12 quick and easy recipes Nottinghamshire Sustainable Cookery Book In Autumn 2012, the Love Food Hate Waste roadshow toured Nottinghamshire with free cookery demonstrations and recipe cards. The hundreds who attended loved the ideas given and were keen to share their own tips for avoiding food waste and recipes What about the environment? for using up leftovers. Thus the idea of the ‘Nottinghamshire In the UK we throw away 7.2 million tonnes sustainable cookery book’ was created. of food and drink from our homes each year. With the involvement of residents, the cookery book has Much of this ends up in landfill sites. extended the campaign into 2013 and the recipes will be cooked So is there anything practical that we can do up at a range of events planned for throughout the year. at home to enjoy the food we buy whilst doing our bit to cut how much we waste? How much do we How much money Thankfully there is and it starts with this waste in the UK? is wasted? cook book. The figures might surprise An average household you! Research done by can spend around Enjoy the recipes and if you’d like to learn more Wrap (Waste and Resources about Love Food Hate Waste and how Veolia Action Programme) show that Environmental Services and Nottinghamshire per year County Council are spreading this message, join around half of all the food we us at one of the events taking place this year. buy in the UK ends up being on food that never gets eaten! thrown away. See the website for dates and details: Whilst for a family with children, www.veolia.co.uk/nottinghamshire this amount can rise to around per year. Resident’s tip Kath’s top tips If your yoghurt is getting close to One tip is to never ever let bananas its sell by date and you won’t get rot. If they start to go a bit too around to eating it, then freeze brown, just peel them, chop them it. Put it into ice lolly moulds, up and freeze them. My kids like pop wooden lolly sticks into eating them frozen (plain or dipped Queen of Easy Green individual yoghurt pots, or pipe in yogurt and put back in the yoghurt dots onto a plate covered freezer until set), or simply whiz – Lyndsey Young: in baking parchment and give the the frozen bananas in the blender To help keep your potatoes fresher and frozen dots to kids as a healthy or food processor until they make edible for longer, store in a cool, dark place alternative to chocolate buttons. the most wonderfully decadent in a breathable sack or bag and pop in an smooth whipped ‘ice cream’ that apple. The apple will help prevent your Chicken tonight is fat-free and sugar-free. Add in potatoes from sprouting early When doing a roast chicken coconut, cocoa powder, berries or for Sunday lunch, I keep the any other flavour if you like. leftover chicken for one or both Katherine Harlow, Newark of these, depending on the size of the chicken: chicken curry and chicken and green pesto pasta. I also the boil up the chicken bones to make a tasty stock to which I add any leftover veg for a delicious and healthy vegetable soup. Zoe Holmes, Newark Bea Baked n Spicy lsa Parsnip Sa up “Cook up a true Nachos So authentic taste of • Makes roughly 32 nachos a traditional • Up to 16fl oz vegetable oil Mexican favourite.” • 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas, quartered • Salt, to taste By Johnny Putzai Butcher and chef from Sherwood Directions: Heat oil in a flat bottomed pan. Drop the tortilla triangles in Blend the beans, red pepper hot oil, 8 at a time. Fry, turning chips once or twice, until they Ingredients: and chilli flakes to your • 2 dsp baked beans stop sizzling and turn golden • 1-2 dsp chopped red pepper desired consistency with a brown, within roughly 2 • Pinch of red chilli flakes stick blender, and stir in the minutes. Remove with tongs • Pinch of salt and pepper remainder of the ingredients or a slotted spoon and drain • 1 tsp lime juice on a wire rack set over 4 • 1 tsp chopped coriander a shallow pan. Sprinkle with salt immediately. Ingredients: picy • 40g / 1½ oz butter S • 1 onion, chopped • 675g / 1½ lb parsnips, diced • 5ml / 1 tsp ground coriander rsnip • 2.5ml / ½ tsp ground cumin Pa • 2.5ml / ½ tsp ground turmeric • 1.5ml / ¼ tsp chilli powder p • 1.2 lites / 2 pints chicken stock ou • Salt and ground black pepper S • 150ml / ¼ pint single cream or yogurt ”A spicy twist on a classic dish.” Directions: 1. Melt butter in a large saucepan. 2. Fry the onion and parsnips gently for about 5 minutes. 3. Stir in the spices and cook for another minute. 4. Add the stock, season to taste with salt and pepper and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. 5. Cover with tight-fitting lid and simmer for 35-45 minutes, until the parsnips are tender. 6. Cool slightly, then place in a blender and purée until smooth. 7. Return soup to the pan, add the yogurt or cream and heat through gently over low heat. 5 Bubble and ef and Veg eak Be qu By Suzanne y S Troman-Green Fr From Mansfield Stir- ”This is a great leftover Ingredients: Directions: recipe that can • 1 red onion, finely chopped 1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the • 4 rashers streaky bacon, cut into onion for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the be made with any small pieces bacon and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. vegetable leftovers • 450g leftover mashed potato 2. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer from the Sunday lunch. • 300g leftover mixed cooked into a large bowl. Serve with a poached, vegetables - roast parsnips, 3. Add the mashed potato and cooked vegetables, fried or scrambled egg green beans, brussel sprouts, cheese, mix well and divide the mixture into cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, six portions. and crispy bacon or broccoli or peas, chopped into 4. Coat each in flour on both sides. with poached smoked small pieces 5. Put onto a greased baking tray and brush with • black pepper and salt haddock fillets or a little melted butter. Bake in a preheated oven grilled trout.” • 25g hard cheese, grated (200°C/400°F/ mark 6) for 25 minutes or fry on • 25g butter, melted both sides until golden brown. • Plain flour Freeze ahead 6 These bubble and squeak cakes also freeze brilliantly so if you don’t manage to eat them all you can enjoy them another day; simply freeze them at the end of step 2. f and Veg Bee ry Stir-F “This simple five ingredient recipe is a perfect choice when you have some leftover roast beef on hand.” Ingredients: Directions: • 1 tbsp olive oil 1. Heat olive oil in heavy skillet, add vegetables and • 16 oz pkg. frozen 1 tbsp. water. Stir, cover, and cook over a medium heat mixed vegetables for 3 minutes. • 1 tbsp water 2. Mix stir-fry sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add • 1 sachet or ¼ pint of to the skillet and stir to combine. Add beef and stir stir fry sauce again. • 2 tsp cornstarch 3. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5-8 minutes, • As much beef as stirring occasionally, until vegetables are you have left crisp-tender and beef is hot. 4. Serve with cooked rice or egg noodles. By James Colvin Roughly 4 servings 7 In West Bridgford Pea, Root d Sage an Chef pasties Rachel Green “This is a perfect summery dish, ideal for days out or for packing in children’s lunch boxes. It’s a great recipe for using up ‘bendy’ veg and for using home-grown herbs.” The key ingredient, frozen peas, are the all year round ‘waste-free’ veg, as you only use what you need, the rest goes back in the freezer. These pasties are fab for batch-cooking and freezing. By doing so you’ll always have a tasty treat at hand, without the fuss.” 8 www.rachel-green.co.uk Ingredients: • 250g butter, chilled and diced • 500g plain flour • Sea salt • 1 egg, beaten • 4 tbsp Iced water • 1 egg, to glaze For the filling: • 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks • 150g swede, peeled and cut into small chunks • 150g carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks Photo: Mike Powell - www.mikepowell.com • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil • 300g frozen peas, thawed • 16 sage leaves, roughly chopped • ½ onion, peeled and chopped • 2 tbsp cream cheese • Sea salt and black pepper Directions: 1. Rub the butter into the flour with a 3. Roll out each piece of dough on 4. Place the pasties on a baking pinch of salt using your fingertips, a lightly floured surface, until tray, glaze with egg and bake blend in the egg and 4 tablespoons large enough to make a round of for 10 minutes; reduce the oven of water to produce a firm dough. approximately 23cm across. Take a temperature to 170°C/Gas 4 and Divide the dough into 4, wrap in spoonful of the vegetable mixture cook for a further 30 minutes until cling film and chill for 30 minutes. and place in the centre of each round; golden. If cooking too quickly, turn leave a margin at the edge. Brush the the oven down slightly. For the filling; place the potato, swede 2. pastry around the edge with beaten and carrot onto a baking sheet, drizzle egg and carefully draw the edges with rapeseed oil and season with together to form a seam across the sea salt and black pepper and roast top, pinch together to seal.