We live in the richest country in the world. The one with the crumbs, the croquettes and the old clothes. In the country of delicious gastronomy, known for taking advantage of even orange peels. Or… maybe that was before? Surely nothing is thrown away in our grandmothers' kitchens yet, but it seems that, with the bonanza, the rush and the little planning of our day to day, we have left behind that ancestral knowledge that, in times of climate emergency, is more important never.
A chilling fact is enough to realize it: in 2020, we send away 1,364 million kilos of cooked and raw food, with the waste of energy and resources that this entails. And that only in our country!
"By wasting food, we are not just throwing food away: we are wasting the natural resources used to obtain it and the work and effort of all the operators in the food supply chain," they explain from Alimentos de España, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Remember: have you thrown away fruits, vegetables, vegetables or dairy products this week? They are the most discarded food groups, especially with the arrival of the heat, although the Christmas gatherings that we will experience soon are also dates in which, traditionally, a lot of food is thrown away.
To avoid this, we allied ourselves with three simple and very tasty recipes collected on the Ministry's website www.menosdesperdicio.es, which practically make up a complete menu. aim!
CHICKEN AND MASHED POTATO TUBS (IN CASE YOU HAVE LEFTOVER MEAT)
That sad breast you have in the fridge deserves a second chance. Do you have half an onion, a potato, ¼ cup of milk, two tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt? So, give it to him by following these steps:
Don't give up the brisket!
- Wash, peel the potato and cut it into cubes. In a pot, bring water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt and cook the potato pieces until, pricking them with a fork, you check that they are soft (approximately 10-15 minutes). Drain, and also with a fork, mash them until making a puree.
- Chop the onion and the chicken breast.
- In a pan, fry the onion with a little olive oil. When it begins to soften, add the chopped chicken breast and sauté it together with the onion until the chicken is cooked. Put a little salt.
- Add the mashed potatoes to the pan and mix with the chicken. Add milk, cream or tomato sauce to give the ingredients juiciness and leave them in the pan for a couple of minutes. Season to taste. Then turn off the heat.
- Pour the contents of the pan into several pots or containers. Optionally, if you want, you can finish by spreading a little cheese on top and put them in the oven, in the gratin position (they will be worth just five minutes). Serve them quickly.
VEGETABLE BALLS (IN CASE YOU HAVE LEFTOVER VEGETABLES)
Anything goes for the filling of this full-use recipe: green beans, zucchini, beets, spinach... To form the balls, you will need three medium potatoes, two eggs, 50 grams of grated Parmesan cheese, 100 grams of breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Let's do it!
Yum, yum!
- Boil whole unpeeled potatoes in salted water (375 grams of salt per litre). Peel them and make a mashed potato.
- Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the chopped vegetables. Once fried, place them in a bowl and add the potatoes, eggs, cheese, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Mix them well and make small balls. Then bread them and fry them. Season them with a little salt and they are ready to eat.
OPTIMAL FRUIT SALAD (IN CASE YOU HAVE LEFTOVER FRUITS)
It is something like a fruit salad, but better, above all, because it takes advantage of even the banana peel! You'll basically need whatever fruit you have lying around about to die, ¾ cup of water, four tablespoons of sugar, and cinnamon.
Destroy the bottom of the fruit bowl and fearlessly add pieces to this special fruit salad!
- Chop the fruits to your liking (for example, in small squares). Remove the brown and white part of the banana peel, cut it into strips and keep these strips in water for a while.
- Pour the 3/4 cup of water into a pot and add four tablespoons of sugar. Keep on medium heat. When it starts to boil, insert the strips and lower the heat. Keep on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Gently remove and let cool.
- Add the cinnamon to the strips when they are a little cooler.
- Plate the fruits and decorate with the strips full of cinnamon.
Et voila! You already have a complete and affordable menu with all that almost ends up in the trash. Congratulate yourself, because you will enjoy, save and contribute to curbing climate change with just that gesture. But if you want to go a little further and prevent fresh products from becoming rare, read on: in our gallery you will find some very useful tips from Food from Spain to achieve this.