The Recycled Cook

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 w...

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Amazing L entils So what else can we make with that delicious home made stock ? I used to think that lentils was a dish exclusively designed for vegetarians, uninteresting and boring until, thanks largely to Jamie Oliver , I discovered that they could be a sensational way to use up leftovers and be a great staple alternative to rice, pasta or even potatoes.  Ingredients: 2 Litres of chicken or vegetable stock (home made if available ) A packet of ready to cook green "Puy" lentils (otherwise you will have to soak them overnight) 1 medium onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped 2 bay Leaves, salt and pepper for seasoning, mixed spices (see tips). A small tub of Creme Fresh or single cream (optional) Some chopped fresh herbs for topping   Method: Once again s tart off with Olive oil in a large saucepan or Wok, ( I Like to use a wok for this dish it just feels right someho...