The Recycled Cook

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Thai Fishcakes (Tod Man Pla) The main difference, apart from the flavour of course, between Thai fishcakes and the more common western variety is that in Thai cooking they don't use potato, in fact they use very little other than fish, chillies and some snake beans. Don't be put off by the name, snake beans are just a very long variant of our own French beans, in fact, as they are quite hard to come by in most supermarkets I use the more readily available variety most of the time. I also miss going to Chinatown for food. Red fish fillets That is one of the things I miss about living in London is the large number of small asian supermarkets where you can find a wide variety of exotic ingredients. These fishcakes can be made with any flaky fish but red fish such as Red snapper or red mullet works very well. Skin and trim your fish fillets making sure to pin-bone them carefully  then chop  and blitz the fish fillets in a ...

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Piedmont Peppers Another vegetable dish for you today which can either be used as a starter, a side dish or even on as a light supper. The original recipe uses dried anchovies but I have substituted Serrano ham in this version. To make this as a vegetarian option simply revert back to the anchovies. Firstly halve the peppers, cutting through the stem which makes the presentation better. This is easiest with a large, sharp cooks knife. De-seed and take out the core. Place some thinly sliced slivers of garlic in the base of each pepper, bashing them lightly with the handle of the knife to release their flavour. Tear some small slices of cured ham such as Bayonne, Serrano, Parma or, as I do sometimes, Carmarthen ham (legend has it that the Romans took this idea back to Italy and created Parma ham).  Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with black pepper. Add some small sweet basil leaves if you have them or tea...

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Fennel, Cucumber and Apple Salad A very easy, if a little dangerous vegetarian cooking blog from me today. This is a simple side salad which can be served with any light lunch dish but it works particularly well with a warm Quiche. The contrast of hot and cold adds another dimension to what would otherwise be a very simple dish. In truth this is not so much of a salad as a cold pickle as all the ingredients are allowed to rest in a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar. As always with these dishes there are no hard and fast rules about the ingredients or the proportions, it is a matter of what you have available and how adventurous you are feeling. I had a Fennel bulb and a green Apple available as well as some baby courgettes but I could have equally added radish celery or a fruit such as Mango or Pineapple. Now comes the dangerous bit, you need to slice the ingredients thinly and the best way to do this is with a Mandolin (if you ha...

The Recycled Cook By Adrian Sleeman Spanish Omelette This is not strictly speaking a traditional "Tortilla Española" but is made in the style of one using whatever it is you happen to have available in your fridge.  The traditional version is usually baked in the oven although you can make them using two frying pans, flipping them over half way through cooking. I prefer to start off in a frying pan and then finish the cooking under a hot grill. I have added cheese as it gives a nice crusty finish to the tortilla and adds bags of flavour too. Start by slicing and chopping your ingredients into a large frying pan. There are no rules as to what you can use but try and create a balance of flavours.  I have used new potatoes (still in their skins), red pepper, onion, some spring onion, celery and chorizo. I also added a few slices of left over Parma ham. For a vegetarian version just leave out the meat content. Saute lightly in butter and olive oil until your ...

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 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 Warm Liver, Potato and Ham Salad Now the winter months are here, what better supper dish could you wish for than a healthy warm salad. The possible combinations are endless but, as always with recycled meals, it depends on what you have available. The warm salad that I am going to make for you today is using liver, gammon, potato and shallot but use your imagination and create your own variation. To start with halve some small potatoes (new potatoes are best), leaving the skins on, add some sliced shallots if available or if not a small onion or that half a large onion you have left over in the fridge. Be careful with halved onions, always wrap them in cling film as they will otherwise absorb anything around them. Season well with salt and ground black pepper and then lightly fry these in olive oil. garlic cloves can be added at this point too but leave them in their skins to avoid the garlic burning and becoming bitter. Once the ...