Using Leftovers: Some Ideas

Today, I´d like to give you a couple of examples of how we use up some of our favourite leftovers. Who doesn´t like leftovers? I feel that throwing food away is wasteful, and it only takes a little effort to take some leftovers and create something which is as delicious as the original meal.

So, without further ado, let´s take a look at three meals (two dinners and one lunch) I made last weekend. The first two come from a delicious chicken my wife roasted, the third from some leftover bolognese sauce.

Dish 1: Chicken Curry

Chris had roasted the chicken with an olive oil, cumin, turmeric and cayenne pepper rub, so it was already half way towards being curried! As we´re not huge eaters, there was enough chicken left to go towards another dinner and a lunch.

This is not a very spicy curry (it was already 27° C outside, so it would be fine for us! To spice things up more, just double the quantity of spices.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 onion, quartered and sliced
• 4-5 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled & sliced into 2 cm cubes
• 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
• roast chicken remains, shredded

This was going to be a chicken and broccoli curry, but when I opened the 3-day-old pack of broccoli, I found it was already infested with a few flying friends, so instead I added potatoes to the mix.

Method:

1. Sauté the onion in olive oil on medium heat for 4 – 5 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms, mix and cook for a further 4 – 5 minutes.
3. Add cumin, turmeric, garam masala and potatoes. Give it a good mix, cover and cook (mixing occasionally) for a further 15 – 20 minutes, until the potatoes are starting to soften.
4. Add the tomatoes and chicken, stir well and cook for a further 15 minutes.
5. I use a rice cooker (as my success rate without one is not so high), so now is the time to pop it on.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Dish 2: Coronation Chicken

This is my take on the ever-popular British dish, with a few changes, based on what was available at the time.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 onion, finely chopped (I prefer to use a spring onion, as its sweeter. You could also use (Spanish) red onions as an alternative.
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp sweet mango chutney (I had run out, so substituted Moroccan Spiced Chutney instead)
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 100 g shredded leftover cooked chicken
• a small handful of sultanas and one of currants
• a few flaked almonds

Method:

1. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add the curry powder and garam masala and cook for a further 2 minutes
3. Allow to cool.
4. Add the chutney and mayonnaise and stir.
5. Add the shredded chicken, sultanas, currants and almonds.
6. Stir and serve.

You cannot beat Coronation Chicken served on a fresh crusty roll – enjoy!

If you enjoyed these chicken recipes, take a look at my spiced chicken tagine dish.

Dish 3: Cheesy Baked Potato with Bolognese Sauce

This recipe works with pretty much any type of leftover sauce. The sauce I used was a bit dry from being chilled, so when I heated it up, I added some additional liquid in the form of tomato puree.

As you have to go through the hassle of preparing and cooking the potato, I generally cook 2-3 potatoes at one time. You may need to increase the cooking time a little.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 large (baking) potato
• 200 g cheese (Cheddar or similar), grated
• a few stalks of chive, snipped into 2 cm lengths
• a little milk
• 75 g parmesan, grated

Method:

1. Set the oven to 180°C.
2. Wash the potato and pat it dry. Cover (brush) them with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika (or cayenne pepper if you like to spice things up).
3. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 – 1.5 hours (until the interior is soft), turning once half-way through.
4. Once the potato is cooked, slice it in half horizontally, holding the hot potato in place with a pair of tongs.
5. Scoop out the potato flesh with a dessert spoon (be careful not to pierce the skin) and place in a bowl. Mash well.
6. Add cheese and chives to the mix, then season well and add a small glug of milk, creating a slightly damp mix.
7. Spoon the mix back into the potato skins and sprinkle parmesan on top.
8. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes or so, until the parmesan crust turns golden.
9. Serve with the leftover sauce.

Well, I hope the above recipes have given you some inspiration on how to use leftovers. No doubt we will cover some more recipes in future posts.

Until the next time!