From the Tortoise to the Hare: Kale & Walnut Pilaf

The other day I made a pretty buff, even if time consuming, salad. This turned out to be not just delicious but highly economical, because not only did the salad do me several lunchworth's, it's leftover ingredients also informed this super-quick, super-nutritional pilaf.

This is just a quick one guys - because that's what this dish is - quick (the antithesis, you might therefore see it, to my time-consuming salad). The kale and walnuts were bought for the original salad - everything else was in my store cupboard, spice rack or fridge.

Kale & Walnut Pilaf 

Boil a saucepan and put in your desired quantity of brown rice - this usually takes about half an hour to cook; white rice is quicker if you really do want something speedy. Heat some oil in a pan, and add some mustard and cumin seeds. Once they start to pop, add your kale and let it wilt for a couple of minutes. Then add in a can of cannellini or butterbeans, the walnuts, some chopped coriander or any other herb you might have around, and three cloves of crushed garlic. Give that a bit of a mix before adding some dried chilli flakes. Drain your rice and mix it into your kale pan - add some celery salt, ground cumin, smoked paprika and ground turmeric. At this point, I cubed up some feta and stirred this in too - it melts a bit but that's not a bad thing. You're done - serve with some natural yoghurt dolloped on top for a spicy, aromatic and rewarding dish.

A journey to discovery: Green Harissa Leftovers Lasagne

The other week I made a Thai-style curry using a Green Harissa from Unique Foods; I don't think I emphasised how excited I was to discover this brand. I had gone into a Sainsbury's in central London for a VERY quick shop - I'd had a day that was super-long, super-stress, and the VT-BF had insisted I pick up a jar of pesto on the way home (so he could make his signature - pesto pasta). I was furious to find a complete absence of pesto as I just wanted to leave the shop and get home - and then I discovered a tiny section full of little, vibrant jars, filled with things that had glorious but natural colours: greens, reds, yellows, oranges. All of a sudden I forgot I was in Sainsbury's in London and was transported to the countries that Unique Foods seem to specialise in (seems to be predominantly Italy, but the harissa is from their Unique Arabia range). I felt like an artist who had been presented with some magical pots of paint, all unique in their own way and all with the ability to create an absolute work of art on their own.

Back to reality - I picked up the green harissa in an attempt to both salvage and re-introduce the need for that day's pesto. I was delighted with this pot, because I adore harissa - but a lot of the ones I find in the shops (I will make my own again soon) include the needless addition of my arch-enemy, Tomato, and so I'm frequently not able to use it. This green version was both safe and immensely exciting for me.

On the way to the till, I found a standard jar of pesto in the most stupid place. Transported back to my Londonny, don't-talk-to-me mood, I opted to take the pesto to give to the VT-BF to make his signature dish. I resolved to find something a bit more special to use my magical harissa for.

Obviously, the first thing I used it for was for my Thai curry, in experimental replacement of my usual, homemade paste. But I couldn't forget the original reason why I picked up and even discovered this jar - as a fiery replacement to  pesto. In my store cupboard, there were a load of lasagne sheets that have been chilling there for close to a year, which got me thinking. I love finding new ways to twist lasagnes, as they are so classicly made with tomato sauce and often meat too - two ways to completely push me away from a dish. And that is how my tale of epic discovery lead to my...

Green Harissa Leftovers Lasagne

Everything in this dish was already in my store cupboard or leftover from something else - except the cabbage. I had to buy this fresh but am thinking I can still classify it as one of my 'leftovers' inventions, as I used the other half to make a really nice stir-fry the next day, so it was a completely economical, no-waste purchase.

The herbs, garlic and obviously the harissa were from my Thai curry, I had the mascarpone in the fridge from picking it up in a 3 for 2 deal, and everything else was from the store cupboard. You should feel very free to replace the herbs with whatever you have a round, the beans with whatever happens to be sitting in your cupboard, and the cheese with a ricotta, cream or even sour cream if that's what you happen to have in the fridge at the time. It's always about making your current situation work!

1) Fry the onion gently in a little olive oil, then add the cabbage, shredded. Stir a bit and let it wilt down slightly - about 5 mins.

2) Add the garlic, beans and three quarters of the herbs to the mix. Pour over a little white wine vinegar - enough to stop the ingredients from sticking, and a bit more if you love white wine vinegar. Season as you like - white pepper is great in this.

3). Make the sauce. Very carefully, heat the mascarpone in a small saucepan, and add in the harissa. Mix well, and allow to heat very gently. No boiling!

4) At the bottom of a heatproof dish, organise your first layer of lasagne sheets. Depending on your dish, you may have to adjust the quantities slightly. Spread half of your cabbage mix over the top and try to flatten it as best you can. Then spoon over a third of your sauce, followed by a third of the remaining herbs. If you're going with the hard cheese (and let's face it, most of us will), give your first grating over the top of the sauce. Layer two is exactly the same - lasagne sheets, cabbage, sauce, herbs, cheese. Layer three is just lasagne sheets, sauce, herbs, cheese - but you probably guessed that already.

5) Put in the oven for half an hour on about 180 Fan. Wait for it to go mischievously bubbly and brown, then tuck in and savour.

I'm always a bit reluctant to use tiny, precious jars of stuff. It feels like a huge responsibility to decide what to use something on if you only have a little bit to last you, but eventually it's essential to bite the bullet or the precious jar will go to waste and become very depressed in your store cupboard or fridge. I'm glad the bullet was bit in regards to using my green harissa on this lasagne. It was spicy, very refreshing and oozed not just cheese but the satisfaction of an experiment gone right - as well as a bit of an 'in your face' to traditional, tomato based lasagnes. Writing this now, I would say it was a bit of a self-esteem boost, as well as a moreish and wholesome summer dinner. I recommend exploring the hidden depths of Sainsbury's (and Waitrose apparently) and making your own fortunate discoveries.

Served: Three
Took: About 20mins prep and cooking, and 30mins in the oven
Things that went wrong: Has anyone ever seen circular lasagne sheets? I have not. It's therefore pretty hard stuffing a circular dish with rectangular sheets (this can be resolved by not breaking your beautiful rectangular dish, which is what I may have done)

After [Potato] Parties

I thought I'd quickly share how I used my leftover ingredients from last week's tomatoless Patatas Bravas. Waste not want not is one of my most hashtaggable ethics (or at least the 'waste not' part. I usually still end up wanting...).

Sunday: Potato Party

I simply do not know the name for this dish, but I felt my potatoes were having a bit of a party by getting together with some colourful store cupboard ingredients, all in one wild wok.

Taking last night's leftover Patatas Bravas, of which there was still two portions, I fried in a wok with a little oil. After they started to warm I added green beans (I happened to have some in the fridge), a tin of chickpeas, and some pickled cabbage - I allowed the vinegar in the jar to jump into the wok as well. All fried and heated through, I put into two bowls and topped with grated smoked cheese and chopped chives, which I still had in plentiful amounts from Patatas night. A wonderful and filling -  if eclectic - dinner which was ready in five minutes!

Monday: Stuffed Pesto Peppers

I can often be found making some variation of a pesto stuffed pepper, and seeing as I had an abundance of basil and peppers from Friday night, it seemed like the time called on me again.

In the cupboard I had a bag of Merchant Gourmet Mixed Grains which are great - lots of nutrients, quite proteiny (especially for us veggies) and can be used in so many ways. In this case they were subject to a good pesto-ing from me. My homemade pesto is not a full, thick sauce that you might find in a jar, as I find you need one basil tree and a whole bottle of oil to accomplish this. It's something I usually use to fry things in - gnocchi or halloumi, for example - and in this case served a good mixer for my grains. I tore two handfuls of basil, crushed 3 small garlic gloves, grated some parmesan and used about 4 tbsp olive oil before blitzing up and then stirring into the Mixed Grains. I also mixed a tin of chickpeas into the grains to bulk out and add more flavour - but in hindsight I would have reserved and mixed them up into a homemade hummous to serve on the side. You can decide what works best for you!

I cut the peppers in half and spooned in the pesto grain mixture, then whacked in the pre-heated oven at 200C. After about 20 mins, I took the peppers out and gave each a topping of delicious Cambozola (when I bought the cheese for the original Patatas, it was 3 for 2 on all cheeses at Tesco, much to the delight of the part of my brain that's made purely of dairy). I popped them back in for about 5 minutes (ovens vary - mine works very fiercely and quickly), and served with a drizzling of balsamic.

Three tasty dinners, all of pretty sufficient variation. These two were very quick to make, so I'd suggest going for the Patatas Bravas on the weekend and taking on these two when you get home from work and don't want to do too much faffing in the kitchen.

And I still have plenty left over! I'll let you know what other parties they have as the week goes on.