All of us are conscious of pollution, the need to recycle and reuse, the need for proper waste disposal and many such things that help to tackle the many problems facing the world today. We also try to be good citizens, however, there is one vital issue that we tend to be less conscious of. I am talking about food waste and food loss.

From leftover uneaten food to spoiled produce, tonnes of food gets thrown each day across the world while there are many people who go hungry. Have you noticed how much food we leave uneaten in our plates, especially when we eat at restaurants or weddings? Or have you cared to pay attention when your mum laments about leftover food that no one wants to eat?

We are all guilty of wasting food. A whole article can be written about the consequences of food waste and ways to prevent that, which I can’t go into, but today my recipe is inspired by the concept of reducing food waste.

Yes, I decided to use some leftover stuff in my fridge — which was perfectly good enough to eat, but no one was eating since there were more tempting fresher options to enjoy — and made mincemeat bread muffins!

There was leftover cooked mincemeat (qeema) and half a loaf of bread, which had become a bit brittle, so I decided to make some mouth-watering muffins with these! They were so tasty! And the best part was that everyone enjoyed the food that they were not willing to have in its original form.

You can also use leftover chicken, vegetables and anything else, as the filling — the options are limitless. So the next time you have some leftover stuff, think about how you can turn it into a tasty treat.

Ingredients

• 6 bread slices

• 6 tablespoons cooked mince meat

• 6 teaspoon chilli garlic sauce

• 100g cheese

• 1 shoot spring onion, or 1 small onion, chopped

• Lettuce leaves

• Butter

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Grease a muffin tin with softened butter, keep aside. Take a large bottle cap or round cutter to cut the slices in a round shape, large enough to fill a muffin hole. You can later make breadcrumbs with the bread edges.

You can either flatten the bread circles with a rolling pin to make it easier to set in the muffin tray, or be lazy like me and just press it with your fingers and set in each of the muffin slots. Put about one tablespoon of mincemeat in each bread piece, add chopped onion, chilli garlic sauce, a piece of lettuce leaf, and top with shredded or a small slice cheese. I used mozzarella cheese, you can use any cheese you have, as well as any other filling you want.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bread is golden at the base. Serve it hot as a breakfast treat or a teatime snack. Bon appétit!

The writer Instagrams @the_experimentalcook

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 1st, 2022