There was a piece in Times of Malta recently telling us that something like €1 in every €5 spent on food in this country is wasted and thrown away. That’s pretty awful, but it’s not as bad as in the UK, where a lot more is wasted than that and, if true, some of the facts shown on websites about food waste make horrifying reading.
They reckon the average family wastes food totalling £470 a year, and almost seven million tons of perfectly edible food is dumped every year. Fruit and vegetables and bread and bakery items account for most of the waste apparently, with potatoes, apples and sliced bread heading the list.
I’m afraid I am guilty, too. With just the two of us, there are often plenty of leftovers, particularly when I’m cooking recipes for these articles, but although I freeze as much as possible, there comes a time when my freezers are chock-a-block and in need of a turnout and that portion of soup or slice of a savoury pie I scrupulously saved six months ago (and forgot about) inevitably finds its way into the bin.
The thing I hate wasting most is bread and I do try to keep that to a minimum. I’d rather throw away a fillet steak than a slice of bread. I know that sounds potty, but half the world can’t afford fillet steak, whereas a little bread, or rice for that matter, can mean the difference between life and death to the millions who depend on such basics, and it’s wicked to waste them.
I don’t think any of us can put hand on heart and swear we haven’t thrown out some squashy tomatoes, shrivelled carrots, marrows that are past their prime, half a head of broccoli that has seen better days or a few potatoes that have started to sprout whiskers. Yet all of these, provided they are not totally beyond redemption, can be used in soup or omelettes.
Omelettes are great for using things up. An oven-baked capellini omelette, for example, is good for using up the end of a gammon joint, a couple of cooked and chopped sausages, some cooked chicken or a few slices of ham or streaky bacon that have reached their sell-by date.
I generally don’t have much of a problem with meat and cheese. Chicken goes into all sorts of things like curries, pasta or a risotto. Lamb and beef can be minced for a shepherd’s or cottage pie, rissoles or meatballs, and cold roast pork is delicious thinly sliced in a toasted sandwich with apple sauce. There are any number of variations for pies, pasties or flans, big or small – ham and mustard, chicken and mushroom or cheese and onion.
As for bread, there’s so much you can do with it, like good, old-fashioned bread pudding, sweet and savoury bread and butter puddings, charlottes and gorgeous English summer pudding, French toast and croque-monsieur and croutons, big and small, for soups or salads.
Slices of a stale Maltese loaf make the best garlic bread or bruschetta, nice for a snack or with a drink. I also have jars full of dried breadcrumbs which I keep adding to, although, apart from coating chicken and sprinkling them on top of things, I haven’t a clue as to what I’m going to do with them, but I’m sure I’ll find a use for them some time.
One thing’s for certain – I’m not throwing them away.
Apple Brown Betty
This simple old-fashioned American dessert is perfect for using up slightly stale wholemeal bread. It’s usually layered into the dish, apples-breadcrumbs-apples-breadcrumbs, but I don’t like soggy crumbs, so I put them on top like a crumble.
‘Danish peasant girl in a veil’ is the same (don’t ask me where they get these names from), but it has a layer of whipped cream between the apples and crumbs and is sprinkled with grated chocolate when it’s cold.
(Serves 4)
1kg Granny Smith apples
2 tbsps sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon or a good pinch of ground cloves
100g breadcrumbs made from wholemeal bread
2 heaped tbsps Demerara sugar
50g butter or margarine, melted
Peel, core and slice the apples into a pan. Add the sugar and two tablespoons of water and simmer the apples until they are tender. Stir in the cinnamon or cloves and let them cool.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Butter a shallow baking dish and spread in the apples. Put the breadcrumbs into a bowl and stir in the Demerara sugar. Pour over the melted butter and mix well to make sure the crumbs are all evenly coated.
Sprinkle the crumbs on to the apples and gently pat them down, then bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the topping is crisp and brown.
Serve with whipped cream, custard or ice cream.
Creamy lentil and vegetable soup with bruschetta
This is good for using up odds and ends of vegetables left over at the end of the week. Served with some cheesy bruschetta, it makes a very filling supper.
(Serves 4)
100g lentils
Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 large carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 large potato, diced
Salt and pepper
600ml vegetable stock
3 broccoli sprigs, cut into small florets
80g frozen peas
1 tbsp chopped parsley
100ml cream, mixed with 1 tbsp cornflour
4 large slices Maltese bread
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
60g grated mozzarella cheese
Rinse the lentils and put them in a pan. Cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until they are tender but still hold their shape.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large pan and fry the onion and celery until just starting to soften. Add the carrots and potato and give it all a good stir, then season well with salt and pepper.
Put the lid on and cook gently over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the stock, bring to the boil, lower the heat again and simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender. Stir in the broccoli, peas and parsley and cook for another five minutes.
Drain the lentils, add them to the pan with the cream and cook for two more minutes, then taste and season as necessary.
Halve and toast the slices of bread, brush them lightly with oil and divide the tomato slices between them. Sprinkle with mozzarella and grill until bubbling.
Ladle the soup into warm bowls and serve with the bruschetta.
Oven-baked capellini omelette
(Serves 4)
30g butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
150g capellini or spaghettini
120g cooked gammon or ham, chopped
6 eggs
200ml crème fraîche or cream
1 tbsp chopped parsley, plus extra for serving
Salt and black pepper
3 large tomatoes, skinned and sliced
60g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
Melt the butter in a large ovenproof frying pan, add the onion and fry until the onion is starting to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute more.
Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. Drain and add it to the onion in the frying pan, together with the ham or gammon, and toss it all together.
Beat the eggs with the crème fraîche, stir in the parsley and season well with plenty of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then pour the eggs over the pasta and arrange the sliced tomatoes on top.
Scatter over the cheese and bake for about 20 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley and serve cut into wedges.
Chicken and mushroom pasties
(Makes six pasties)
250g plain flour
Salt and pepper
125g butter
1 large egg, beaten
20g butter
1 tbsp flour
Milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
100g mushrooms, chopped
Handful frozen peas
200g cooked chicken, diced
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsps cream
Extra beaten egg for glazing
Sift the flour and a good seasoning of salt and pepper into a bowl and rub in the butter.
Stir in enough of the beaten egg to make a soft but not sticky dough, adding a little iced water if necessary. Knead lightly, wrap in clingfilm and chill for half an hour.
Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the flour and cook for two minutes, then stir in enough milk to make a very thick white sauce. Season with salt and pepper, cover and leave to one side.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Heat the oil in another pan and gently fry the onion until soft.
Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook until they start to wilt, then transfer the mixture to the white sauce, together with the peas, chicken and parsley. Mix well and stir in the cream. Taste and season as necessary.
Cut the pastry into six pieces and roll each one to a round, approximately 16 centimetres in diameter. Divide the chicken mixture between the rounds, putting it slightly to one side.
Brush round the edges with beaten egg, fold the pastry over to make a half moon and seal the edges well. Put the pasties on to a baking tray, brush them with beaten egg, make small holes in the top for the steam to escape and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. These are nice served with a mushroom sauce.