lot of fresh ingredients:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/15/20-recipe-ideas-leftover-roast-meat

Recipe for bourbon sauce:

www.thespruceeats.com/pan-broiled-steak-with-bourbon-sauce-recipe-3061296

You could also just do a bbq sauce (I just prefer them not too sweet).

Recipe for re-fried beans:

mexicanfoodjournal.com/refried-beans/

I actually like mine better without cheese added (I add it to the wraps instead) as I like to taste the flavour of the beans but I do also like it cheesy.

Thai beef would be excellent if you have all the ingredients!

If you don’t have all the salad ingredients you could easily have the beef wrapped in lettuce.

I must be the odd one out-I’m not a fan of celeriac at all.

Today it’s going to be moussaka. I’m toying with the idea of using slices of swede instead of potatoes because the swede needs finishing off. Moussaka is a bit of a labour of love so the plan is to make two and freeze one.

I know a few people who really can’t stand it, so I think it’s one of those marmite flavours...

I’ve actually never had celeriac, I always see them using it on Masterchef but it’s never been in any of the meals I’ve eaten out and never thought to buy any. What type of taste is it?

It has its own taste...hard to explain. I find it really fragrant, I think is the right description. Definitely worth a try!