Recipe: Don’t waste leftovers, make a new meal with it!

The end of the year is dedicated to quality time with friends and family. What makes the festive season extra special is sharing large meals with your loved ones. But while enjoying and indulging, it is important not to waste food and use the leftovers wisely.

Cape Town chef Amanda Manyatshe has a few tips, tricks and recipes to help rid you of your festive leftovers.

To save you from eating the exact same food for a week after your guests have gone, Manyatshe shares irresistible ideas on how you can make a whole new dish with your festive season leftovers.

Loaded breakfast muffins

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not start the day with a veggie-packed egg muffin? Veggies tend to be the things that everyone swerves past when dishing up, so to deal with the excess, you can chop them up and add them to scrambled eggs and bake in a muffin pan. Hidden veggies, no waste and a delicious quick treat that extends itself past breakfast time.

Ingredients:

8 eggs

3 tablespoons milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of leftover vegetables, chopped to bite size

½ cup of cheese, grated

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃.
2. Grease a standard 12 cup non-stick muffin tray (or you could use cooking spray) and then set it aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, add the milk, and add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until combined.
4. Add your chopped leftover vegetables and grated cheese and then mix through the whisked egg.
5. Pour the egg and veggie mixture into the greased muffin pan and bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch and the eggs are completely cooked through.
6. Allow the muffins to cool slightly and serve them immediately. Enjoy!

Top tips:

1. If the oven is too hot, the muffins will puff up too much and then deflate when removed from the oven, so make sure to keep the temperature at 180℃.
2. You can also add shredded meat, chicken or bacon to add extra protein to your egg muffin

Leftover lamb pie

Now who doesn’t love a good ol’ meaty pie? Other than making sandwiches with your leftovers, pies are a good way to use extra meat. It’s also a great way to use any leftover gravy.

Ingredients:

600 g leftover lamb (or roast beef), finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped

300 ml leftover gravy

Salt and pepper to taste

Puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, for egg wash

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 200℃. Prepare a deep casserole dish by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Place the finely chopped lamb in a medium bowl. Add the onion, carrot and rosemary.
3. Pour in the gravy and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Set aside.
4. Place the puff pastry on a clean and dry surface (dust it with a little flour) and roll it out. Place it over the lamb mixture in the casserole dish. Cut away pastry that is hanging over and tuck the remaining pastry neatly into the dish.
5. Cut a slit in the middle of the pie and then brush the pastry with the egg wash.
6. Bake the pie in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Top tips:

1. Use an ice tray to freeze gravy – you can add it to stews later.
2. Use a damp cloth to cover your pastry so that it does not dry out.

ALSO READ: Will Mzansi be cutting Christmas roasts this year?

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