The Recycled Cook

Vietnamese Devilled Pork Curry Today's recycled meal is one of the most versatile dishes out there, a curry. Not many Asian countries use pork in their meals but Vietnam is the exception, partly because of its past links with European countries. As I had some slow cooked pork left over I decided on a Vietnamese Devilled Pork Curry which, as the name suggests is pretty hot. You can tone this down to your taste if you prefer a milder curry. Traditionally this has a lot of ingredients but you can substitute most quite easily. See the pic below for ideas. Check your cupboards and just use what you have available, this is a leftover dish so you don't want to be buying lots of stuff in, especially now when shopping is particularly difficult.  The ingredients should include: White vinegar, light soy sauce, chillies, ginger,  coriander, kafir lime leaves, lemon grass, garlic, turmeric, fish sauce (or shrimp paste) and of course leftover ...

Parma ham and cheese croquettes Well another batch of leftover coquettes today as I had some Potato and  Celeriac mash left over from yesterday's dinner. I also found in the fridge some parma ham which needed using up and some bits of leftover cheese, I keep a box just for these leftover bits  specifically for cooking.  Once again you can use the previously frozen breadcrumbs Remove the fat and chop the Parma ham quite finely,   this could of course be any kind of leftover cured or cooked ham.  Will have to try this with  Carmarthen ham  which is apparently the original Parma ham; the Romans pinched the idea from us Celts. Add the chopped ham to the leftover  was in a large bowl then great in the leftover cheese, I used a mix of three cheeses but one will do fine. Season well with salt and black pepper.  You could add a pinch of chilli powder  if you wanted to spice them up a little Use your imag...

Split pea and ham croquettes Earlier in the week we had a classic London dish for dinner of slow cooked ham joint with yellow split peas )peas pudding), served with  runner beans and chopped Italian tinned tomatoes. We had some left over so thought I would make some peas pudding, cooked onion and baked ham Croquettes. To start with either chop the whole cooked onions that were baked with the split peas or fry off some onions and chop into small pieces which we will add to the croquette mix. Add the leftover cooked spilt peas and crumble into the mixture, season well with salt and pepper. Chop some of the leftover ham into bite sizes pieces, add all the ingredients together and form into small balls with your hands.  As they are already cooked you won't need any binding agent, they are moist and starchy enough. Add smoked spicy paprika (Pimienton) if you have some availab...

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...

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 an...