The Recycled Cook

Paella This dish is hugely popular all over Spain as many who have visited the country will know and have enjoyed eating it, but it originates in the province of Valencia from where it gets its name; "Paella" is Valencian for frying pan, the distinctive twin handled pans that are immediately associated with this dish. Paella comes in many varieties, traditionally using rabbit or chicken, shellfish and fresh vegetables, so it is a perfect dish for making using leftovers from the fridge or freezer. I have used a traditional paella pan but a large frying pan, wok or saucepan will do perfectly well If like me you throw out very little food then, with a little imagination, you can make a delicious and authentic homemade Paella. Start off by chopping some onions, red onions work well but whatever you have available, white onions shallots and spring onions all work fine, you could even add some leeks and of course garlic is a must. Add a generous splash of olive oil

Recycled Casserole If you have frozen any previous meat, regardless of whether it is roasted , slow cooked or casseroled you have the basis for a really nice meal. It may be that you have a singe lamb chop left, some slices of beef or some pieces of chicken, not enough for meal on its own but just sitting there getting frost damaged with so much potential. If, like me, you are bad at labelling then you could end up with a lucky dip casserole but so long as you are not mixing fish and meat you should be fine. Today while rummaging through the freezer I discovered I had some slices of steak and the  remnant of a slow cooked beef dish so decided to combine them into a beef stew I started by cooking off a small chopped onion, garlic, celery and a carrot util it was soft and starting to  brown. This mix is used a lot in latin countries as a base, what the Italian call a "sofrito". The steak was raw so I seared it in some olive oil over a high heart and choppe

The Recycled Cook Making breadcrumbs Now this is such a simple thing to do that I am sure most of you will be doing it anyway but will post it anyway for those that, for whatever reason, don't. If you have any stale bread left over (not  mouldy just dry), don't throw it away it away, make breadcrumbs from it. They freeze really well and are such a versatile thing to have available, far nicer than the packet variety. There are so many uses for fresh breadcrumbs, you can use them to make potato croquettes with leftover cheese, ham, tuna and mushrooms being just a few ideas, Arancini (posh croquettes), rissoles, Schnitzel, chicken Milanese or use them to coat your fish or to bulk out stuffing.  There is even an Italian speciality called Pan Grattato where you fry the breadcrumbs with finely chopped dried anchovies and red chilli, delicious sprinkled over pasta. Just chop up the bread into manageable chunks and use your preferred method to crumb them.  I use a coffee gr

Check out your cupboards At a time like this we need to be able to make the best of what we have if we are to make some interesting meals. The first thing I would suggest you do s have a good look at what you already have in your drawers and cupboards. We all say we have nothing in the house but it is surprising what we do have that can help to make a decent meal. Get everything out and make a list, it might be some dried herbs, tinned vegetables, tined fruit, sauces like tomato ketchup, soy sauce, HP sauce mustards, pickles, chutneys, tomato puree, beans of any kind, lentils, in fact anything you have in your cupboard. I did this recently and found I had 5 tins of chick peas that I don't even remember buying (not all at the same time of course). So lets start with that, what can I possibly make with chick peas? Well let's see, you can make chick pea fritters, chick pea mash, Indian dahl by adding some garam masala, add it to soup with some Moroccan spices and even