That old favourite Kedgeree

Here's my version of that old favourite Kedgeree – together with a Rendang curry sauce. It's not compulsory to serve the curry sauce, it's personal choice – I prefer a little “sauce” with my dishes and it seemed the perfect symmetry to serve a curry sauce since they are both Asian in origin.

Kedgeree – the fastest ever

Serves 4

500g rice

400g smoked haddock

50g unsalted butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp coriander

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in half

half a lemon, cut into 4 wedges

small bunch of coriander, chopped for garnish

I'm using frozen mixed vegetable rice, microwave it – only 8 minutes – whenever you've time – set aside cool, cover and fridge ready for use later.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the onion, curry powder and coriander. Fry gently until soft. Add the rice and mix thoroughly.

Cook your smoked haddock – you can use fresh if you can get it – or frozen which takes 30 minutes to cook. Set aside until ready to use. Break the fish into small chunks and fold into the rice.

Place the eggs on top, then add the coriander and lemon wedges.

Serve with hot French bread – using part baked bread works well – you can pop it into the oven whilst your cooking the Kedgeree.

Rendang Sauce

100 ml coconut cream

50ml water

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)

1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat and

serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.

If you like to prep ahead :

cook the rice, cool and fridge

bake the fish, cool and fridge

chop and bag the onion

hard-boil the eggs – cool, peel, box and fridge

You don't have to prep ahead - except for hard boiling the eggs - it's whatever suits you – either way is quick and produces a mid week supper faster than the speed of light – that may be a slight exaggeration!

If there's one thing that drives me mad it's fantasy timings given in recipes and so to back up my mouth I set my timer, based on all the elements prepped ahead. The bread took 10 minutes to bake - whilst it did its thing, using a large frying pan, I melted the butter, added the onion, curry powder and coriander and cooked for 2 minutes until the onion was softened and the spices “cooked” to release their deliciousness. I added the cooked rice, fish and finished with the eggs.

Another old favourite – a reprise of the rummage

Now for the good bit …

Method and assembly – be creative!

Grease your baking tray.

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Using a large frying pan stir fry the chorizo, onions and peppers on a medium heat for 2/3 minutes, add the stock and then add the potatoes – set aside. Your stock needs to be melted gently in the same pan – it forms a jelly when it has set.

Scatter the chicken onto the tray and then the chorizo, onions, peppers and potatoes over the top. Cover evenly with the stock. Nestle the bunches of tomatoes on the top and scatter the black olives. Season with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with Panko and Parmesan.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve straight to the table – make sure you have a heat proof surface and non slip proof mats to stop the tray moving around.

Serve with any good fresh bread of your choice – Italian would make the most sense with the bowls of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil mixed together for extra dipping.

You'll notice that I've not mentioned additional garlic or herbs in the recipe – they are already there – in the slow cooked chicken and therefore in the strained stock but if you'd like to add more of either, go for it – I'd use garlic paste and either oregano or garlic Italian seasoning.

I love pulling ingredients out of the fridge, ready to assemble and go – in addition to which minimal fuss, maximum flavour and one tray to actually wash up – the remaining dishes are for the magic box – gets my vote every time!

Coming next a Kedgeree and a curry – the fast way

A Tickle Tray

A “Tickle Tray” because quite simply it tickles the taste buds!

This recipe is ideal – it doesn't require a massive amount of prep – just bits and pieces you can do a day or two in advance that can be fridged ready to pull out when you are ready.

It's inspired cooking all in one tray, a dive-in dish.

A Tickle Tray

You'll need a large baking tray which will be greased with either rapeseed or olive oil – measuring 43x31 cms.

Serves 4-6 depending on size of appetites

The chicken for the tray

1 slow cooked chicken – 1.5kg

1 chicken stock pot

2 tsps of garlic paste or 1 garlic stock pot

generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic

Italian seasoning

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and mix the stock pot with the garlic paste and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with the herbs. Switch your slow cooker to the low setting and leave it for 8 hours.

When the chicken has cooled remove from the slow cooker. Strip the chicken into large ish pieces, bag and fridge. Strain the stock, jug and fridge. I would suggest that you cook the chicken the day before you need it so that you can strip and strain. If you are slow cooking ahead then freeze the chicken and the stock. Remove from the freezer the day before you want to use and defrost in the fridge.

1kg cooked Charlotte potatoes, peeled and cut

into large dice – prep ahead then bag and fridge

250g diced chorizo – I buy it ready diced

2 medium red onions, sliced – prep, bag and fridge

mixed sweet peppers, de-seeded and sliced -

prep, bag and fridge – you can buy a punnet of

sweet mini peppers (190g) from Tesco at £1.25 -

orange, yellow and red

6 cherry tomatoes – or small bunches x however

many servings required

50g black olives, pitted and sliced – optional

easy to obtain in jars

100g each of Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese to

garnish

salt and black pepper

Bread of your choice to serve, with bowls of

balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil for extra dipping

When you're ready – now for the good bit!

Pandowdy

This is an American recipe - we have a similar pudding in the UK – a cobbler – here it's usually made with a scone mix as opposed to the batter used in the US version.

If you're a lover of deep dish apple pie, you'll like this!

Pandowdy

The apples

150g soft light brown sugar

25g plain flour

¼ tsp salt

250ml water

2 tsp cider vinegar

60ml black treacle

675g apples – I used Pink Lady, peeled, quartered

and cored – each quarter cut into eight pieces

½ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of ground nutmeg

60g unsalted butter

The topping

100g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder

¾ tsp salt

45g cold unsalted butter

180ml milk

Pre-heat the oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5.

Grease an ovenproof glass dish and set aside. I used a circular 3 litre dish – 27x23 cms, which serves 4.

The apples and the sauce

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the water, vinegar and black treacle and whisk. Continue whisking bringing the mixture to a boil until it thickens. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Tip your apples into the sauce and then into the greased dish. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and nutmeg and dot with the butter.

The topping

You'll need a medium size mixing bowl. Sift the flour, add the baking powder and the salt. Drop in the cold butter and “cut” the mixture. You can use a pastry cutter or two round bladed knives until the mixture is rubbed in. Add the milk – the mixture should be lumpy.

Using a small spoon drop the batter over the apples. It should be random and won't cover completely. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and then break through the topping with a fork, pressing it down into the apples. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Serve warm – with whatever you fancy – vanilla ice cream, pouring cream, clotted cream or even custard or your favourite combination of all four!

I hope the planning ideas give you food for thought!

Next some recipes that will hit the spot …

Turn a glut of apples into treasure trove

The most time consuming element of this recipe is peeling and quartering the apples but it's well worth it for the wonderful, yummy result!

Toffee Apples

but not as you think of them

6-8 large Cox's apples, peeled, quartered and each

quarter sliced into 4

115g/4oz unsalted butter

125g/4½oz soft dark brown sugar

1 medium orange, zest and juice

Place the apples, butter, soft dark brown sugar, orange zest and juice into a large frying pan and cook for 10 minutes until tender.

The recipe given will give you 1.5k/3.3lbs of toffee apples. I box up in smaller quantities – it's more economical and so no waste - you can pull out whatever you need. It's whatever suits you.

The world really is your lobster with the toffee apples :

You can serve hot or cold over ice cream or custard

You can use as a base for crumble

You can serve on top of waffles with ice cream or cream

You can serve as a filling in a crepé

My original use for these toffee apples is as a base for a tart tatin – it's on the blog if you'd like to check out the recipe on the blog – Sunday 18^th October 2015 Speed Sweet TATT.

Next up Pandowdy …

The apple ideas

The first is one of my favourites and one which has appeared on the blog previously and is worth repeating. It's perfect for the freezer.

There are loads of recipes out there for Dorset Apple Cake. The sample I bought was dark, rich, slightly and gooey but the glory was that you could see pieces of apple in the cake – you really have to eat this cake with a fork unless of course you enjoy licking your fingers!

This is another example of there's no real authentic recipe because everyone has their own. Add this, that and the other – who is to say which version is the right one?

I really wanted a cross between a cake and a pudding, if that makes sense – so that you could serve it with cream, custard, ice cream or clotted cream or all four

Here's my offering, tweaked as usual :

Dorset Apple Cake

225g cooking apples, peeled and chopped

slice an extra apple to decorate the top

juice of half a lemon – 1 tbsp

225g plain flour

1½ tsps baking powder

115g unsalted butter, diced

165g dark muscovado sugar – gives a dark

Chrismassy style cake or use light for a lighter

version – golden demerara too – use 50g of this

for the topping

1 egg beaten

2-3 tbsp of milk

½ tsp ground cinnamon

25g ground almonds

Preheat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4.

Grease and line a 7” round cake tin.

Toss the apple with the lemon juice and set aside. Sift the flour and baking powder together then rub in the butter until you get breadcrumbs then add the ground almonds.

Stir in 115g of the sugar, the apple and the egg, mix well, adding a drop of the milk at a time to make a soft doughy mix.

Transfer to your tin.

Finally, mix the reserved 50g of soft brown sugar, sliced apple and cinnamon and arrange on top of the cake mix.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

A perfect Autumn pudding!

Compote Collection

First the Blueberry Compote recipe, then more ideas using different combinations that I'm sure you'll find useful!

Blueberry Compote

250g blueberries – defrosted if frozen

100g caster sugar

juice of one small lemon

Pop the blueberries and the sugar into a medium sized saucepan and cook gently until the sugar melts and the mixture begins to thicken – add your lemon juice. This should take approximately 15 minutes. Stir occasionally taking care not to break up the fruit – this is a marathon not a sprint – be patient – it's only 15 minutes. If you must walk away from the stove then make sure you've got your timer around your neck.

When the mixture is cooked leave it to cool – then spoon into the clean jar you've got ready!

Enjoy the 15 minutes of therapy nurturing your compote!

Here's a strawberry version :

Strawberry compote

500g ripe strawberries, hulled

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. I'd suggest you divide in half and freeze one for a rainy day.

If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.

As you can see it's not a difficult recipe, hulling the berries, i.e. removing the green leaf on the top and the stalk below, takes a little time but it's worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife and cutting in a circular motion will do the job just as well.

You can leave the compote as is with visible berries or you can blitz it.

What's not to love, and finally ...

Cherry and raspberry compote

350g cherries, stoned

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

150g raspberries

Pour 4 tbsp of water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place the pan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until they have released some juices but are not overcooked.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill it well before serving.

Now for some recipe ideas using up the apples that everyone is giving away!

Speed sweets – Hodgepodge again!

Here's another quick and easy variation on a theme for you to try.

Lemon and Blueberry Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 lemon meringues, crushed

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

30g lemon curd – microwave on medium for

10 secs – stir and then the curd is ready to pour

1 tbsp blueberry compote

sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds to decorate

Before we go any further – a couple of pointers. The lemon meringues I found in Marks and Spencer – it's not compulsory – you can use the plain versions if they are difficult to find. As for the lemon curd you can use any good quality product but if you want to take it up a notch try Marks and Spencer's Sicilian – it's the best there is.

Finally, the toasted flaked almonds. I toasted them in the oven – 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 5 minutes. I set my timer a minute at a time – checked and gave the baking tray a shake - the colour of the almonds is up to you but don't forget them or you'll be really cross!

Construct as follows :

Meringues, crushed

add scoop of ice cream

drizzle the loosened lemon curd over the ice cream

add the blueberry compote

decorate with a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds

Just in case you want a recipe for the blueberry compote, it's up next.

Another easy assembly dessert option to include in your store cupboard arsenal!

Speed sweets … Hodgepodge take 2!

Never let it be said that I don't give you alternatives - here's another variation of Hodgepodge :

Cherry and Chocolate Hodgepodge

Serves 1

1 410g can of Black Cherry pie filling with

fruit separated from juices

3 meringue kisses, crushed

25g of chocolate – see below

As with the previous Hodgepodge recipe a glass bowl or sundae dish is perfect for this dessert.

Tip the cherries into a sieve and let the juices drip through – this will take a while since they are dense – it's worth the wait.

Assemble with the meringues, add a dessert spoon of cherries then add tiny pieces of chocolate of your choice – the list is endless but here's an idea or five :

plain chocolate drops

crushed Maltesers

small pieces of Rocky Road

bash a crunchy (in its wrapper – so convenient, no bits

other than where you want them to be!)

bash a flake (in its wrapper)

In the photos below I used tiny pieces of Rocky Road.

Add another dessert spoon of cherries. With the juices reserved add a drop of water to loosen – loose enough to be able to drizzle over the top of the cherries.

You'll have cherries and juices left over but I can't believe this is going to be a problem. You could either repeat the dessert or use as a topping over ice cream. If you want a grown-up version, add a drop of Kirsch to the juices but don't tell anyone I said so!

P.s. An optional extra – add a scoop of chocolate ice cream in between the cherries.

Hodgepodge again!

Speed sweets … a Hodgepodge

… aka a mess. I just love to be able to pull ingredients for a speed sweet straight from the store cupboard and freezer and serve a dessert worthy of the extra calories! Like I said a girl needs to be prepared - what follows is a series of recipe ideas and variations - the components of which can either be made ahead and frozen or can be part of your store cupboard.

Without further ado here's my most recent creation :

Hazelnut Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 meringue kisses, crushed

1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

A sprinkle of toasted, chopped hazelnuts – 25g approx

30g frozen raspberries – defrosted – do not sweeten

1 tbsp sticky toffee sauce – loosen in microwave for

15 secs on medium

Assembly

A glass bowl or sundae dish makes this

dessert stand out, layer as follows :

crushed kisses

scoop of ice cream

sprinkle of hazelnuts

raspberries but reserve the juices

drizzle of sticky toffee sauce

drizzle of raspberry juices

Add a final sprinkle of hazelnuts

Do I have your attention?!

A Croque, the jam and a wedge

Cooking doesn't have to be complicated – the simpler the better. Here's an example - recipes for a sandwich, with two sides.

The beauty of these recipes are that they are straight forward – the Croque can be made ahead, ready to fry whilst your wedges are in the oven.

I know the Croque is indulgent – it's meant to be – perfect for the weekend in front of your favourite film.

The Croque :

Croque Monsieur

4 slices of medium sliced wholemeal bread

2 tsp Dijon mustard

75g (3oz) Gruyere cheese (grated)

2 slices of ham or try 45g of cooked ham hock

if you can get it – omit the ham for the vegetarians

30g (1½oz) unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread.

Spread half the cheese on two slices of bread followed by the ham, remaining cheese on top. Sandwich together with the other two slices of bread.

Heat the butter in a frying pan until foaming – fry your Croque Monsieur for 1-2 minutes on each side. If your frying pan is suitable for the oven then pop in for 4-5 minutes. If not then transfer the Croque to a baking sheet.

If you haven't got or can't get hold of Gruyere then use Mature Cheddar instead – nothing is set in stone!

Adaptable for meat eaters and vegetarians too.

The jam :

Balsamic Onion Jam - 4 of everything!

4 medium brown onions, finely diced

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp soft dark brown sugar

1 garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)

1 tbsp unsalted butter – 15g-30g

as a guide my “tablespoon” was exactly that -

from the cutlery drawer

the large frying pan measures 29cms/11” in diameter

and is non-stick

Using a large frying pan, cook the onions in the butter over a medium/high heat, stirring constantly for 5-8 minutes until they are opaque. Add the vinegar and sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the onions are cooked down to a jam-like consistency for 20-25 minutes. Do not cover the pan at any stage.

The recipe will give you 300g of jam.

Cool and place in a sealed container or a jar with a tightly fitting lid and keep in the fridge.

Finally the wedges :

You can use Charlotte or any waxy potato for wedges. If in doubt check the instructions on the bag. King Edward potatoes are great too – crispy on the outside – fluffy on on the inside. Cut your wedges into similar sizes and place on a large baking tray, drizzle with rapeseed oil and pop into a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 – 20 minutes then shake and repeat. The more wedges you have the longer it will take for them to be crispy and brown. Tip into a bowl and sprinkle with a seasoning of your choice – Chinese 5 Spice, Chilli Flakes, or Classic Paprika & Onion, to name but three. Shake again and serve.

Phew!

Now for something sweet …

Soup's up!

This is deliberately a veggie soup – in the interests of balance – a rest from meat for the week.

Carrot, Coriander and Chickpea Soup

1lb/500g Charlotte potatoes, peeled and diced

l large onion, finely chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 stockpots, vegetable or chicken

1 litre of water

1 tsp mild curry powder

1 heaped tsp coriander

Salt and black pepper

Rapeseed oil

1 can 400g/240g drained weight can of chickpeas -

(14oz/8½oz) drained and shucked

(optional – see notes to follow)

with veggie dumplings

Soften onion and carrot in drop of rapeseed oil for approx 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add curry powder, coriander and black pepper, cook the spices with the onion and carrot for 2 minutes so that the flavours are released.

Add the stockpots, plus 500ml water and simmer until the pots have melted.

Add the diced potatoes and the remaining 500ml of water, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes until the carrot and potatoes are cooked. Taste, then add salt to personal taste.

At this point you can set aside the soup until you are ready to serve.

Before serving pop 3 ladles of soup into a food processor/liquidiser and blitz. Tip the thickened soup back into your remaining soup, add the chickpeas, heat and serve.

By blitzing a portion of the soup no artificial thickening is required. The potato is your thickener and the joy of using a variety like Charlotte is that those left in the soup retain their shape - together with the other veggies and the chickpeas it is definitely a soup of substance!

the notes

Without being too ridiculous try and keep your carrot, onion and potato a similar size so that they cook evenly.

Don't put potatoes in with the carrots, onion and oil – the starch that is released from the potatoes means that they will cement themselves to the bottom of your saucepan!

If you want to shuck your chickpeas i.e. remove the outer husk, have a look at the blog for Sunday 18^th March 2018 – Veggie Rendang – the shucking and the photos – The shucking stuff which gives you chapter, verse and photos.

The savoury equivalent to the “cherry on the top of the cake” is a dumpling. Vegetarian suet is out there!

the dumplings

100g/4oz self raising flour

50g/2oz vegetarian suet

pinch of salt – mixed together

Add 100ml cold water, gradually to mix

and form into balls – 4 large or 8 small

Bring your soup to a simmer then add the dumplings, cover and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

Then there's the Croque ...

Now for a salad – but not as you know it!

 

Warm smoked mackerel, beetroot and apple salad

Serves 2 – generous portions

350g new potatoes

2 tsp horseradish cream

100g sour cream

2 tbsp mayo

juice of 1 lemon

2 smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and

flaked (200g approx)

250g cooked beetroot, cut into small cubes

1 large eating apple, Cox, Pink Lady, Granny Smith

black pepper

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender - drain the potatoes and cut in half lengthways. Whilst the potatoes are cooking mix the horseradish cream, sour cream, mayo and lemon juice in a bowl. Season with black pepper.

Add the mix so that it covers the potatoes and place on a serving dish. Then add the flaked smoked mackerel. Add the beetroot and the apple to complete!

It might sound like an odd combination but it works.

If there is any left, box it, fridge it and lunch it next day!

Soup's up

The baked potato … and whilst I'm at it

Now I can show you how taking 5 minutes out of your day can produce a meal!

To recall …

If you have turned on the oven, fill it

Bake half a dozen jacket potatoes – they don't take up too much space if, for example, you're cooking a roast. Prick them and wrap in foil – bake for an hour – check – depending on the size they make take a little longer. Set them aside to cool and then bag and fridge.

This has got to be the quickest meal … you've prepped the coleslaw and all you have to do is add a dressing of choice. The jacket potatoes are cooked and so all that remains is for them to be zapped in the microwave and whilst that's happening you can unwrap the ham hock – hey presto!

It doesn't have to be ham hock, it can be anything you like salmon, tuna or chicken. There are loads of veggie options too.

You could scoop out the potato – be careful of your fingers – add cheese and pop back.

Here's another idea if you don't like ham hock :

Asian Spiced Salmon

Marinade

2 x 4oz Salmon fillets

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp powdered star anise or one star anise

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Mix together the marinade, pour over the salmon fillets, turning to coat thoroughly, cover and leave in fridge for an hour or so.

When you are ready to cook, pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 and cook for 15 minutes.

It's equally good hot or cold!

Then there's a salad ...

The basic raw slaw

Time is our greatest enemy – or rather lack of it - whether its a commute, long hours, collecting and ferrying children there's very little left to think about food and meals - here's my antidote which does require some prep but it's well worth the effort.

The basic raw slaw

It's much better to prep the slaw in separate food bags – it lasts longer.

How much you prep is up to you – as a guide :

110g white or red cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage – a “cheek”

use a paring knife – see hints and tips to follow

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler – see hints and tips to follow

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

salt and black pepper

Slice your cheek of cabbage as finely as you can using a sharp paring knife – bag, clip and fridge.

Julienne your carrot – bag, clip and fridge.

Spring onions are mild, you could use a Spanish onion if you prefer or a red version. You can get a sweet, mild variety too. Slice, bag, clip and fridge.

The ingredients are deliberately bagged separately – they keep fresh longer and carrots “bleed” into other veggies so unless you love orange cabbage I'd definitely recommend!

If you'd like to see a photo of “a cheek of cabbage” check out the Veggie label Saturday 15^th April 2017 – The Coleslaw Conundrum – the raw slaw principle – Coronation Slaw gives the photo.

There is an added advantage – if you like to eat sensibly say, during your working week, then making up a batch of raw slaw will be your best friend – so often we set out with the best of intentions - it's not as easy as it sounds when you're hungry and your resistance is low. The answer is to have your ingredients ready and waiting to assemble quickly.

You don't have to use mayo - you can use any dressing that takes your fancy with the cabbage, carrot and onion – last minute additions of a handful of sultanas or raisins, nuts, or cubes of apple would work well too.

If you want a dressing that is different and healthy too then have a look at this :

Pomegranate Dressing

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

juice of two limes

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

pinch of nigella seeds

1-2 tsps sumac

Mix all the ingredients together, preferably in a jug then

pour into a clean jar (with a lid!) and shake well

Now for the rest of the meal!

How about choosing roast pork for your Sunday roast?

It would be perfect for my next idea - choose a roast that's big enough to give you 500g of leftover pork – if the budget permits – if not you can use mince.

A stir fry makes the best and quickest use of your leftover roast so you'll need a wok!

San Choy Bow is Chinese and here's my useless bit of information - “sang choi” means lettuce in Cantonese.

Here goes :

San Choy Bow

Little Gem lettuce cups

(if Little Gem not available use Iceberg -

smaller inner leaves) – I would say 3 per person

depending on size of appetites

500g/1lb2oz leftover roast pork, shredded

1 garlic clove or garlic paste

1 red chilli, finely chopped

150g/5oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

6 spring onions, finely chopped

225g/8oz water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped

200g/7oz bean sprouts, chopped

Glug of rapeseed oil

3 tbsp hoisin sauce*

1 tbsp soy sauce*

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce*

1 tbsp dry sherry or Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)*

Wash your lettuce, pat dry ready to serve.

Combine the four ingredients marked * to make a sauce – this can be made ahead.

Over a high heat add the oil to your wok and cook the garlic and chilli for a minute. Add the mushrooms, onions, water chestnuts and bean sprouts until mixed through and sizzling followed by the shredded pork – 2/3 minutes.

Add the sauce mixture, stirring and sizzling until completely combined for a final 2/3 minutes.

Serve!

Slaw and jackets next …

Or there's an alternative

If tomato sauce isn't your thing – try this on for size!

Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo is traditionally served with pasta – however it's so good and tasty it lends itself to other dishes and particularly leftovers.

1 tbsp unsalted butter

200ml double cream

50g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan.

Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.

This sauce can be made ahead.

The above recipe would be sufficient for two servings – enough to coat 225g uncooked pasta. Traditionally there are no additions to Alfredo although I've had it served with petit pois. If you've never tried it I'd highly recommend this sauce. It's the only bowl of pasta I've ever finished.

This would be a treat – and so I didn't include it as part of the dish – however rules are made to be broken!

If you were going to cook a roast on Sunday how about roast pork?

Then there's the tomato sauce …

Here's a simple, tasty recipe for a home-made tomato sauce – I prefer to use sieved tomatoes but it's whatever floats your boat!

Tomato Sauce

500g sieved tomatoes or the equivalent in cans of chopped tomatoes

1 medium/large onion, chopped finely

garlic clove or tsp of minced garlic

1tbsp olive oil

knob of butter

vegetable stock pot and 250ml of boiling water

oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

Melt the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onion and fry gently until soft then add the garlic. Add the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning and black pepper. Then add your stock pot and boiling water so that it melts, add the tomatoes and sprinkle on the tsp of sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.

If you want to add extra depth you can add a tbsp of tomato paste. I would suggest that you taste your sauce before you simmer for 20 minutes. If you add paste then the simmering process will cook it out and its important that you do this - it tastes horrid if you don't. A lot depends on personal taste and how good your tomatoes are.

When you are ready for supper later in the day place the dish or tray containing the meatballs in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 and complete the cooking for 20/30 minutes – this time will vary depending on the sizes of the meatball – ensure that they are properly cooked. Whilst the meatballs are in the oven cook your spaghetti and warm up the tomato sauce.

Or there's an alternative ...

Sample menu recipes

The recipe that follows is easy and makes really tasty meatballs, together with a tomato sauce. All you'll have to do later on is cook the spaghetti. As a rough guide 450g of minced meat will give you sixteen meatballs.

Meatballs

450g minced beef, pork or turkey

*salt and black pepper

*garlic – either 2 tsps of paste or 2 cloves, crushed

*mixed herbs or garlic Italian seasoning – a generous sprinkle

*half a tsp of chilli

*heaped tbsp of tomato paste

*1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

Rapeseed or vegetable oil for shallow frying

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the remaining ingredients marked *, mix well. At this point your mixture may be too wet. If it is, sprinkle a little plain flour over the mixture and fold in gently.

Use a teaspoon as a measure and heaped with mixture, roll it between your hands and set aside on a board. When the meatballs are ready, heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry on a low heat, gently and carefully shaking the pan to ensure they are evenly coloured – use tongs if you are accident prone! Seal the meatballs in batches - 8 at a time and then transfer to an oven-proof dish or foil tray ready for later – cool, cover and fridge.

Then there's the tomato sauce … or an alternative

A sample menu …

… plan, shop, cook and eat.

“Sample” is the word, these are suggestions which may trigger meal ideas of your own!

The idea is to give you food for thought in planning what you're going to cook next week. If you have a plan then you can make your shopping list.

If you make the best use of your time when you're in the kitchen by part prepping in readiness from that plan then your evening meals will flow and be easy to pull together.

A sample menu

You've got the pie idea already but you don't have

to use the chicken in a pie – there's always a curry

Meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce

or there's an alternative

San Choy Bow

Baked jacket potatoes with ham hock and winter coleslaw

Smoked mackerel, beetroot and apple salad

Soup & dumplings

Croque Monsieur with slaw or

Balsamic Onion Jam and wedges

It's no good having a menu if you're not sure what's required so what follows are the recipes for each of the above and the beginnings of your shopping list.

Like I've said, non of this is set in stone, it's an illustration of how to plan!