The way food looks is always important, to me at least, but all the more so if you're using up leftovers. There's nothing more depressing than a pile of brown sludge. Or random bits of food plonked unceremoniously on a plate. (Better to eat it straight from the fridge, which at least has an indulgent frisson to it)
Doing even a minimum of chopping and slicing immediately makes leftovers look more appetising. As does - weirdly - putting them in a bowl (cuts down the washing up too!)
Here's a little salad I rustled up the other day from some leftover haricot beans with some chopped onion, red pepper, half a can of tuna and some chopped parsley - all except the tuna being leftovers. OK we're not talking about a culinary masterpiece here but it doesn't look too bad, does it?
I didn't even make a dressing - just drizzled over a bit of olive oil, a few drops of vinegar (hold your thumb half over the top of the bottle to control the flow), seasoned it with salt and pepper and tossed it together. Five minutes work, max.
Brilliant (and so easy) idea!
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking today that I should really stop buying lunch from Pret and instead make some (key word 'some') effort and prepare my lunch at home. I happen to have half a red pepper leftover from the weekend and plenty of onions, parsley (I'm attempting to grow my own Sainsbury's-bought plant)and beans. That's tomorrow's lunch sorted.
Good point, spanners - should have mentioned it would make a good packed lunch. Apart from the bowl, obviously. Just make it straight into a plastic box
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