Five quick meals using barbecue leftovers
‘Tis the season to be grilling. But what do you do with the mountain of sausages and burgers afterwards? Our resident foodie has some tips
By Evie Prosser
There are few British institutions so satisfying as the summer barbecue. If custom is to be adhered to, it involves a group of middle-aged men gathering around a slowly flickering flame and burning the outside of various meat products before their wives or girlfriends finish them off in the oven.
| ...does tradition dictate that you’ll cook far more meat than is needed. |
Variations to this pattern are permissible, but that’s the general shape. And in the same way that no barbecue is complete without a bottle of cheap lager and a raincoat to hand, so does tradition dictate that you’ll cook far more meat than is needed.
Which leaves just one question: what are you to do with Burger and Sausage Mountain in the days afterwards? Somehow, simply rehashing the barbecue doesn’t quite cut it. You need to do something fresh, giving the charred ingredients a pick-me-up without spending hours in the kitchen. Here are five great recipe ideas to get you started.
1) Sausage frittata
Everyone loves a frittata. It’s the consummate comfort food and easily made in just 15 minutes.
Thinly chop your sausages at an angle so that each slice is nice and wide. Fry an onion and two cloves of garlic in a deep heavy-bottomed pan and chuck in the sausages to heat through. Choose whichever vegetables you fancy adding – leftover runner beans are fantastic, as are peas, red peppers, sliced boiled potatoes or roasted butternut squash.
Once it’s all cooking nicely, cover with up to half a dozen beaten eggs, depending on how many you’re feeding. Allow the bottom to cook thoroughly then place beneath a medium grill to finish the top.
Cut into thick slices and enjoy with a green salad and crusty bread. A glass of half-decent wine will help it slip down nicely.
(Tip: works just as well with leftover burgers, thinly sliced kebab meat or torn chicken).
2) Sliced Sausage pasta bake
Boil enough pasta for the size of your party, plus a bit extra because this dish is perfect for the next day’s lunchboxes.
Meanwhile, chop sausages on the angle and fry a brace of sliced courgettes in olive oil. With the courgettes nicely browned, throw in a decent passata and a handful of mixed herbs. Stir it all around as it heats, then mix with the drained pasta and sausage slices in a large ovenproof bowl.
Sprinkle over grated cheddar cheese and place in the oven at 180 degrees C for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the top is bubbling.
(Tip: to add extra crunch, bash up a packet of plain crisps and add the crumbs to the top with the cheese).
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3) Burger Bolognese
A burger is just a minced beef patty, right? That makes it the perfect ingredient for a chunky Bolognese sauce.
Chop your burgers into eighths, treating each one as if it were a small cake and cutting in segments from the centre.
Boil some spaghetti in a pan, reducing the cooking time by two minutes for a pleasingly al dente effect.
Meanwhile, fry an onion and three clovers of garlic in a pan. Add the burgers and heat it all through. Pour over a good-quality passata and a handful of mixed herbs, as well as a dozen halved baby tomatoes. Add fresh basil if you have it and salt and pepper to taste.
Once the spaghetti is cooked and you’re happy the meat is thoroughly reheated, stir the sauce through and serve in generous pasta bowls with a sprinkling of parmesan and a bread stick.
(Tip: to get the flavour of Parmesan without the cost, try using a different hard cheese such as Grana Padano)
4) Super speedy chicken tikka chapattis
Strip any leftover plain chicken from the bones, trying to keep it in fairly large pieces. Add a teaspoon of tikka paste per person and stir so that every piece of chicken is coated.
Heat some oil in a pan and add the chicken, taking care to warm it thoroughly. Meanwhile, peel and slice a cucumber and add it to natural yoghurt, chopped fresh mint and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Heat two chapattis per person, then spoon on the yoghurt and cucumber mix, topping with a generous scoop of chicken and a sprinkle of fresh chopped coriander if you have it to hand. Fold the chapatti in half and serve with mango chutney for dipping. Wash down with a decent non-alcoholic beer.
5) Sausage and piccalilli doorstep sandwiches
Just about the only acceptable use of cold barbecue leftovers is in a chunky sandwich with a completely different flavour to the previous day’s offerings.
My favourite is sausage and piccalilli sandwiches. Take a decent white loaf, sourdough if possible, and carve into thick slices. Spread with high-quality salted butter (Longman Salted Butter is a personal favourite) and a chunky piccalilli from your local farm shop or delicatessen.
Add sausages thinly sliced on an angle and cut the sandwich into triangular halves. Arrange on a plate with a green salad, plus sliced radish, and a handful of chunky crisps. Eat with a pint of real ale, preferably while mulling over the Telegraph crossword and watching a game of cricket.
Et voila! The perfect post-barbecue scoffing, and all of it ready in no more than 15 minutes.
Published: 29 May 2020
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