One of the first difficulties I faced when I had just started cooking was what to do with leftovers. Menu planning is a skill that takes time to learn: only after knowing several recipes by heart, or at least knowing what flavors complement one another, does it become simple to buy only what you need and find simple ways to use up what is left without having to head to the store.
While I can’t necessarily teach this skill: it’s something you’ll have to do on your own, I can suggest a few tips for how to get rid of things that you have lying around.
When you buy excess of any one ingredient, first try to think of things that complement it. If it’s a vegetable, for example, think of another veggie, a spice or a cheese that it goes well with. An easy way to approach this is through knowledge of international cuisine: basil is a part of Italian and also Thai cuisine. Basil goes well with tomatoes and mozzarella, but also with noodles and peanut sauce.
Once you’ve come up with two or three complementing flavors, you need a vehicle for them. There are several go-to meal options that I always head for when I know that I need to use up ingredients but don’t want to go out to the store.
1. Quesadillas
Leftover ingredients, and even entire leftover meals, are great fillings for quesadillas. Leftover chicken or steak, no matter the seasoning, can be mixed with a mild-flavored cheese like mozzarella or provolone, spread over one side of a flour tortilla, topped with a second tortilla, and heated in a frying pan. Instant dinner!
2. Omelettes
Omelettes are a great way to use up leftover vegetables. Sauté anything you have lying around: portabello mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, onions, leeks… and pour a few beaten eggs mixed with some crème fraîche or sour cream over them. In France, omelettes are served slightly underdone on top, but feel free to do the entire omelette in an all-metal pan and stick it in the oven for the last few minutes. Now you’ve got a frittata!
3. Pasta
Pasta is possibly my most frequent go-to dinner option. I can toss pretty much any leftover meat into a can of tomatoes and add a few seasonings to have a great new tomato sauce. Otherwise, just toss some ingredients together in a frying pan, add the pasta (and a bit of the water the pasta was cooked in to thicken the sauce). Sprinkle some cheese atop the hot dish, and no one will know they’re eating leftovers!
Pasta is possibly my most frequent go-to dinner option. I can toss pretty much any leftover meat into a can of tomatoes and add a few seasonings to have a great new tomato sauce. Otherwise, just toss some ingredients together in a frying pan, add the pasta (and a bit of the water the pasta was cooked in to thicken the sauce). Sprinkle some cheese atop the hot dish, and no one will know they’re eating leftovers!
good best post. I can toss pretty much any leftover meat into a can of tomatoes and add a few seasonings to have a great new tomato sauce.