A third of all food produced for human consumption around the world is wasted. If you love to cook you’re in a great position to do your small part to reduce food waste, one meal at a time. Bones and vegetable offcuts become stock, stale bread is blitzed into fresh breadcrumbs and coriander roots are cleaned up to pound into curry pastes – all of which freeze well. So before you go shopping, or bin food off-cuts, think about what delicious dishes you can make from what you have on hand. Here are my favourite no waste recipes.
Tarte Flambée Forestière Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class inspired by Damien Pignolet! While restaurants in France and abroad add all sorts of toppings to tarte flambée (flammekueche) these days, the traditional toppings I’ve always seen in Alsace are crème fraîche and onion with either speck or mushrooms (or both). So […]
Steamed Asparagus with Pecorino When I’m barbecuing, I’ll sometimes grill asparagus spears on the spot. But when I’m entertaining, and want to get as much done ahead of time as possible, I find it easier to steam them. I like really thin spears for this dish, but they aren’t always available so be flexible and […]
Armando’s Panettone with Berries Armando’s panettone with berries is a festive dessert made with Italy’s traditional Christmas cake, panettone. Chef Armando Percuoco created it to add a bit of moisture to this brioche-like bread, which some people find a bit too dry. We’ve used berries and mint for a red and green Christmas theme but […]
Stir-fried Bean Sprouts & Garlic Chives I love the crunch of bean sprouts scattered over many dishes, from char kway teow to laksa, but I find that whenever I buy a bag I always waste more than half of them as I’m using just a small handful as a garnish. Then I came across tumis […]
Fish Head Curry Fish head curry is a classic Singaporean and Malaysian dish. It’s said to have originated in Singapore in the 1950s, though it seems likely that thrifty housewives were finding ways to make fish heads tasty long before then, after all the meat in the cheeks and wings is delicious and plentiful in […]
Albóndigas de Atún (Tuna ‘Meatballs’) Albóndigas, meatballs, are a classic part of the Spanish tapas repertoire and are also popular in Mexico where they’re served in soup. As a tapa they’re usually coated in a thick tomato sauce, I love to add a pinch of smoked paprika (sweet or spicy, depending on who I’m cooking […]
Mini Bánh Mí Banh mi are a take-away mainstay. They’re a healthy quick lunch to grab on the run and fun to serve as finger food or a starter if you turn them into little open sandwiches on slices of baguette. Inspired by leftover bits and pieces from a few weeks recipe testing, I whipped […]
Provençale Omelette Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class featuring the Food of Provence! Provençal omelettes tend to be open-faced rather than the folded omelettes found elsewhere in France. They’re also often hearty with stronger flavours typical of Provençal cuisine – and they’re a great way to use up leftovers such as […]
Orangettes Like this recipe? You’ll love my online French cooking class featuring the Food of Provence! I started making chocolate-dipped candied orange peel for dinner parties in the 1980s without realizing they had a connection to Provençe. Candied citrus rind isn’t a new thing and I’m sure many people have had the idea of taking […]
Mushroom & Cheese Pies Like this recipe? You’ll love my online British cooking class! Thanks to chef Simon Sandall who rattled off this suggestion on the spur of the moment when we were making beef Wellington together and wondering what to do with leftover mushroom duxelles and pastry off-cuts. You could always make the duxelles […]
