The Recycled Cook

The Recycled Cook Cajun Confit Chicken Leg on Spiced Lentils  I had some chicken pieces left over from the weekend in the freezer and  some vegetables in the fridge which need using up so  I decided to confit the chicken legs, which had been originally slow cooked, and serve  on a bed of Cajun spiced lentils. Using a combination of the grill and fan-oven setting crisps up the skin, which I had rubbed with Cajun spices, really well.  If your oven doesn't do both at the same time roast the legs  first and finish under the grill to crisp up. Finely chop the vegetables, pretty much any combination works, this is a leftover dish so I won't tell you which vegetables you should use. As you an see I used carrot, celery, pepper, onion leek and parsley, some crushed and chopped garlic cloves with a squeeze of lemon juice.  I used my stock and some cider left over from the weekend's slow co...

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 the...

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 Making Stock I have already touched on this but the cornerstone of any recycled cooking has to be the stock pot. Whether it is meat or fish, nothing ta stes as good  as home made stock.  It might seem a strange thing to do when stock is readily avai lable in cube s, jars and tubes but the  effort is worth it. Some supermarkets now actually sell fresh stock too at a premium price. There is no comparison between shop bought stock and home made and you have the added benefit of knowing precisely what has gone into your home made variety . The Stock Pot If you have a large enough cooker you cou ld do what the professionals do, have a large pot available to put an y trimmings from meat or vegetables into as you cook. Obviously this is not always a practical situation in a domestic kitchen but regardless, making your own stoc k will tra nsform the flavou r of your food and minimise was tage. Making stock Obviousl...

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Traditional Welsh Cawl Making leftover food into even tastier dishes is all about using your imagination to its fullest. What better place to start than with a Welsh classic, " C awl ", which in Welsh sim ply means mixture. This is a dish that you will find in rural areas all over the world, wi t h many different names and variations: C aldo, Cazuela, Cock-a-leekie or Ajiaco to name but a few but they all have one thing in common, they are cheap, who lesome, warming and satisfying.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_soup The thing abo ut recycling food is that you need to plan ahead, that way you wa s te little and make far more of the food y ou are cooking. S o what is "Cawl" made from?  Ingredients: 2 Litres of Stock ( see below for method ) A whole chicken carcass (you can also use leftover pieces of Beef or Lam b ) Whatever root vegetables you have; Carrots, Swede, Potatoes , P...