TRANSFORM LEFTOVER SALAD INTO MOUTHWATERING FRIED RICE AND/OR FLAVOUR-PACKED STOCK, thrifty, uses up leftovers, healthy

Waste not, want not...

 Leftover salad materials add colour and texture to Fried Rice

67goingon50 is used to cooking salad ingredients  -- Asian chefs often incorporate them in stir fries and turn them into garnishes in soups.  (Try lean pork and cucumber, Art of Stir Fry)  

This post's two recipes are  great clean-out-the-salad-drawer dishes, essential in these ultra-budget-conscious, swap-ingredients-in-and-out tumultuous times.  

They're also Triple Duty, suitable for plant, fish or meat diners.

1.  LEFTOVER SALAD VEG FRIED RICE (See The Art of Stir Fry)

As a means of using up some of the things in your fridge, this recipe is ace.  Tasty as all get out, any leftover cooked meat or fish, cooked veg and salad veg can be used.  Cubed firm-set tofu, plain or spiced, is also good. 

Don't be afraid to stir-fry cucumber, radish or tomatoes -- they add a wonderful edge and help moisten rice which can be a little dry.

Cost: max £2.00'ish (2023)
Feeds: 1-2

Ingred:
   1/2 mug diced raw cucumber
   1/4 mug sliced radish
   5-6 thickly sliced mushrooms   
   at least one heaping mugful of cold cooked rice  
   1-2 med tomato, seeds and all, diced, sprayed lightly with olive oil and lightly salted
   1 tsp grated fresh ginger
   1 tsp grated garlic  
   at least half a mugful of cold cooked diced meat OR flaked fish OR firm tofu (marinade plain tofu in a 1-1 mix of soy sauce and sherry/wine/grape juice for 20 mins)
    Oyster Sauce or Reduced Salt Soy Sauce (used sparingly)

Optional Garnish: 

fried eggs 

OR 1 well beaten egg, fried and cut into strips

Method:

1. Stir fry cucumber, radish & mushrooms over high heat in a pan lightly sprayed with groundnut (peanut) or other light veg oil for 1-2 mins
2. Add rice, tomato, ginger & garlic.  Stir quickly; add protein.
3. Reduce heat to med-high, cover pan and allow to steam gently for a couple of minutes or until heated through.
4. Add a scant tablespoon of oyster or soy sauce; stir through rice mixture.
5. Taste for seasoning.  Add pepper but only a little salt.
6. If not using other protein, topped with one fried egg per person or strips of a cooked omelette 
7. Serve.

Broth Cup

2.  QUICK VEGETABLE STOCK

Salad veg that is off its best and even a bit bruised is perfect for vegetarian stock.   67 originally intended to use the veg to add to and intensif classic veg stock.  But after just half an hour of cooking, the salad veg produced stock sweet and deeply flavoured enough to stand on its own.   

Costs: little
Feeds: depends on how much salad & veg you have

Ingred:
    1-2 generous mugs of any or all of: lettuce, cucumber, mushrooms, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, celery and any other raw veg except beets
   1 large onion
   1-2 small chillis, seeds & membrane removed (opt)
   4-5 cloves garlic, grated (you won't taste them)
   1 generous tbsp fresh ginger, peeled & grated, or 3/4 tsp dried
   1 med-large potato (opt)
   handful fresh herbs including parsley or thyme, or 1 tbsp dried
   1 bay leaf
   enough water to cover veg by at least 2 inches

  
Method:

FROM-SCRATCH STOVETOP SPANISH TORTILLA FOR SMALL HOUSEHOLDS: vegetarian, wallet/diet-friendly, easy

Authentic Spanish & Onion Omelette for Small Households 

updated  October 2024 

Small Household's Spanish Potato Tortilla 

with leftover bell peppers in vinaigrette & cooked mushrooms

Unlike 67's Tortilla ESpagnol: Cheats version, this delicious Spanish savoury omelette is designed for small households.  

It's wallet-friendly and easily cooked on top of the stove - no oven necessary.

It's just the right size for 2 or even 3.  It's satisfying and not too calorific; smells and tastes of hot sunshine and Mediterranean skies.

I promise you, this home cooked version is much more tasty than anything found in the shops.  The method of prep - which can be partially or fully completed the night before - makes it an easy-peasy dish.

The recipe calls for a reasonable amount of olive oil but it is unsaturated.  Dieters if worried could wait for a Blow-out day for this treat or restrict portions. 

In Spanish tavernas, onions are cooked in advance and chips are deep-friend to order before being mixed into beaten eggs.  The cheat's version of this dish involves chips from the local chippie instead of fresh potatoes; the tortilla is baked instead of fried, freeing up time and energy.

For the fodmap-phobic, leave out the onions.


Feeds: 2-3 
Costs: min £2.50

You'll need a 6-7 in/15-18inch deepish rounded frying pan

Ingred:
1 small brown onion, finely chopped (opt). (If concerned about fodmaps, see Tips below) 

olive oil 

250gm/9oz new potatoes, cooked (OR 1 portion chips from your local chippie, or a good sized mug oven chips, defrosted) 
4 large eggs 

a small handful of any other cooked veg: mushrooms, peppers (opt)
olive oil (the best you can afford)
1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper 


Method

SKINNIER CARROT & CASHEW DIP, vegetarian, wallet friendly, easy, small households

If you didn't try this ambrosial dish during the Christmas season, try it now; you will be stunned...

original post 2019; updated 3/25

Skinnier Carrot, Cashew & Date Spread with Potato Foccacia 

Middle Eastern Cookbook author Bethany Kehdy's original recipe for Carrot & Cashew Moutabel - a dip with tahini but no chickpeas -  was a surprise for the blogger. 

I first had it many years ago in America and then forgot about it.  

Rediscovering the recipe was a delight because the dip is extraordinary: slightly sweet, crunchy, incredibly more-ish and with unique mind-boggling flavours.  It's also vegetarian with a vegan option, fairly wallet-friendly and easy to prepare -- godsends at this time of year.

8

But it is extremely rich, with masses of butter.

67goingon50 adapted the recipe to cut cholesterol and to make it a 'less than a meal, more than a snack' dish for a small household.

Cost: £'3ish (3/2025)
Serves: 2 with bread and/or vegetable crudités or more as an appetiser

Ingreds:

Base    
    250gm/9 oz carrots, pref organic, roughly chopped
    
    1/4 tsp caraway seeds
    1.5 tablespoons tahini
    juice & zest of half a lemon
    

Topping
    min 15gr - max 25gm(min 1/2oz-max scant oz) dairy or vegan butter or coconut oil
    22.5gm/3/4oz unsalted cashews
    30gm/generous 1oz finely chopped best dates*
    good pinch cinnamon
    1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Serve with: pitta or flatbread, raw veg like peppers, cauliflower, celery

Method: