LEFTOVER DISHES

It would be easy to start off this week’s blog moaning about the restrictions that we have had imposed on us and about the food shortages caused by greedy inconsiderate people.
 Instead I am going with a more positive note and be thankful for what we do have, and how meals can be made out of very little.  Today I decided to use up all the bits and pieces in the vegetable drawer which in a day or two, under normal circumstances, would be consigned to the bin. Same with some bits lurking in the back of the freezer which were put there with the best of intentions but somehow got overlooked.
A walk at the beginning of the week had me picking the wild garlic which is covering the ground at the moment. I was sure I could put it to some use.

Never having used wild garlic before my first thought was soup. Soup features high on my list of easy dishes. So with a leek already in the veg rack and of course I always have potatoes, I thought a potato soup, and with the addition of stock, in form of a vegetable stock pot, and some of the wild garlic I should be able to produce a tasty soup. 

Unsure of how much garlic to use I had to guess at it. Went for less, then added more. Thinking with social distancing we can’t offend anyone with garlic breath 😁. I was very happy with the result. 

Now into the vegetable rack in the fridge. Peppers, a couple of aubergines, some green beans all needed to be used up. Potato and onion from the veg rack and eggs from the fridge. In the freezer I found a bad with chopped up broccoli stems. I keep them for my minestrone soup. 

So I got my thinking cap on. A tortilla would use up the veg. I wouldn’t use the peppers or the aubergines in this. I’d keep them to be roasted.

I sautéed a small chopped onion, added a par boiled sliced potato then added rest of the veg, including some of the wild garlic.  I also added a few frozen peas whisked the eggs and added it to the pan. Keep mixture moving until it starts to set, always  bringing outside to the middle. When almost set pop it in a hot oven, I had a piece of goats cheese so I popped that on top to melt as it finished setting. Took about 10 mins.

Amounts depend on size of pan your using. No rules, just make sure you season well. 

The peppers, an aubergine, red onion and some garlic cloves went on to an oven tray with S&P, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprig of rosemary which I have growing on the window ledge. Into the oven at 200c for around 40mins stirring halfway through. You want it just turning black at edges. When it comes out I splash on some balsamic vinegar while it’s still hot. It just sucks up the vinegar, but this is  not essential. 

I picked out some of the peppers and and put them in a jar and poured over olive oil. Kept in the fridge they are delicious eaten with cold meats or even with nice bread for lunch. 

The rest I kept and will heat them up later, they will make a tasty wrap for another time. 

The other aubergine I wrapped in foil with some seasoning and a splash of olive oil. 

This goes in the oven with the roasting veg for same length of time. 

When it’s ready cool in a bag, the steam will help the skin come off more easily. Mash flesh with a small finely chopped garlic clove, S&P, a dash of olive oil and if you have it, a pinch smoked paprika. Gives it a nice smokey flavour. I used to char them over the gas hob for this flavour but an induction hob isn’t much good in this case so the paprika mimics it. Not perfectly but it’s fine. 

By the time they were ready to come out of the oven I had found some wraps which would be destined for the bin in a few days. With a brush of oil and popped into oven for 5 minutes they were then the ideal scoop, when cut, for the aubergine dip. Be careful they crisp up quickly. Keep an eye on them. 

Of course you can use whatever you have in the tortilla, you can roast most veg, although tomatoes and mushrooms give off too much water to roast successfully. Makes them steam instead. We all have different bits and pieces lying around and most of them can be made into a meal or snack with a few store cupboard ingredients and a bit of imagination. 

I was very happy with today’s results and with all this extra time on our hands an hour spent in the kitchen is a worthwhile use of your time. 

Happy experimenting. 

Hopefully our isolation won’t be too long. Stay safe everyone.