LIFESTYLE

Easy ways to put fresh spin on last night’s meal

9 July, 2022 . 0

Give last night’s dinner a whole new look with these creative and nutritious dishes — and give yourself a pat on the back for reducing your kitchen scraps, too.

Leftover Roast Chicken Pad Thai

Put your leftover roast chicken to good use with this healthy Thai meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

80g dried rice noodles
20ml olive oil
120g roast chicken, shredded or sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
handful of coriander (chop the stalks separately and put the leaves aside for topping)
½ carrot, peeled and cut into small slices (matchstick sized)
1 shallot, cut into 3cm lengths
40g snow peas, trimmed and halved
80g jar pad Thai paste
1 egg, lightly whisked
25g beansprouts
1 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts
lime wedges

Prepare the noodles as per the packet directions.

While the noodles are cooking, place a wok on your hob and heat until lightly smoking.

Add oil. Stir-fry the chicken until heated and remove, placing it in a bowl.

Add a little more oil to the wok if needed.

Add the garlic, coriander stalks, carrot, shallot and snow peas, stirring for 10 seconds.

Add the pad Thai paste and stir until combined.

Make a well in the centre, add the egg and fry for a minute until the egg is cooked.

Add the noodles and chicken.

Serve, adding coriander leaves, raw beansprouts and peanuts as required. Squeeze some lime over the dish before serving.

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Leftover Veg Spiral Tart

Serves 8

Doesn’t this look delicious? It’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables — just use whatever you have available for a wonderfully healthy meal.

The slices of veg need to be roughly the same size, so use a mandolin or peeler to keep the slices similar.

Ingredients

butter, for greasing
5 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250g butternut pumpkin, cubed in 1cm pieces
4 sage leaves
3 zucchini, finely sliced
3 carrots, finely sliced
3 eggplants, finely sliced
1 tbsp agave syrup
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 sheet shortcrust pastry that’s slightly larger than the tart tin

Preheat the oven to 200C. Grease a pastry dish or tart tin (around 22cm or suitable to the amount of vegetables you have).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan.

Cook the onion until it begins to soften then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the butternut pumpkin and sage along with a tablespoon of water. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes until soft.

Remove from the heat and mash until smooth.

Place the vegetable strips into a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus the agave syrup and chilli flakes, then toss until the vegetables are coated in the oil.

Place the pastry into the pie dish and trim the edges.

Spread the mash so that the pastry is evenly covered.

Make a “rose” spiral by taking a ribbon of zucchini, carrot and aubergine, and rolling until you’ve made a tight spiral.

Place this in the centre of the tart.

Place the vegetable ribbons around the rose, alternating the vegetables and creating a concentric circle. Brush some olive oil over the vegetable ribbons once you’ve finished.

Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes.