3 Ways with Stale Bread

Now in our society we are encouraged to reuse and recycle, this can easily be done by thinking outside of the box when trying to reuse leftovers.

Now most people would throw out stale bread or perhaps turn them into crunchy croutons, but here a 3 recipes for stale bread that might give you inspiration to use it in other dishes.

I have travelled to Italy for inspiration, they seem to have lots of recipes for using stale bread. I have adapted some of Lidia Bastianich's recipes

Lasagna

1 bottle passatta, approx 16 , 2 cm wide slices stale bread, 1/2 tsp salt, olive oil, 2 cloves garlic finely sliced or grated, 1/2 onion finely diced, 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano - or you can use basil or parsley or a combination of all, 2 cups grated Parmesan or 1 cup of each grated Parmesan and mozzarella

Preheat the oven 180.c

Heat 3 tbsps oil in a frypan add the onion, saute over medium heat till it begins to soften. Add the garlic, saute 30 seconds, then add tomato passatta, simmer 15 minutes or until it thickens. Stir in the herbs then season with salt.

Place some boiling water into a shallow dish. Brush the base and side of a 20cm x 30cm baking dish. Place a ladleful of sauce over the bottom, quickly dip the bread in the water turn over and dip again, this will soften it, place in a layer over the sauce, sprinkle with some more sauce then some cheese continue layering making sauce then cheese the final layer.

Bake for 2- 25 minutes until the lasagna is heated through and the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Rocket, Bread and Potato Soup

750gms medium-size potatoes, peeled, washed, and cut into 1/2-inch slices,7 cups water ,salt, 500 gms rocket,½ cup day-old Italian bread, without crusts, diced, 4 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil, 6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, ½ teaspoon crushed chilli flakes, ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated

In a deep, heavy pot combine potatoes and 7 cups water. Salt the water lightly and bring it to a boil. Adjust the level of heat to medium-high and cook the potatoes, covered, until they are tender, but still hold their shape, about 18 minutes.

Wash the rocket in cool water to remove all sand and grit, changing the water if necessary. Drain the rocket well and cut it into 5 cm lengths. Stir the rocket and bread into the pot. Continue boiling 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook until golden, about 3 minutes.

Scrape the contents of the skillet into the pot. Stir well. Season the soup with salt to taste. Serve in warm bowls, sprinkled with grated cheese.

Now for some thing sweet

Bread and Butter Pudding

75g unsalted butter, 75g sultanas, optional 3 tablespoons dark rum or other liquor of your choice, 10 slices bread approx, optional jam of your choice, 4 egg yolks, 1 egg, 3 tbsps caster sugar, 1 tsp spice of you choice - cinnamon, cardamom, anise etc, 500ml double cream, 200ml full-fat milk, 2 tbsps demerara or raw sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease a pudding dish with a capacity of about 1½ litres with some of the butter.

Put the sultanas in a small bowl, pour the rum over, and microwave them for 1 minute, then leave them to stand. This is a good way to soak them quickly but juicily.

Make sandwiches with the bread, with butter and jam if using , you should have some butter left over to smear on the top later.

Now cut the sandwiches in half into triangles and arrange them evenly along the middle of the pudding dish. I put one in the dish with the point of the sandwich upwards then one with flat-side uppermost, then with point-side uppermost and so on, then squeeze a sandwich-triangle down each side - but you do as you please. Sprinkle over the sultanas and unabsorbed rum that remains in the bowl.

Whisk the egg yolks and egg together with the caster sugar, and pour in the cream and milk. Pour this over the triangles of bread and leave them to soak up the liquid for about 10 minutes, by which time the pudding is ready to go into the oven. Smear the bread crusts that are poking out of the custard with the soft butter, mix the spice and demerara sugar together and sprinkle this mixture on your buttered crusts and then lightly over the rest of the pudding.

Sit the pudding dish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven to cook for about 45 minutes or until the custard has set and puffed up slightly. Remove, let sit for 10 minutes - and spoon out into bowls, putting a jug of custard, should you so wish, on the table to be served alongside.

So next time you go to throw out your stale bread have a think about how you can reuse it and make it into something much more tasty.

Minestrone Soup

Now it is just Mr CLI & I for tea tonight, Miss Fish has started to go out with a ladies group on a Friday night. Last week she went to a local hotel for tea - guess what she had ? yes chicken parmigiana - then listened to a band. I have to pick her up at 10 pm so no more getting into my nightie and dressing gown after tea.

So I was thinking what is easy for tea also flavoursome and filling that doesn't take long to cook, and also there will be leftovers for the weekend. It came to me minestrone soup, I haven't cooked it for a while.

Now there are many recipes for this soup this is my version, sometimes I will start the soup with some diced bacon or pancetta if I have it, otherwise I leave it out.

I don't put zucchini in it, nothing puts me of minestrone soup than if I get a spoonful of zucchini chunks Yuk.

Most minestrone recipes use kidney beans, but any can of beans can be used, what ever you have in the cupboard.

I can get it cooked from when I start to cut up the vegetables to when I am ladling it in the bowls in about 30 - 35 minutes, so it is really good recipe for when you are in a hurry.

Minestrone Soup

1 380-400 gm can beans, drained & rinsed, 3 stalks celery finely diced, 2 medium carrots finely diced, 1/2 red onion very finely diced, 2 tbsps tomato paste, 2 litres chicken stock - if you want to make the soup more hearty use beef stock, 2 cups tomato passatta, 1 tsp dried parsley or 2 tbsps fresh parsley chopped, + 2 tbsps fresh chopped parsley, 3/4 cup dried pasta, small shells or noodles, 2 large potatoes peeled and diced into 2 cm cubes - you can use more if you like lots of potatoes, salt & pepper to taste, 2 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated, optional - 3 rashers bacon rind remove or 4 thin slices of pancetta, cut into lardons

In a large pot heat 3 tbsps olive oil, add celery, carrot onion & bacon/pancetta if using. Cook 4 -5 minutes or until the vegies start to soften and the bacon has started the brown. Make sure you stir it to ensure that nothing burns.

Push the vegies to the sides, put the tomato paste in the centre, stir for approx 1 minute, then stir into the vegies. Add the potatoes & garlic stir to coat with tomato. Add stock, parsley & passatta, bring to the boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add pasta continue to simmer covered until potatoes and pasta are cooked. Ensure you stir frequently once pasta has been added so it doesn't sink to the bottom and stick.

Once pasta is cooked add beans, salt & pepper. Simmer 2 -3 minutes. to ensure the beans are heated through.

Ladle into deep bowls sprinkle with extra parsley, have chunks of crusty bread for dipping sit down and enjoy.

Now you can grate parmesan over the top or if you add a generous dollop of pesto it becomes soupe au pistou, the choose is yours.

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

While I am writing this the bitterly cold gale force wind is bending tree branches and making my windows rattle. While listening to this my mind goes to warming foods.

Now one of my all time favourites for warming you up from the inside is soup. The only thing Mr CLI makes is a beautiful vegetable soup. I am his sous chef preparing the vegetables, after many years of cleaning up vegetable peels from all over the kitchen I volunteered to get the vegies ready.

One of my other favourites is chicken and sweet corn soup, this may not be authentic but it is the way I have made it for years. From when you put the chicken breasts on to steam to when you eat it can be achieved in half an hour.

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

2 chicken breasts, 1 can 440gm creamed corn, enough chicken stock to make 1 1/2 litres when added to water used for steaming chicken breasts, 2 tbsps soy sauce, 2 eggs beaten, for garnish finely sliced spring onions and sesame oil

Place the chicken breasts in a steamer, steam until cooked approximately 15 minutes. Retain water in base of steamer to use in the soup. When cool enough to handle shred the chicken. In a large saucepan mix together chicken, stock, corn and soy, bring to the boil. When it comes to the boil, stir the soup, while stirring slowly pour in the eggs, this will create strands of cooked egg. As soon as you add the eggs they will cook, so remove the soup from the heat. Taste it you may need more soy. Serve in bowl with about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil sprinkled over the top, also sprinkle some spring onions on as well.

So when the weather makes you feel cold think SOUP, a quick and easy meal that can be made very easily.