Part of my cooking that I love is creating fun and enticing dishes from leftovers.
When my SIL visited recently from Boston, we cooked a BIG boneless leg of lamb roast. Sure we could have eaten it all in a few days, but I didn’t want either of us to spend her limited time together with just lamb. So, I chopped up the “leftover” piece and froze the chunks–including the juice.
I pulled out the package the other day and thought to make a stir fry. But somehow, that didn’t feel quite right for this meat. So I dragged out the big Creuset cast iron pot and began sautéing all sorts of veggies. I’ve shown many times now that caramelizing veggies in a heavy pot is what gives a soup or stew its rich, lovely flavor. A good bone broth also helps, but a broth was not available for this endeavor.
I used beef tallow for the fat and started chopping veggies: onion, carrots, little potatoes quartered, cauliflower, orange bell pepper, cabbage, and garlic. I start with the heftier veggies (onion, carrots, potatoes) and add the others as the first veggies start to wilt down really well. The cabbage and garlic goes in last. I threw in salt early on and some dried herbs from a common “oregano” mixture, some fresh rosemary from the pot on the back porch, and fresh mint from my developing herb garden. The mint would add a very quiet sweet tone to my stew. The cooked meat gets added when the mixture in the pot needs cooling as the caramelization is starting to get too dark.
Next, I sprinkled rice flour (you could use flour) on the mixture and stirred it in well before adding some water to cover the mixture. I brought the pot to a hard simmer on the top of the oven and then popped it into the oven (350 degrees and in the middle of the oven) and cooked it for 40 minutes–at which point the smell clearly told me it was happy and ready to come out.
I had a lovely lunch on the porch. And when I remembered I had some very thin and tender asparagus in the refrigerator, I cut it all up and added a handful to my bowl of still-hot stew.
The flavor of my stew was so rich.
Now these leftovers went into a large bowl in the refrigerator–from which I’ll dip out portions I want when needed. I don’t reheat the whole stew as it would get really soft and gummy. The cauliflower, in particular, will disappear into the broth. I like the texture I have here.
My tummy was so happy afterwards, and the fat in this stew carried me well into the evening hours with steady energy.
When I got hungry again, I heated more of my “leftover” stew–a smaller bowl this time as I wasn’t as hungry as I was at noon.
To me, creative leftovers often have more flavor than the first time around. And having the meat frozen until I want it is an “asset” that I like to have.
Again, I can and do vary the stew by adding other ingredients when I reheat some: cream/milk, cheese on top, leftover other cooked veggies, fresh veggies or herbs chopped fine (spring onions, raw sweet onions, bell peppers, parsley, etc.). YOU could add HOT spicy ingredients. Or, some sour cream or yogurt.
You are only limited by your imagination.
Go for it!
Louisa Enright's Blog 