Thai Curry Pastes for Leftovers

Thai curry paste is your friend and ally in the war on wasting food.  It can be used to make almost anything (meat, fish or vegetables) into a gourmet delight and total preparation and cooking time is less than ¼ hour.  These can be bought in plastic tubs which have the past sealed in a plastic bag inside and these tubs contain more than enough to make 2 or 3 curries unless you like your food suicidally hot.  They also come in sachets and tubes like toothpaste, but trust me, the tub kind taste better!  You can get them in almost all supermarkets, but better are the strange and wonderful looking ones in Chinese supermarkets.  Recipes vary, of course, but the basics are more or less the same across the board.

The main types are:

Red Curry Paste

This has a wonderful inviting colour and delicious warm flavor and involves red chillis, galangal, shallots, garlic, lemon grass, coriander, shrimp paste and lime leaves – Hot

Green Curry Paste

Much the same, But with green chillis – Hot

Yellow Curry Paste

Much the same but with turmeric which gives it that gorgeous earthy colour and sometimes yellow chillis – Hot to medium

Massam Curry Paste

Lots of ground spices in with the usual suspects – delicious and fragrant and not too hot at all.

Phanaeng Curry Paste

Mild and slightly more unusual

The beauty of these pastes is that you can add as much or as little as you like and when cooking a curry, coconut milk will help temper it.

You can also enjoy adding your own flavours to the curry to enhance it – like your own garlic and ginger, or fish sauce, lime juice and sugar to get that authentic hot, sweet, sour flavouring.

Recipe to follow for the fearful or uninitiated!

Leftover Roast Pork Burgers

Leftover Roast Pork Burgers

Roast pork and crackling is surely one of the most delicious things!  Wasting ANY leftovers from the Sunday joint would grieve me.  This recipe is super simple and very quick and completely delicious.  The burgers also freeze very well (make sure they are packed carefully and wrapped in cling film to avoid freezer ‘burn’) but you should freeze them PRIOR to frying and make sure they are thoroughly defrosted before cooking.  This is recommended for preparation in a food processor but it WOULD be possible for you to make a suitable consistency with superfine chopping – will take you a while though!

You will need:

Ingredients

Amount of leftover roast pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
Breadcrumbs  - about a handful
Worcestershire sauce – a few shakes
Fresh or dried herbs -whatever you fancy
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Egg (to bind)
Plain flour (well seasoned)
Oil for shallow frying
Chutney or relish to serve

Equipment

Food processor or mincer (or a good knife if neither is available)
Large bowl
Frying pan
Fish slice

Method

• Prepare the pork by pulsing in a food processor, working through a mincer or by chopping with a knife.  You are NOT looking for completely pulverised to a smooth pate, but it needs to be small enough to allow the mixture to bind together.
• Put the pork in a bowl with all the other ingredients (except flour and relish).  Using your hands (or a spoon if squeamish, but warning, the mixture will not be as well blended or easy to bind) bring the mixture together ensuring it is thoroughly mixed and gradually bring together into a stiff mixture.  If too wet, add a few more breadcrumbs, if too dry, a little more egg.
• Taking a small handful of mixture, form into a ball and dust with flour before pressing into a pattie shape.  Repeat until all mixture is used.
• Refrigerate for a while to firm up the mixture.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry until golden brown (about 3 – 4 minutes each side)

Pork is one of those meats that are simply delicious with any chutney or relish you may have.  These are great served in a bun with a good dollop of the chutney of choice and a simple salad, chips if you are feeling naughty, or even mash and gravy.  Yum!

Leftovers Food Cupboard Staples

Food Cupboard Staples

Leftovers are bloomin’ marvelous things, but even the best cook needs something to work with outside of the main leftover ingredient.  This post just looks at a few things all cupboards should (in my humble opinion) have in them to facilitate making the most of leftovers.

Risotto Rice

I honestly cannot imagine my cupboards at home without at least one bag of each of the specialist risotto rices.  Sorry folks, but however nice a dish made with long grain or basmati rice is, it is NOT a risotto.  Risotto rice has a delicious creamy texture and cooks perfectly.  Have a bag of Araborio or Canerolli rice in stock at all times!

 Stock Cubes

Obvious I know, but I am always running out of them.  Meals made from leftovers do not want to be long, drawn out affairs.  While your leftovers may have left you with some bones etc to make your own stock, if you are down the road of mid-week, after work food, you want quick and easy.  (That said, if you DO have the time, home-made stock freezes wonderfully well!).  Stock cubes come in an amazing array of flavours and you can have everything from pork, lamb, Chinese flavoured and even fish stock cubes as well as the more normal chicken and beef.  They are not the nasty tasting things they once were and I am a convert.  There are not many dishes out there that do not use them!

 Pasta

Tagliatelle, linguini, spaghetti, shells, cannelloni  - this list in endless and so is what you can do with all those varieties!

 Frozen Pastry

Always have puff, short and filo in the freezer.  1000s of recipe ideas!

Oriental and Indian Spices

A well-stocked herb and spice cupboard is the leftovers cook’s friend.  Whether you want to rub, paste, season or whatever else tickles your culinary fancy, having a good selection of spices to choose from is essential.

Eggs

You need them to coat, to wash, to richen, to be an omelet – never run out!

Wine

Now I have to confess that the concept of leftover wine in our house really is an alien one…. But if you DO happen to have a glass or two hanging about, don’t throw them away.  Excellent base for any number of sauces.

Breadcrumbs

Never throw away stale slices of bread (unless they are going green of course!).  They can be used in all manner of ways in recipes.

Leftover Gammon Creamy Pasta Carbonara

Struggling to the end of that Christmas gammon with the horrific possibility of some going to waste can be daunting.  Do not despair!  There are more ways of eating it than ham, egg and chips – delicious though that is!  Although our English interpretation of what a carbonara sauce is leaves a lot to be desired from its Italian roots, we know it means a delicious pasta sauce and this is easy to achieve.
Leftover Gammon Creamy Pasta Carbonara
You Will Need:
Ingredients
Leftover gammon, cut into small, neat dice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely diced
Olive oil
A handful of mushrooms, any variety, finely sliced
Pasta – whatever kind desired
Single or double cream – one small pot
Splash of white wine (optional)
Bread – any sort to mop up all that delicious sauce
Salt – to season pasta water and sauce (if necessary)
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful of whatever fresh herbs you fancy
Grated nutmeg (optional)

Parmesan cheese – to serve (optional)

Equipment:

Large saucepan to boil pasta

Frying panGrater

Sharp knife for vegetable preparation

Method

• Heat olive oil in frying pan and gently fry the onion and garlic gently for a few minutes until soft, but not coloured
• Add the gammon and fry for a further minute
• Add in the mushrooms and a splash of white wine and continue to fry until the wine stops sizzling and has been all but absorbed
• Pour over cream and continue to cook gently until sauce is thickening
• Season and add herbs
• Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted water according to instructions
• When cooked to your liking, add the pasta to the sauce along with as much of the pasta water as may be needed to get the sauce to a consistency you like
• Serve with a few extra herbs scattered over the top and generous shavings of parmesan

Ridiculously easy and super quick!

Leftover Mashed Potato Croquettes

I always try and make too much mashed potato; surely one of the kings of leftover staples.  When talking about leftovers it is always a bit tricky to give exact quantities, so use this as a guide.  This recipe is also a brilliant way of using up stale bread.

Leftover Mashed Potato Croquettes

You will need:

Ingredients
Bowl of left over mashed potato
Butter
Parmesan cheese, grated - a couple of handfuls
Freshly grated nutmeg
Fresh herbs, chopped - whatever you fancy
Freshly grated black pepper
Plain flour
Salt
Egg, beaten
Breadcrumbs - from sliced or fresh loaf - approx. 4 slices worth
Vegetable or sunflower oil for deep or shallow frying (olive oil is not great for this)

Equipment
Wooden spoon
3 plates, one small two large
2 bowls, one small one large
Your fridge!
2 tablespoons
Frying pan or deep fat fryer

Method

• Warm mash slightly in a microwave - it is easier to work with slightly warm - and then place into the large bowl
• To sort out any lumps and make the mash nice and soft, beat in a large knob of butter vigorously until the mash is nice and smooth
• Grind in plenty of pepper and nutmeg and salt after checking how much you need - it needs plenty of seasoning
• Beat in the parmesan cheese
• Using two tablespoons make quenelle shapes of potato (sort of oval shaped)
• Put a few tablespoons of flour onto the small plate, the breadcrumbs onto a large plate and the beaten egg into the small bowl
• Taking each potato quenelle in your hands lightly roll in the flour gently tossing them from hand to hand to remove excess
• Dip the dusted quenelle into egg and then into the breadcrumbs until they are completely coated.  Repeat dipping in egg and breadcrumbs once more
• When you have used all the potato, place the croquettes onto the remaining large plate and place in the fridge for half an hour or so to firm up.  This is particularly important if you are going to shallow fry
• Heat the oil in the frying pan or bring your deep fat fryer up to temperature
• Fry until golden brown.  In a deep fat fryer it will be on low or medium heat for around 4 to 5 minutes

These are yummy with ketchup, mayonnaise or as an alternative to chips.

Left Over Gammon - Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie

Ah Christmas!  In our house there would be outcry if I did not cook a gammon, preferably on the bone, and glaze it with dijon mustard and brown sugar.  This year for various reasons the piece of pig that arrived was HUGE.  I really do mean collosal.  Having already had several leftover meals from this magnificent piece of meat (fried egg, chips and slices of ham - how delicious!) I was still left with well over half the joint to contend with. 

Chicken and Leftover Ham (Gammon) Pie

You will need:

Ingredients
A couple of chicken pieces, cut into chunks (breast or thigh are fine and you can even use leftovers)
Equal quantity of leftover gammon, cut into chunks
One or two leeks, sliced
One onion, finely diced
Milk
Butter
Ground black pepper
Ground nutmeg (optional)
Mushrooms
Plain flour
Frozen readymade shortcrust pastry
Chicken stock (fresh or made with a cube)

Equipment
Frying pan
Large saucepan or stock pot
Sharp knife (for cubing meat and slicing veg)
Pie dish
Pastry brush

Method

• In the saucepan melt some butter and fry the chicken and ham together very gently (you do not want lots of colour, just to seal the meat).
• Add enough milk to cover the meat, lots of fresh pepper and the nutmeg if using and poach gently for a while.
• Meanwhile, melt some more butter in the frying pan and fry the leeks and onion.  When soft, add the mushrooms and fry for a minute.
• Add a heaped tablespoon of floujr (more if required) to the vegetable mixture and stir to create a thickish paste.  This will add as a roux to add to thicken the milk and meat mixture.  Continue to cook for a couple of minutes over a low heat being careful not to burn the flour.
• Gradually add spoonfuls of the floury mixture to the meat saucepan stirring continually to make sure each addition is properly absorbed.
• When all the mixture has been combined, treat rather like a chees sauce:  allow to cook, stirring well, until it thickens.
• Put the mixture into the pie dishes and allow to cool.
• Roll out the pastry in accordance with the instructions.
• Moisten the edge of the pie dish with water and add the pie lid - gently press the pastry down onto the mixture and then pinch the edges to seal the crust.
• Using the pastry brush wash the lid with milk (to give you a lovely golden crust when cooked)
• Bake the pie for about 40 minutes at the temperature on the pastry instructions (usually about 180 degrees or gas mark 5).  Keep an eye on it after about half an hour to make sure it is not catching on the top.

Any extra pies can be frozen - I would suggest NOT cooking the pie after adding the crust if you are going to do this.