With leftovers and no imagination, here are some recipes that solve the issue and guarantee lunch boxes (at least until a new load of dishes on New Year’s Eve).
The Christmas gift for parents may even be a reusable shopping bag to encourage them to adhere to more sustainable practices, but there is no deterring them from making more food than is necessary at Christmas. Against this there is nothing to do, just take advantage of the leftovers and at the same time innovate in the kitchen.
These recipes can give you a hand. All you have to do is take what’s left over, from appetizers to desserts, and you’ll have lunch boxes for the week ahead.
However, if you can’t resist watching “Home Alone” for the thousandth time instead of cooking, don’t forget that the freezer can be a strong ally.
Bolo Rei (King Cake) (which is almost renegade on the sweets table) can be frozen and served on Kings Day, January 6, and so can the vegetables that served as a side dish, which can later become a sauté.
Oh, and if there is any wine left over, save it for future cooking.
There is no shortage of ideas, and we will share some of them with you.
1. Croutons
Ingredients:
– Dry bread
– Garlic powder
– Oregano
– Olive Oil
Preparation mode:
Take the dry bread, cut it into pieces, and add garlic powder, oregano, and a dash of olive oil. Wrap it all up, place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and bake it in a preheated oven at 180°C.
This recipe is from nutritionist Cátia Macedo’s Instagram.
2. Croquettes from Christmas leftovers
Ingredients:
– 4 tablespoons of flour
– 2 onions
– 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar
– 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
– 200 grams of mushrooms
– 1 zucchini
– 2 cloves of garlic
– 30 grams of butter
– 30 grams of flour
– 1 liter of milk
– Salt and pepper, to taste.
– Breadcrumbs, to taste
– 2 eggs
– Olive oil, to taste
Preparation mode:
Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over low heat. Thinly slice the onions and bring them to the skillet until caramelized, stirring occasionally. When they are soft and golden (usually after 30-40 minutes), add the sugar and vinegar. Continue to cook over low heat for another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. When the mixture becomes viscous, remove from heat and set aside.
Slice the garlic and the remaining vegetables very finely. Slowly sauté them in a non-stick pan, with a little olive oil, until they are fully cooked and starting to turn golden brown. Book them.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter until bubbling. Add the flour and stir until the mixture comes well off the sides of the pan. Add the milk, vegetables and onion and continue stirring until thick and viscous. Remove from heat and let it cool in the refrigerator for an hour.
After it has cooled, shape the mixture into croquettes. Dip them one by one in beaten egg and coat them in breadcrumbs.
Heat olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Then fry the croquettes until they are golden brown in color. After frying, place them under paper towels to absorb the excess fat
This recipe is from the Too Good to Goo e-book.
3. Codfish velvety
Ingredients for velvet:
– 2 onions
– 3 cloves of garlic
– 1/2 leek
– 2 grated carrots
– 10 ml olive oil
– 200 grams of codfish
– 200 grams of baked potato
– 100 grams of grain
– 20 grams of breadcrumbs
– 40 grams of coriander/salsa
– Pepper/Nutmeg
Ingredients béchamel sauce:
– 10 ml olive oil
– 20 grams of flour
– 100 grams of grain
– 20 ml milk/vegetable drink
– Pepper/Nutmeg
Preparation mode:
In a pan, place the chopped onion, the garlic cloves, the leek and let it stew with the olive oil. Add the already cooked cod, the spinach, the grated carrot, the coriander/salsa and season with pepper and nutmeg to taste. At the end, wrap the potatoes previously baked in the oven.
For the béchamel sauce, put olive oil in a pan, stir in the flour, add the milk, and bring to a boil while stirring. Add the remaining grain, pepper, and nutmeg and blend with a hand blender until a velvety sauce is obtained.
Finish with breadcrumbs and fresh coriander or parsley.
This recipe is from Chef Fábio Bernardino.
4. Old clothes burger
Ingredients:
– 400 grams chickpeas
– 400 grams cabbage (leftovers)
– 200 grams of codfish or paloco (leftovers)
– 200 grams carrot
– 200 grams potato
– 40 grams of breadcrumbs
– 1 tablespoon (10g) olive oil
– to taste Pepper
– q.b. Nutmeg
– to taste Chives
– 1 bay leaf
Directions:
Start by crushing the chickpeas. Surround it with the leftover fish, cabbage, and breadcrumbs, with the pepper, nutmeg, chives, and bay leaf. Mix it all together and shape it into the shape of a hamburger.
In a non-stick pan, put a drizzle of olive oil (1 tablespoon) and wipe off the excess with absorbent paper. Pass the burgers through the pan.
Finally, serve with oven-baked potato and carrot sticks.
This recipe is from the National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating from the Directorate-General of Health.
5. Vegetable Quiche
Ingredients for the base:
– 150 grams of spelt flour (white or 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat)
– 50 grams of extra virgin olive oil
– 2 to 3 tablespoons of cold water (or more if needed to bind the dough)
– sea salt and pepper to taste
– optional – chopped aromatic herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
Ingredients for the base for the filling:
– 1 pack of soy cream – 200ml (or others you prefer)
– 1 egg organic
– 1/2 cup of leftovers you have (example: sautéed spinach and sweet potato and two pieces of chopped dried tomato)
– sea salt to taste
– black pepper to taste
– 1 pinch of nutmeg
Preparation mode
To the base:
In a bowl, put the flour and mix with the olive oil until it has a wet sandy consistency. Then add the water (1 tablespoon at a time) to bind the dough together until you can form a ball. Try to work the dough as little as possible, the more you stir it the more brittle it will become. Place a large piece of parchment paper on the countertop, dust it with flour, and flour the rolling pin as well. Transfer the dough to the paper and roll it out, leaving 2-3 mm of height (we don’t want a dough that is too thin or it won’t hold the filling).
Grasp the paper and carefully transfer it to a cake pan with a diameter of 22-24 cm (you can alternatively roll out the dough on the countertop and pass it directly into a low quiche/tart pan by flattening the dough afterwards with your fingers). Reserve in the refrigerator and prepare the filling.
For the filling:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a fork until evenly blended.
Once the oven is nice and hot, pour the filling on top of the base and bake for 25-30 min or until well cooked in the center (do the toothpick test). Alternatively, once you pour the filling on top, cover with foil and freeze.
Remove from the oven, unmold by grabbing the edges of the parchment paper, and transfer the quiche to a tray or board. Serve hot.
This recipe is from Spice’s Blog.
6. King cake pudding with chocolate
Ingredients:
– Butter
-20 grams of King Cake
– 800 g liqueur
– 5 tablespoons Pingo Doce dark chocolate (coarse grated)
– 150 grams of eggs M
– 4 sugar
– 2 tablespoons cream
– 3 packages of powdered sugar
Preparation mode:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a square baking dish with the butter. Place half of the sliced king cake on the platter. Drizzle with half the liqueur and sprinkle with half the dark chocolate. Make another layer of King Cake, drizzle with the remaining liquor, and sprinkle with the remaining dark chocolate. In a bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and cream. Drizzle the King Cake with this mixture. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve decorated with powdered sugar.
This recipe is from the Pingo Doce website.
7. Queen Biscuit
Ingredients:
– 200 grams leftover queen cake (or other, dry)
– 100 grams unsalted butter
– 100 grams of caster sugar
– 100 grams brown sugar
– 1 egg L
-225 grams flour
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– ½ teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– Raisins (optional)
Preparation mode:
In a food processor with a blade, grind the Bolo Rainha very well until it is sandy. Add the room temperature butter, sugars, egg, vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder and grind until well combined.
Finally, add the flour and grind until the dough binds.
Sprinkle the countertop with flour and place the dough there, binding it until it doesn’t stick to your fingers. Add a little more flour as needed.
If you choose to make it with raisins as well, divide the dough in two. Make a ball out of the plain dough. To the other half, add a handful of raisins. Put the two doughs in bags or wrapped in cling film and keep them in the refrigerator until the dough hardens.
When it’s time to make the cookies, take the doughs out of the refrigerator and place them on the countertop sprinkled with a little flour.
Make a roll with the raisin dough and cut it into about half-inch slices.
Roll out the plain dough with a rolling pin until it is half an inch thick (dust with flour if necessary) and use the cookie cutter to cut the dough.
Place the crackers on ungreased baking paper on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. If necessary, change the trays halfway through, or rotate them, so they brown evenly.
Remove from the oven, let cool, and store in a cookie box.
This recipe is from the page Cozinha e Bricolage – Clara de Sousa.
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Português (Portuguese (Portugal))
