Leftovers are an essential part of my cooking. I use leftover meat, veggies, rice, potatoes, cous cous even gravy to make another family meal and it often tastes better than the original. Don’t forget there is lots of meat on the underside of a roast chicken that’s ideal for using in stews. If you don’t have leftover roast chicken you can quickly roast some pieces of chicken (rather than a whole bird) to get the same depth of flavour as leftover meat. That’s the method I’m going to show you here.
Like iron, fibre helps to regulate blood sugar and your body uses it for the production of serotonin, an essential chemical for mental health.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Adults & 2 Kids (with leftovers)
300g fusilli
2 tbsp olive oil
150g smoked back bacon
1 small onion
1/4 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic
1.5 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
200-250g roasted chicken
small bunch of thyme
lemon zest (optional)
- If you’re using fresh chicken preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Use either 3 large leg sections or 4-5 boneless thighs to get 200-250g of roasted meat.
- Rub the chicken with a little olive oil then sprinkle with salt and roast for 30-40 minutes until cooked. If you’re using cold, roasted chicken simply cut into bitesize pieces and set aside.
- Fill a large pan 3/4 full with water and bring to the boil. Peel and dice the onion. Remove and discard some of the excess fat on the bacon rind then cut into bitesize pieces. Once the water is boiling add salt (it should taste like seawater) then bring back to the boil and add the pasta.
- Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a large skillet over a medium high heat. Gently fry the bacon until the remaining fat is crispy. Remove the bacon to drain on some kitchen paper.
- Peel and finely chop the garlic. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and gently fry the onion for 4-5 minutes until it’s golden then add the garlic and cook for a minute.
- Return the bacon to the pan then add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce. If using cold chicken, cook until warmed through then dish up and finish with chopped thyme and zest of lemon.
onetoughcooker.com 