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...