The Recycled Cook

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Onion Jam Having been given half a dozen extremely large white onions that a friend of mine grew on his allotment I originally set out to make some onion jam with them and in the process that also turned into a classic French onion soup. I will start with the jam and do a separate blog for the soup later. Is it technically recycling when you set out to make one thing and end up making two?  Probably not but they are both great ways to use up rather a lot of onions and they both start of the same way. First of all you need to peel and thinly slice the onions into a large saucepan. If you use a M andoline , as I have done, make sure to use the guard provided or risk slicing your fingers as well as the onions. I usually start off just slicing the vegetable but see the guard long before I get anywhere near my fingers. Sweat off the onions with some cubes of unsalted butter and olive oil, I used a garlic infused oil but that is just my p

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Petit Pois Francais (French peas) If you want something a little different to serve as an accompaniment with a French twist instead of the usual vegetables try this simple method of cooking peas with lettuce and onion. Easy to make and a simply delicious alternative which will lift your meal. This works particularly well with fish but could just as easily be served as a side dish with chicken or pork or even supplemented with other vegetables and served as a soup in its own right.  I find that adding a particular choice of herb can change the whole character of this dish, for example you could add Dill or Fennel with fish, Sage or Mint with pork and Tarragon or Coriander with Chicken, The basis of this dish is of course a good vegetable stock which ideally you will have made yourself and frozen, the recipe for which you can find here  Making Stock . You can of course use shop bought stock cubes, gels or even liquid sachets these days

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Pasta Bolognese (Ragu) Bake Did you ever make Pasta Bolognese and end up with a lot of the Bolognese (Ragu) sauce left over? Well here is a nice idea for an oven baked dish that will let you turn that first dish into another, even tastier one. Left over pasta doesn't really work well next day so you will probably need to cook of some fresh pasta for this dish. It doesn't matter what pasta you use but a smallish  shape suits this well as it is easier to mix into the sauce.  I used Orzo (Barley) pasta as it is not only nice and small but has a distinct flavour. You can find this in most good supermarkets or your local Deli but Penne, Farfalinne, Fusilli or Orecchiette (Little Ears) will do just as well. This is a useful list of pasta shapes for you  http://pastafits.org/pasta-dictionary/ Simply mix the left over sauce in a large mixing bowl with the pre-cooked pasta and add some finely chopped leftover vegetables. I fried off som

The Recycled Cook Mushrooms on Toast (with a twist) A nice healthy vegetarian breakfast blog today (well healthyish), taking that old favourite, mushrooms on toast and giving it a bit of a twist. As with all of my recipes there are no formal rules or rigid quantities as much of it is down to what you happen to have in your fridge and your own creativity.  I used a mixture of Browncap and Field mushrooms but any variety that takes your fancy will work just as well. For me the best tasting are wild mushrooms and sometimes I will go and forage for them but it is not something you should do unless you are very familiar with picking them. I learnt by going out with experts but will still rely heavily on some very good reference books, even with them I take the view that if I am not certain of the variety I will leave it alone. My advice is do not pick your own unless you are either with someone who knows what they are doing or you take the trouble to learn thoroughly, getting it

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Basque scrambled eggs (Piperrada / Piperade) A nice easy breakfast blog today, Piperrada (Spanish) or Piperade (French) Basque scrambled eggs is another of those dishes that uses left overs well. Unlike our scrambled eggs it is made in the frying pan rather than in a saucepan or Bain-Marie .  I don't even consider microwaved scrambled eggs as a recognisable version of the above.  Start by simply sweating off onions, peppers and chorizo in olive oil in a frying pan. I like to use home made garlic infused oil to add that extra Spanish (Basque) flavour. When softened to your liking add some roughly chopped coriander or parsley (just tear it with your hands and remove the tougher stalks) and some crushed chopped garlic if you are a fan as I am. You can set these aside and finish the dish later if you like or even prepare this part the night before if you want an effortless breakfast next day. Once you have decided on a time to ea

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Lentils and sausage In the spirit of recycled cooking, today I am revisiting a previous blog of mine, Lentils  that great alternative and versatile staple much loved by health food shops and Indian restaurants. While trying to find something to make for dinner yesterday I remembered that I had two lots of leftover lentils in the freezer, along with a tomato based sauce that had once accompanied a pasta dish. Be creative and see what else you could add to change the character of the original dish. Before I froze the sauce I pushed it through a conical sieve (also known as a Chinois because of its resemblance to a traditional Chinese hat). Lentils and Tomato sauce Chinois Just combine the sauce with the lentils, heat through and reduce until it reaches the desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning, in this case I added a little  Pimenton  (smoked paprika) and some coarse ground black pepper. Be careful with salt as re

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Flamenco Eggs The Spanish name for this is "Huevos Flamencos"  and for me this sums up what Mediterranean cooking is all about, flavour and colour. and it is a great dish to have as an alternative to your usual breakfast. It also makes a delicious supper dish. Flamenco on a plate. As with all of my dishes it is not a rigid recipe, is easily adapted depending on what you have left over in your fridge and making a vegetarian option is just a case of substituting the meat for a suitable vegetable, such as Courgette or Aubergine.  Start by sweating off some chopped onion and Chorizo (if using) over a medium heat until softened, then add crushed garlic to taste, being careful not to catch this or it will be bitter. Set aside and keep warm. Next gently mix some eggs, do not over beat as ideally you want a mix of yolk and egg white in the finished dish. This is not after all a "Tortilla"  Chop whatever left over veget

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Fabada Asturiana This is a rustic bean casserole that originated in the Asturia region of Northern Spain. It gets its name from Fava beans that are traditionally used to create this dish although you can use any large white bean. I prefer to use Butter beans as they give a rich creaminess to the dish. If you can find the Spanish variety, usually sold in large glass jars, they are amazing otherwise just use a tin from your supermarket. If you want to be authentic and have patience soak dried beans overnight, personally I don't see the difference. Like all stews there is no fixed recipe and as this is a blog which focuses on using leftover food to create tasty, cost effective dishes it is good to use what you have already got in your fridge. The base of this dish is ham in its various forms, Ham hock, Chorizo, Black pudding (Morzilla) and even bacon if you want. Home made Fabada In a way there are many similarities with Welsh