The “Leftovers Transformation” Game

Meanwhile today in my kitchen:“Transforming leftovers” Maximum Level, That’s was the game.

I had some delicious dish from days before in my fridge, almost intact that (once again) at the moment I’ve cooked miss calculate the portions, or over estimate our appetite and I end up cooking more food that we can eat.

The thing is: I’m determined to not wasting food and to achieve that goal I have:

1. Learn to cook the exact amount of food
2. Or learn to use the leftovers.

Obviously the first option is the best, but I’m failing on that, so there is no other alternative than to get creative and establish the “Transformation leftovers game”.

Today I had 1 and half Cup of this lentil soup and 4 pieces of this Yuca With Mojo, that i cooked 2 days ago, have paired with “Congris Cubano“.

I was clear that making burgers was the best option for my yesterday’s lentils, but for the yuca was a little harder to find some sort of transformation, because they were already dressed with mojo.

But when I saw a crown of broccoli sitting on my fridge was a sort of enlightenment for me: A Vegan Broccoli cheddar soup!!! – I said. Yucas are starchy as potatoes, from them is made tapioca starch (another name for “yuca”, aka “cassava” too) and the mojo dressing is basically oil, garlic and lemon, also ingredients in a “cheesy” vegan dip.

So with everything clear, here is how I did this transformation:

For the burgers:

I had 1 1/2 cup of lentil soup and I’ve added:

• 1 cup of oats
• 1/2 cup chickpeas flour
• 1 Tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 Tsp black pepper
• 1 Tsp sriracha
• 1/2 Cup of sautee mushrooms with 3 cloves of garlic 
• salt to taste.

Proceed to:

Mixed all very well, heat a pan at medium high and add 1 Tbsp olive oil, and with wet hands form patties. Let the patties cook for about 4 minutes each side, you need to be careful not to burn them.

For the Broccoli “cheddar” soup:

I had 4 pieces of Yuca dressed with about 2 Tbsp of mojo sauce, and I’ve added:

**Considering that maybe you haven’t made yucas with mojo (but you should) and you want to make this recipe anyways I’m going to list everything to make the soup from zero.

• 1 lb boiled yuca
• 1/2 onion (in Juliane)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 carrot
• 1 broccoli crown
• 1 big celery leaf
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste

Proceed to:

1. Chop your carrot and broccoli crow. Split the stems from florets, finely chop the stems and reserve the florets until the end.
2. On a deep sauce pan at medium low place your mojo dressing from the yucas (or add the oil, lemon juice, onions and garlic), carrot, celery leaf and broccoli stems. Sautee until they sweats and gets golden brown. This can take about 5 minutes.
3. Add the yuca, and 2 and half boiling water. put a lid and let it simmer for about 10 minutes to cook all the vegetables.
4. Once the broccoli stems are cooked, put everything on a food processor, adding the nutritional yeast and spices ( I recommend adding salt at the end before serve). Blend until smooth.
5. Place the soup back to the pan and add the broccoli florets, mix it all well. Bring to a boil at medium high heat until the broccoli florets are cooked. I like them “al dente” so this not takes too long, just about 2 minutes.

 

These lentil patties are made from the leftover of yesterday’s soup, and are definitely the best!. I’m using my usual homemade pita bread and garnish with avocado, lettuce and mayo. And That soup… It was just perfect!, for me was the queen of my lunch, so rich, so creamy, very cheesy. The cassava make a most silky consistency ever, a hundred of times better than using potatoes, don’t misunderstand me I’m a potato lover but these cassava are great. You have to try it!

Transforming your leftover is another way to recycle and to be more conscious about the food you are consuming. I hate to trash perfectly good food just because is from yesterday. And this meal was delicious and a totally different dish from what we had yesterday. Do you make “leftovers transformations” too?