The Recycled Cook

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Christmas leftover curry Well we are now getting into that time of year where all of us have a lot of left over food from Christmas and Boxing day. What better time to look at making some interesting dishes from some of those leftovers. The most obvious item to start with is of course the, often overly large, Turkey (or any other bird for that matter) that was bought for Christmas day. Increasingly people are sensibly buying crowns or smaller birds but even then, with all the extras that went with it the chances are you will have enough meat to produce some really interesting meals. For me there is nothing quite like a post-Christmas curry but be inventive, but don't just reach for the jar of Madras curry paste, make up your own blend of herbs and spices. Try making a Thai curry with coconut milk, red or  green curry paste, some fresh chopped red chillies (de-seeded if preferred), a bunch of coriander leaves, lime juice and some Thai 7

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Carrot and potato cakes Much as I am trying to keep some logical sequence to this blog, by definition it is about recycling food so occasionally an opportunity will arise to make something impromptu from leftover food, today is such a day. As I was looking in the fridge for something to cook for dinner I noticed that I had some potato and carrot left over from the weekend so I started to think what I could do to avoid wasting them. I could of course have done the obvious and eaten them but never being one to settle for the simples solutions to things (don't ask) I decided to make some carrot and potato cakes. Combine the two vegetables in a large mixing bowl, I prefer stainless steel to plastic but whatever you have to hand will be fine. season well with coarse sea salt and ground black pepper. You can add some fresh chopped herbs such as parsley or coriander or spices at this point if you have some available. Cayenne pepper or Pimiento

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Home Made Chutney Another great way of preserving food is by making chutney or relish. Although we think of chutney as being Asian or South east Asian in origin they in fact came from Northern Europe as long ago as 500bc. The Romans embraced the method and eventually so did the British empire who took them to tropical regions where they have since been adopted by those countries. The name "Chutney" that we use today is derived from the Hindi word "Chattni" which means "to lick", they were usually sweetened with honey rather than sugar and were added to dishes as a sweetening agent rather than used as a relish as we do now.  Chutneys can be made from almost any combination of vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices and are usually grouped as either a sweet or spiced chutney.  Natural preservatives are used to keep the chutney from going mouldy, such as vinegar,  l emon juice or tamarind paste.  You can blend t

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Pickling Over the next few blogs we are going to look at the various ways we have available to us of preserving food, that will not only make the most of your fruit and vegetables but will also add that extra ingredient to add to your meals and give them that added zing. Red Cabbage pickle One of the easiest and most satisfying methods for preserving and enhancing fresh fruit and vegetables is the traditional art of pickling which seems to have found a new following amongst today's young chefs. I have been pickling fruit and vegetables for quite some time, it is one of the most satisfying and simple things to do in the kitchen and is far cheaper than shop bought.  If you are lucky enough to grow your own fruit and vegetables all the better but it is just as easy to do with the kind of fresh produce I spoke about in my last blog. Remember the allotments, they are a great source of ingredients for this. Our ancestors picked a

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Thinking ahead It might seem like a strange idea to buy with the idea of recycling in mind but the benefits, both in terms of flavour and value are worth the effort. An obvious example is chicken, why buy pieces of chicken, (breasts, legs, thighs) when you can buy a whole chicken for not much more. Apart from the fact that you are paying your supermarket to joint the chicken for you, you are also paying for all the individual packaging. I would also suggest that by doing this you afford to buy free range chickens rather than factory farmed ones, which personally I wont do. I might not be a vegetarian but I want to know that what I buy has been well treated. Getting back to the point of the exercise, buying a whole bird lets you plan ahead for several meals. After jointing the bird, you can freeze whatever meat is not going to be used immediately and break up the carcass to use for stock. The same of course applies to any cut of meat th

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Recycling food, a way of life Having had a break from writing this blog I have had time to look at the whole concept of recycling food in a new light. When I first started to write this blog it was based on the notion that past generations had always tried not to waste anything in the kitchen. Not only that but they seemed to be able to extract more flavour from simple foods. They didn't do it because they felt it was socially responsible or politically correct they did it because they had very little choice and could not afford to waste anything.  When I first started thinking about the whole idea of recycling food it was based on the nostalgia of remembering how good food used to taste when we were children growing up in Wales. Mostly, after the initial introduction to the idea of recycling I posted recipes for meals based on what I had available at the time. What I have now come to realise and will hopefully be reflected in where

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Warm Liver, Potato and Ham Salad Now the winter months are here, what better supper dish could you wish for than a healthy warm salad. The possible combinations are endless but, as always with recycled meals, it depends on what you have available. The warm salad that I am going to make for you today is using liver, gammon, potato and shallot but use your imagination and create your own variation. To start with halve some small potatoes (new potatoes are best), leaving the skins on, add some sliced shallots if available or if not a small onion or that half a large onion you have left over in the fridge. Be careful with halved onions, always wrap them in cling film as they will otherwise absorb anything around them. Season well with salt and ground black pepper and then lightly fry these in olive oil. garlic cloves can be added at this point too but leave them in their skins to avoid the garlic burning and becoming bitter. Once the