Ode to Mum's Lefovers, a family tradition at Pumpjack & Piddlewick

When I was growing up, Thursday was leftovers night in our house. My Mum would reheat everything we hadn’t finished that week. I remember it fondly, as well as with a shudder.

It was a real mix of dishes. A mish mosh of flavours, too, but we had to eat it all. There couldn’t be any leftovers on left over night. It’s because of my Mum I appreciate a no waste principle, and I am really proud she instilled that in me.

Different Methods

I was once extremely lucky to have worked as a chef in a vegetarian inn in North Carolina. That’s not something you get to say every day. But my memories were stirred as I contemplated making my dinners this week.

I am a recipe lover. Thinking on it as mini bouts of learning from others. Or, at the least, hoping for moments of inspiration. But I also have learned the art of simply purchasing what appeals and then creating a recipe in my head. Or even better, perusing my vegetable garden to see what is ready to eat.

Empty Fridge Conundrum

And then there are the nights when one is confronted with a nearly empty fridge and must concoct a meal. Neither the ingredients you want are there or enough ingredients to fulfil a recipe. Luckily for me, and hence the memory jogging, at the vegetarian inn I was taught well how to work with what I had.

The nearest shop was 50 miles away, so we only shopped once, maybe twice a week. We couldn’t just nip out and buy what was missing if we forgot or ran out of something. I learned to substitute, re-think and most importantly look in the fridge and determine what I could make. It wasn’t about what I couldn’t do, but what I could.

Leftover

So last night I was facing the leftovers of a chicken leg, a half jar of tomato sauce, a half container of crème fraiche (sour cream for my American friends) a partial bag of frozen peas and another of frozen spinach.

The result? Marinated cumin and coriander roast chicken on a bed of tomato peas rice with sautéed spinach in a garlic crème fraiche sauce. It was one of the best meals I had ever made. Just shows what you can do when confronted with nothing.

The Leftover Recipe

Should you be inclined, the recipe went something like this… I put a little oil in a flat bowl, added cumin and coriander, stir. Add the chicken leg and let it sit in the mixture to marinate. I put rice on the ready on my gas burner. (Note, I currently only have 1 gas burner ring as I renovate my kitchen, so everything has to be done one at a time. You of course, could do more at once.) In with the rice I added the frozen peas and the jar of tomato sauce. In other words, the sauce is part of the rice liquid and will concentrate down as the rice absorbs and cooks.

Once the rice was done, I set it aside, covered. Using a deep frying pan, with lid, I put the chicken, with the marinating oil, to sauté in the pan. Fried it a little on high to brown the skin, then lowered to let it cook through. Part way through it’s cooking I added a clove of garlic to the pan for additional flavouring, and then the creme fraiche. I left the chicken to cook, covered, on my lowest heat. (If there is not enough creme fraiche, add some water or wine to give just enough liquid that the chicken is not burning, but rather steaming in the mixture.)

Once done, I added the rice to the dish to heat through. And voila. A Leftovers recipe.