Weekend Foods and stop wasting your ripened fruits
Pear & Chocolate cake, Chorizo Shakshuka and leftover Tortilla kind of weekend
Weekends are essentially always family time for us. I feel guilty to admit that we often make no plans and decide at the last minute what we want to do and whom to see. I have learned during my life in London, that an overly busy social calendar is simply not necessarily good for me! It is liberating to be free to do what you want.
What I love to do though, is obviously cooking for and with my little family!
How I planned my food this weekend
This weekend I knew my husband had his dad coming over on Friday night and that I would be solo on Saturday afternoon with the kids. So I organised for my friend to come over with her two children for a kids' supper.
I needed a dessert, a breakfast, a kids lunch and a family meal. I wanted to make some seasonal dishes but also knew that my guests particularly liked their meat and that we had a dairy intolerance to cater for kids dinner. This is what I settled for:
Fleur and I to make Pear and Chocolate cake from my cookbook Chez Manon. Because pears are in season and we know Grandad loves this cake.
For Saturday breakfast, a chorizo Shakshuka, served with some fresh sourdough from August Bakery, topped tahini and avocado.
For kids lunch, I had some leftover boiled potatoes and the rest of a bag of spinach so I made a ‘sort of’ Tortilla
As a family meal, I made a porc & beef Lasagne, making one dairy free for my friend’s little boy without bechamel or cheese (I am So sorry but I didn’t take any pictures of the dish, so I will share this recipe next time I cook it for you!)
Ended up making a tutti fruiti Compote with my ripe fruits and carrots
If you don’t want to waste your ripened fruits like me - make Tutti Fruiti Compote
I don’t know whether it is because I grew up on an egg farm, with my parents making a living from creating “food” or simply because I love eating too much, but wasting food has always been a non negotiable in my house. I could write an essay on this with all of the facts I keep learning and the devastating rise of food waste, but instead I prefer showing you some tips and things I do in my home to avoid food waste.
Tutti Fruiti Compote is a no waste recipe and I think we should all learn to make it! I promise you, you will waste so much less ripened fruits or floppy carrots. My kids love it on its own or I add Kefir or Greek Yogurt to it, replacing the need for any shop bought flavoured yogurt.
INGREDIENTS
ANY fruits you have leftover, berries, bananas, grapes, mango, kiwis, apples, rhubarb etc and even floppy carrots or sweet potatoes
5 prunes and 5 dried apricots if using a lot of acidic fruits (rhubarb, kiwi, carrots …)
Note - I don’t add extra sugar or honey or sweetener. Fruits are full of fructose - natural sugars - and so no more is needed.
METHOD
Thoroughly wash your fruits and discard any moulds, but do not worry about brown patches. This recipe is about using up bruised fruits. I do not peel my fruits to retain all the nutrients and fibres, but you can if you prefer. Roughly dice everything.
In a heavy-bottomed pan, add all of your diced fruits and a few tbsp of water. Cover with a lid and cook for 25 to 40 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure it is not burning at the bottom. Add more water if necessary, but remember that fruits are full of water, so not add too much you end up with a liquid consistency.
When all fruits and carrots are soft, blend them using a blender to make your compote. Pour into a cleaned glass jar and seal while hot.
Keep in the fridge for up to three weeks.
And to get your hands on the THREE next recipes Pear & Chocolate cake, Chorizo Shakshuka, Leftover kid’s friendly Potato Tortilla and some unedited content this week :