Loving Your Leftovers

I hate waste especially food waste, so I jumped at the opportunity when asked to participate in the Food Waste Challenge of AO.com.

On average, UK households throw away six meals per week which is obscene, especially when you consider that nearly one billion people go hungry around the world. Reducing food waste is one element of the current food crisis we can all tackle. And this would save the average UK household almost £60 a month.

I have to admit that as much as I try to stay organised, rotate the food in the fridge, plan my meals or prepare my shopping list to not be tempted by too many bulk offers, there are still weeks when I end up throwing food away.

Those of you familiar with my blog, know that from time to time I write How To Cook Without A Recipe articles. They are designed to help you prepare meals using odds and ends that might be lurking in the kitchen. My favourite ways to rescue fruits and vegetables are to make soups, smoothies or a mixed salad. At home, we also have a leftover evening meal once a week where we strive to finish off food that “needs” eating.

I also curate recipes from around the web to give you some inspiration on how to use leftover food such as rice, pasta, pastry dough, overipe bananas or stale bread.

Love Food Hate Waste is a great source of inspiration to make the most of leftovers.

When I feel more resourceful I also try to come up with an entire new dish using the leftover from another recipe. It helps me stay clear from comments such as “We’re having this again?! But we already had it yesterday!” (my kids can be quite demanding).

Here are three recipes which revamp themselves into something completely different. My leftover recipes tend to be quite easy and use simple storecupboard ingredients. They can be adapted to fit other leftovers you might have available. Enchiladas work well with any type of chilli, roasted meat, fish and vegetables etc.. The risotto fritters below work with all kind of risottos. Lasagnas can be made with leftover roasted vegetables, meat or even fish.

Re-purposed leftover meals have a total new feel and look like a brand new dish. I like to think of it as upcycling!

I so enjoyed working on this food waste challenge, I think you’ll see more leftover recipe duos like these in the future: