Delicious UK - (04)April 2020

PHOTOGRAPH:

ISTOCK/GETTY

IMAGES

I

n theaftermathofthe

Easterfeast,twothings

areinevitable:washing

upandleftovers.I know

howtodealwiththedishes

(glassesfirst,roastingpanlast)andI also

knowhowI’msupposedtodealwiththe

leftovers.I am,ofcourse,duty-boundto

lovethem,storethem,repurposethem,

celebratethem.Everywherethemodern

cookturns,therearehelpfulfoodwaste

campaigns,closed-loopchefsand,inmy

caseandperhapsinyours,high-ranking

familymembersbrandishingramekins

andbeeswaxwraps.

Thepressureis subtlebutpersistent,

andfailuretocomplycancausesignificant

kitchenguilt,eveninthemanyhouseholds

that,likemine,haveaccesstoa special

caddyforfoodwastecollection.

InmytinymindI knowthatthrowing

ediblefoodawayis allkindsofwrong,

fromcontributingtoanunsustainable

globalpicturetohittingindividual

familiesinthepocket.Butthereare

leftoversandthereareleftovers.And

someofthem,I’vecometorealise,really

dobelonginthebin.

It’sone(veryadmirable)thingtobuy

foodfora recipeandhavea goodplanfor

theingredientsyoudidn’tuseup(this

magazine,ofcourse,helpsyououtwithits

LooseEndssuggestions).Someleftovers

(roastpotatoes,I’mlookingatyou)have

‘openfridge,openmouth’writtenallover

them,andthedregsofa potofdouble

creamcanmakehotchocolateviably

luxuriousdeepintopavlovaseason.

Butsomescrapings,picked-outbitsand

dregsjustaren’tworthrefrigeratingfor

a weekbeforeinevitablybeingthrownout

witha pangofguilt.Showmea cookwho

findssomethinginspirationaltodowith

thatlasttablespoonofcauliflowercheese

andI’llshowyoua liar.

Reallifeis thethiefoffood-waste

opportunity.Whatarethechancesof

havinga lovelypotofhomemadesoup

onthebubblejustasyouremembera

lingeringspoonfulofcrèmefraîcheready

toswirlintoit?Doyoueverhaveenough

roastlambformorethana singlerissole

ora shepherd’spiethat,evenafterthe

diligentadditionoflentils,feedsthe

numberofpeopleyouneedit to?

AfterChristmas,I triedusingupfresh

cranberriesbypressingthemintothecentre

ofhomemadewhitechocolatecookies:the

kidsatearoundthem,mouthspuckered

inhorror.AndI’velostcountofthenumber

oftimesI’vebeenoutandboughtmore

foodinthenoblecauseofusingthings

up,over-eggedit becauseI’mhuman,

andsoendedupwithleftoverleftovers.

SoI amlettinggooftheguiltthat

comeswithbinningtheminorleftover,

andI urgeyoutodothesame.I am

bowingtotheinevitable,cuttingoutthe

freezergraveyardandtherefrigerator

middleman.I amdoingeverythingI can

toavoidtheobscenityoflarge-scalefood

waste.Butif noonereallywantsthatlast

inchofgravy,thepeppersmyyoungest

insistedonpickingoutofhisriceorthe

remnantsofanambitiousstir-fry,they

aregettingchucked.AndI’mdonefeeling

badaboutit.

Showmea cook

whofindssomething

inspirationaltodowith

thatlasttablespoonof

cauliflowercheeseand

I’llshowyoua liar

DoyouagreewithEmmaordo

youtakea differentview?Tellus

[email protected]

andwe’llprintthebestreplies

Why I’m binning

my leftovers guilt

Mustwestruggletorepurposeeverylastscrapofuneatenfood,

asksEmmaSturgess,orcanwebea bitmorerealisticaboutit?

130 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

a good rant.