The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers (38 page)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. For the filling, heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and cook gently until soft and translucent. Leave to cool, then stir in the sage, if using. Put the mixture in the pastry case. Lightly whisk the eggs with the crème fraîche or soured cream (or milk) and season with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the onions and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top of the tart is bouncy to the touch and golden brown.

Cheese and bacon
Add a teacup of grated hard cheese and lightly cooked bacon pieces to the cooked onion. A heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard would go well here, whisked into the eggs and cream.

Chicken and bacon
Add a good handful of leftover shredded chicken and a couple of rashers of diced lightly cooked bacon to the cooked onion (or use a sliced leek instead of the onion). Stir some fresh thyme or finely chopped parsley into the eggs and cream.

Ham and sweetcorn
Add a teacup of diced cooked ham and ½ teacup of cooked sweetcorn to the cooked onion. You could also add a good handful of grated hard cheese. Add the eggs and cream, with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, if you like, and proceed as opposite.

Sausages
Use up cooked sausages by dicing them over the base of softened onion (or a layer of Onion Marmalade, see
page 42
), before adding the eggs and cream. If you happen to have some black pudding left over, then use that – it’s particularly delicious with some sliced cooked fennel.

Sweet potato, broccoli and sage
Peel 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes and dice into small pieces. Cut some broccoli into small florets (if you would prefer to use larger florets, lightly steam them and leave to cool). Cook the sweet potato in oil or butter with a sliced onion until tender, then leave to cool. Put into the tart case with the broccoli, scatter chopped sage on top and then add the egg and cream filling as above. Use thyme if you can’t get sage.

Pumpkin, leek and feta cheese (or Brie)
Substitute a finely sliced leek for the onion, cooking it in a little butter or oil with 2-3 teacups of peeled diced pumpkin flesh. When the pumpkin is tender, leave to cool, then place in the pastry case. Crumble over some feta cheese (or add some slices of Brie), then pour in the eggs and cream and bake as opposite.

Leek or fennel
Omit the onion for this. Finely sliced leeks or fennel are lovely just on their own with grated Cheddar cheese. Cook them first in butter until soft, then place in the pastry case, cover with the egg and cream mixture and bake as in the main recipe on
page 120
.

Spinach and lamb
Substitute spring onions for the onion base. Blanch, drain and squeeze out 3 or 4 large handfuls of spinach, then leave to cool. Put the spinach in the tart case, tear in some pieces of leftover lamb with some chopped mint and a good grinding of black pepper. Add the eggs and cream and bake as in the main recipe on
page 120
.

Tomato, basil and goat’s cheese
Particularly good for gluts of tiny tomatoes. Simply cut them in half and scatter them over a layer of softened onion in the pastry case. Toss in some torn basil leaves and crumble over a small goat’s cheese, before adding the eggs and cream and baking as in the main recipe on
page 120
.

Vegetables and cheese
Many of the vegetable and cheese combinations for vegetable gratins on
pages 99
-
100
work really well here: endive and blue cheese or spinach and ricotta (or Gruyère), for example. Or try artichoke hearts and ricotta; leek and Cheddar; or courgettes or aubergines with goat’s cheese or ricotta. Slice the vegetables and cook them in a little butter or oil until softened (if using courgettes or aubergines, let them brown a little and then drain well on kitchen paper before adding to the pastry case). Put them in the pastry case and crumble over the cheese. If you have a slice or two of prosciutto, tear it up over the vegetables before adding the eggs and cream and baking as in the main recipe on
page 120
.

Smoked fish and Parmesan
Odd though it sounds, this is a delicious way of using up any fish left over from a fish pie or a kipper breakfast. Flake the fish into the pastry case, on top of the onion. Add a handful of grated Parmesan, lots of chopped chives and a small grating of nutmeg, then add the eggs and cream and bake as in the main recipe on
page 120
.

Spanakopita is traditionally made in Greece with spinach. However, I’ve found Sarah Raven’s recipe in her
Garden Cookbook
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007) for an alternative using grated courgettes so lipsmackingly useful during summer’s courgette glut that I’ve adapted it here. The technique is the same whatever filling you use.

This is such a warm-weather pie that it is at its best served at room temperature. It’s ideal for picnics, holding its shape beautifully once cold and sliced.

Serves 4-6

1kg courgettes

olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 medium eggs

4 tablespoons double cream

melted butter (or oil) for brushing

6 sheets of filo pastry

170g feta cheese, broken into rough lumps

a bunch of spring onions, chopped

a handful each of chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint (add some dill, if you like
)

salt and pepper

Grate the courgettes, salt them well and allow to drain in a colander over the sink for about 20 minutes. Then rinse well and squeeze out excess water. Lightly cook the courgettes in a frying pan in a little olive oil until they are just colouring and any liquid has evaporated, then leave to cool.

Heat a little oil in a small pan, add the onion and cook gently until softened but not coloured. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then whisk in the cream, followed by the cooked onion and some salt and pepper.

Brush a baking tin about 20cm square with melted butter or oil. Take one filo sheet, covering the remaining ones with a damp tea towel, and brush it on one side with melted butter or oil. Drape it over the base of the tin and up the sides, then repeat with 2 more sheets, laying them on top of the first one. Make sure there are no gaps and that the pastry edges flop out over the sides of the tin.

Spread the courgettes and feta cheese over the pastry. Pour over the egg and cream mixture, scatter over the chopped spring onions and herbs and fork them in lightly. Then flip over the edges of the filo pastry. Brush the remaining sheets with butter or oil, layer them over the top of the pie and tuck the edges well down into the sides of the dish. Drizzle the top with a little olive oil or melted butter and prick it all over with a fork.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Leave to cool in its tin, covered with a clean tea towel, and serve when just slightly warm or at room temperature.