Lovely Leftovers!
- Taz
- Jun 4, 2018
- 2 min read
I really hate wasting good food and I get quite cross with myself if I don't get around to using all the food in my fridge and it goes off and I have to chuck it out. I'm mostly pretty good with using all my veg and have often made what I call floppy veg soup, which is basically all the less than fresh veg left in the fridge before I do the next grocery shop. It usually has a few floppy carrots, at least three broccoli or cauliflower stalks and the odd sprig of herbs and whatever else is hanging around in there. I've also added apples and pears in the past too. It always makes lovely soup and I have twice been asked for the recipe for it and have been unable to oblige due to the fact I could not remember what random leftovers were used. Overripe tomatoes are another favourite of mine and makes the tastiest pasta or pizza sauces.
One thing that I recently discovered was the tasty oil leftover from a jar of sundried tomatoes. I used some of it to roast some potatoes and the result was absolutely delicious. I also added it to my salad dressing with a bit of balsamic vinegar and again it was a huge success.
I quite often have fresh herbs leftover in the fridge and mostly I chop them up and freeze them in ice cube trays or use them in soup. This last week however, I had bought quite a lot of herbs as I was trying out some new recipes and sadly my own homegrown herbs did not have the quantity or variety that I needed so I had a huge amount leftover and my freezer was a little crowded, so there was no room to freeze them. I did a little bit of browsing online to try and find something to do with all the herbs that had other ingredients that I already had to hand and I came across this little gem.
So, from that list I chose to make a mixed herb pesto because I had loads of olive oil and a packet of pine nuts and a bit of parmesan cheese. The result was amazing. I used basil, coriander and parsley. It made quite a bit and so I used it in pasta and added a bit to some salad dressing. I also smeared it on chicken breast and salmon and roasted them. Each time I was completely blown away by the lovely herby taste of the mixture of herbs. This is definitely something I will be making again.
Leftover Herb Pesto
1/4 cup nuts, such as pine nuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or macadamia nuts, toasted and chopped.
1 clove garlic, crushed or chopped
3 cups packed mixed herb leaves, such as basil, tarragon, cilantro, and parsley.
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Toast nuts until golden brown and then cool. Whizz everything in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Well, thats all from me, I hope you get some good tips from this post and please feel free to email me with your recipes and ideas!
