Fruit
Leftover fruit can be used for a variety of dishes. Blackening bananas are ideal for baking; bumped and bruised apples and pears make wonderful pies and tarts; and even the most sorry-looking fruits can be whizzed into healthy juices. Fruit is best used in season and I often find myself with a glut of fruits like strawberries from the garden or blackberries from the hedgerows close to my house. They make great additions to seasonal desserts and are fantastic in jams. I also freeze them for smoothies: brush off any dirt or give them a quick rinse and let them dry before storing in resealable freezer bags. There’s no better kick-start to the day than a handful of frozen berries blitzed with a banana and apple juice in a refreshing smoothie.
Vegetables
Don’t disregard those seemingly lifeless vegetables at the bottom of the fridge: they can be transformed into something beautiful and my first instinct is always to make soup. With a good base of onions and a couple of carrots, you have the beginnings of a warming and worthwhile soup.
The more you cook on a regular basis, the less you need to follow recipes as strictly as before. At this point, you can start putting that kitchen intuition to work and realise that if you are making a bolognaise sauce, for example, you could of course add in a finely chopped carrot, to make use of it. Or use a shallot instead of an onion, or vice versa. The point is to not let those veggies go to waste, thereby saving yourself money.
Meat
Leftover meat can be used in so many different dishes and really is one of the most versatile and handy ingredients. Leftover chicken, beef, lamb and more can help make a meal out of a frittata, salad, pie or stir-fry.
SLOW-COOKED MEALS, SOUPS & STEWS
Vietnamese Poached Chicken Noodle Soup
Angie’s Skehan Family Irish Stew
Baked Smoked Haddock & Potatoes
Slow-Cooked Steak & Guinness Pie
Beef Skirt Goulash with Paprika Spiced Dumplings
Uncle Ferg’s Cowboy Franks & Beans
Roasted Squash, Coconut & Chilli Soup
NO1
While I love the simplicity of a super-quick pasta dish or an easy Asian stir-fry, my favourite type of cooking takes place on the weekends when I have time to spare. It usually comes in the form of a big, hefty pot, blipping away on the hob or slowly baking in the oven. The result is tender meat in a rich, dark sauce that has benefited from the love and care you put in at the start and its long, slow cooking time.
Soups and stews will always be what I turn to when in search of comfort. It all started when I was very young and first tried Irish stew on a cold and cosy winter’s day, when the heat from the kitchen had made all the windows fog up. Many of the soups in this chapter have a bit of substance to them, using grains and pulses to bulk them out, so as my granddad would say, ‘there’s a bit of eatin’ and drinkin’ in them’!
The true beauty and cleverness of this particular type of cooking, as any good cook will know, is that you can transform the most inexpensive cuts of meat or unassuming ingredients into something fairly spectacular with very little work. Growing up, I was always amazed at my mom’s ability to feed a crowd with ease. Little did I know back then that the real secret to it was the preparation she’d done in advance, which made things run so smoothly. The star of most of her meals was in the oven well before dinner time, slowly cooking away, leaving only side dishes to worry about before guests arrived. I was always drafted in to serve up, but I didn’t mind – I was happy to enter into a bit of child labour in exchange for some trade secrets.
Most of the cuts of meat I have included in this chapter should only be cooked slowly and gently until they are tender and moist. If you aren’t familiar with cuts like shoulder of pork, ham hock, pork belly, beef skirt or chuck steak, don’t be put off: these recipes make them really worth trying and will result in truly delicious dinners. Some of these cuts of meat are pricier than others, but all are good value and will feed a large number of people. The dishes are satisfying and filling, so a little goes a long way.
VIETNAMESE POACHED CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
The key to any chicken soup is the broth, and this Vietnamese-inspired Pho Ga chicken noodle soup is no different. Charring the ginger and onion does sound rather an unnecessary undertaking, but it’s this step, along with the addition of toasted spices, that makes it a beautifully rich and aromatic broth. Before you place the chicken in the pot to boil, make sure to expose some of the bones by partially cutting the wings with sharp scissors; this makes for an excellent flavour. Slurping is a completely necessary part of devouring this soup!
SERVES 6–8
1 large onion, peeled and sliced in half
2 large, thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced in half
4 cloves
2 star anise
3 tbsp coriander seeds