Leftovers Menu: Lots of Recipes, from Appetizers to Desserts

- food waste They originate at the table. With the now mechanical act of throwing leftover food in the trash, even when it's perfectly edible. And they can die at the table, if only we choose a few dishes to prepare on an anti-waste menu. Yet sometimes it takes very little to avoid waste: for example, buy only the necessary foods and reuse leftovers like our grandmothers did who didn't waste even a crumb of leftover food during meals, but rather reused it to prepare many wholesome and recycled recipes. And precisely to demonstrate how easy it is to transform leftovers into many new tasty recipes and reuse them to prepare a complete menu from appetizer to dessert, Coldiretti Lombardia has drawn up a real anti-waste menuLet's see it together:

Appetizer: Frying “yesterday's bread”

Beat the eggs with fresh milk, salt, and pepper until smooth. Dip the sliced bread in the mixture for a few minutes, then fry the slices in hot oil. After a few minutes, serve warm with a garnish of your choice.

First course: pancotto

Soak the stale bread in soup water for a couple of hours, tear it into pieces with a fork, and once cool, place it in a large saucepan with 30 grams of butter, a little oil, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently and adding a little broth. Cook for 25 minutes and serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

First course: Sautéed risotto

It's made with leftover yellow risotto: place the desired amount on a sheet of waxed paper and then flatten it with your hands to create a patty. Heat a little butter in a pan and then add the patty. Fry over medium heat for at least 5 minutes until the rice turns reddish, then place a lid (or plate) over the pan and flip the whole thing over. Fry for another 5 minutes on the other side, until golden brown. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Second dish: Spaghetti “back”

Reuse leftover spaghetti to make a tasty frittata: take 2 eggs, milk, flour, and a handful of chopped parsley, mix everything well, and fry in a large pan with oil over high heat.

Second dish: Mondeghili

Chop up about 300 grams of leftover boiled or braised meat, add 1 egg, the crumb of a bread roll (soaked in milk and squeezed well), parsley, the yellow zest of half a lemon, and a pinch of nutmeg. Mix everything together, shape into balls, flatten them slightly, flour them, and fry gently until golden brown. For a lighter cooking result, bake.

Contour: Yellow polenta flowers

Arrange the leftover polenta, cut into slices, in a buttered baking dish, cover it with layers of mozzarella or fontina, add a little tomato sauce, a few pieces of anchovy fillet, a pinch of oregano and salt and finally bake for about 15 minutes.

Fruit: Macedonia

Boil some water and dissolve a few spoonfuls of jam in it, let it cool and use it to "dress" the already chopped fruit.

Sweet: Charlotte Milanese style

Place 800 grams of Rennet apples, cut into wedges, in a saucepan with 130 grams of sugar, the grated zest of one lemon, and half a glass of white wine. Simmer until the apples are soft but firm. Once cooked, add 50 grams of raisins, soaked in warm water and squeezed dry, and 50 grams of chopped candied lemon zest. Mix a knob of butter with 20 grams of sugar and a little of the apple cooking liquid, then use the mixture to grease a round, high-sided baking pan. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with slices of stale bread, previously crusted. Fill the pan with the apple mixture, cover with additional bread slices, spread with more butter and sugar mixture, and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (340°F) for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with a little rum, and serve hot.

Anti-waste menu: from appetizer to dessert

Read also:

Want to see a selection of our news?