the residency.
RECIPES THANE PRINCE
PHOTOGRAPHS MAJA SMEND
FOOD STYLING LOTTIE COVELL
STYLING DAVINA PERKINS
THANE PRINCE
Food writer in residence No 5
I’ve always thought it no coincidence that January (almost) rhymes with penury. This can be a bleak time of year: the feasting is behind us, the bank balance not perhaps as balanced as one would wish, and there is the prospect of many more dark days looming before the lighter evenings arrive. Food now takes on an even more important role, keeping our spirits up as well as nourishing us – but can January food joy be achieved without causing further straining of our already overstretched purses? Yes. My way is to make clever use of leftovers.
I often prefer cooking with leftovers to starting from scratch. There’s wonderful freedom in a fridge forage. It encourages you to make glorious combinations you might not otherwise have considered: a spoonful or two of cranberry jelly? Stir that right into the mutton curry. Some roasted parsnips and carrots? Add some ready-made puff pastry and have a savoury take on tarte tatin.
There’s a sense of delight in the thrift and creativity. I make soups from yesterday’s vegetables; omelettes with leftover smoked fish; and croquettes with scraps of cheese, meat or mushrooms. The essential trick is to add a real kick of flavour and to make a dish that’s very different from the original one. Wrap the last of the crystallised fruit, finely chopped, in crepes, flame with brandy and serve with the remains of the custard for pudding. Layer up these same crepes with diced meats, spoon over leftover bread sauce, scatter with some grated cheese, then bake until the edges are crisp. Make unlikely salads using thinly shredded cabbage, sprouts or broccoli and dress with a zingy orange-miso dressing.
Chillies will wake up your winter palate, so add them finely chopped to whizzed-up bread crusts, garlic and herbs, then scatter this flavour bomb on baked meat and fish.
Use seasonal citrus too. Blood oranges, bergamots and limes are all at their best now and will add zing and interest to almost any recipe. I pan-fry citrus halves, cut-side down, until golden to give a more complex tang to the juice. Have fun. Eat well. Spring is coming.
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Potted ham
Potted ham – an oldie but a goodie
SERVES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 20 MIN, PLUS CHILLING
”Potting meat and fish is a great way of using up those unappetising ends of a joint, a ham or even a side of salmon, fresh or smoked. The butter acts as a seal and a preservative and the fat, spices and seasoning add texture and flavour, making something wonderful from not very much.”
MAKE AHEAD
Keep for up to a week, chilled. Bring to room temperature to serve.
• 275g leftover cooked ham (see recipe introduction)