Food waste remains headline news. As well as being an environmental issue, it’s also financially beneficial to use up all of the food you have purchased. But how can you create restaurant-standard dishes from food which is ‘on the turn’? Here six canny chefs share their inspirational ideas for using up fresh fruit and vegetables before they’re past their best, along with suggestions for making use of dry goods which have been lurking in the store cupboard for far too long…
Jane Devonshire, winner of MasterChef 2016 (Follow Jane on Twitter @janecdevonshire) I use leftover potatoes in lots of different ways, in fact, I tend to cook more than I need for that reason. If you’ve got any cooked Jersey Royals left over, you can fry them up with onions and herbs and make a big Spanish tortilla. When it’s cooked, cut it into squares and serve with a tomato salad for a lovely starter. You can also add in any leftover peppers or courgettes for added colour and flavour. Leftover mash and fish can be combined to make delicious fishcakes, bound together with leftover mayonnaise and breadcrumbs.
Richard Wire, head chef at The Walled Garden, North Berwick, Scotland One of the best dishes I have made at home, that I have subsequently put on the menu at The Walled Garden, is a broccoli risotto. It was one of those times where you go to your fridge to see what’s for dinner only to be faced with an onion, some garlic and a head of broccoli. The most notable thing with this dish is that with broccoli we all tend to use the florets and discard the stalk as being unusable. In actual fact the stalks give you a mild sweet flavour as well as a different texture to the florets. I sliced them fairly thinly and dipped them in a beer batter, once fried they provided a crunchy element to my risotto which I finished off with a smoked butter, some chilli flakes and parmesan cheese. Everyone keeps a bag of broth mix in their store cupboards so when there are no potatoes or rice lying about try substituting your usual starchy accompaniments for these forgotten gems. It’s not all about chunky soup you know. Try using your broth mix to create a comforting cassoulet with shredded cabbage, smoked bacon, chorizo and serve with a nice chunk of braised meat like a lamb shank or duck leg.
James Circuit, development chef at Major and former executive chef at Corpus Christi College Cambridge Waste not, want not is a good way of thinking. A whole range of dishes can be created from leftovers. From using fruit which is nearly past its best to create jams or preserves or to add sweetness to baking, such as in a banana bread for instance, you can even use up your leftover mains to create something trendy. Leftover mushroom risotto can be transformed into a street-inspired dish like arancini, which not only looks great but tastes amazing too. Simply mould the risotto into balls, add some mozzarella, coat in breadcrumbs and deep fry.
Leon Mills, Knorr marketing manager at Unilever Food Solutions With wraps a popular street food option – whether Mexican, Turkish, or Indian – these quick and easy lunch items make the ideal vehicle for all sorts of diverse flavours and fillings. Another reason they’re so popular with operators is that wraps are a great way to use up leftover protein. Just mix in a great sauce and some salad, and away you go. The perfect grab and go meal for a hot summer day. To transform some leftover chicken into a tasty Bombay chicken wrap filling, just add Knorr’s Korma sauce. Or use our tomato and basil sauce to upgrade your leftover meatballs into a meaty lunchtime wrap. And don’t forget to offer consumers the chance to upgrade to a meal by adding a side and a drink. This is an incredibly easy and surprisingly effective way to increase your gross profit.
Mark Lyddy, Tilda’s head of foodservice Risottos are great for cost-conscious caterers as they are a great way to use up leftovers. If you’ve some leftover chicken, for example, you could whip up a quick chicken risotto, while mushrooms and most vegetables will create a great risotto soup. Risottos also lend themselves to more exotic ingredients, so for a recipe with real menu appeal, and which caterers can charge a premium for, think about incorporating lobster, prawns, mussels, scallops or langoustines.
Darren Chapman, business development chef, Nestlé Professional Anything that goes in to the bin is wasted money. We know that there will always be an amount of wastage, but keeping that to a minimum will always help the bottom line. This doesn’t stop at raw foods though, even leftover foods that are cooked correctly and chilled, so that minimum risk to health is assured, can be utilised. Just ensure that you have followed all HACCP guidelines and treated the food correctly! Darren’s top tips:
• Add leftover meat to pies and hot pots, pastry slices, yorkie wraps, sandwiches and even daily specials.
• Soup stations are the best way to make money from leftover foods. Simply add any leftover vegetables from the salad station or meat into the soup kettle for a lunchtime offering the next day. You won’t be adding much to your workload but you will be getting a great return on your purchasing.
• Add breakfast items into sandwiches and salads.
• Dry desserts such as brownies and Bakewell tarts can be added to sundaes and trifles.
