What to do with leftovers?

Cooking inevitably involves leftovers. Sometimes inspiration will strike and you will come up with a new and innovative dish but other times some planning ahead is required in order to use up the leftover ingredients in another dish that week. (The freezer always comes in handy if necessary!)

I have some dishes that I make frequently that always have leftovers; for example, ice-cream leaves me eggwhites, and buttermilk pancakes always leave at least one cup of buttermilk over. I've also collected a good sour cream cake recipe and an excellent lemon yoghurt cake that are ways to get a sweet fix after cleaning out the fridge.

Adam thinks that one of the best things about my new passion for ice-cream making is that he always gets a bonus dish. Meringues, friands and angel food cake are my current favourites.

As promised in the raspberry ice-cream entry, here are some recipes for using up eggwhites. If you're having trouble deciding what to do with the leftovers, eggwhites freeze well in a closed container. (It's a good idea to mark the number of whites on the lid. If you forget, Stephanie Alexander advises that one eggwhite is equivalent to 30ml).

The bonus in making raspberry ice-cream is that I had both leftover eggwhites and raspberries, so I made raspberry friands. These are a delicious morsel, with a slightly heavier texture than a muffin. I have a friand pan but you can make these in muffin tins. The recipe is suitable for raspberries or blueberries (you could probably use blackberries but they may be a little large).

I've also included a fabulous chocolate macaroon recipe that Stephanie Alexander published in The Age's Epicure section in September 2006. I was a little dubious when I made these, especially as to the claim that they are more delicious after a day or two in the container, but they were the most delicious, satisfying sweet treat - definitely worth making in their own right and not relegating to the "I'll only make this when I have leftovers" category!

RASPBERRY FRIANDS

1 cup almond meal
1 2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
3/4 cup plain flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 egg whites
125g butter
100g raspberries (or blueberries)

Mix the almond meal, icing sugar, plain flour and baking powder together. Mix in the eggwhites. Melt the butter and mix in. Stir through the berries and spoon into friand or muffin tins (You can also spoon the mixture into the tins and then dot the berries on top, rather than mixing through). Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked but springy on top.

Adapted from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2

CHOCOLATE MACAROONS

Don't be tempted to double this recipe, as speed is essential in spooning the mixture onto trays. The filled macaroons are more squidgy and delicious after one or two days in an airtight container.

1/2 cup ground almonds, sifted
1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons Dutch-style cocoa, sifted
2 eggwhites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Mix the sifted ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Beat the eggwhites with cream of tartar to snowy peaks. Fold a spoonful of the eggwhites into the sifted mixture to blend and then fold in the rest of the eggwhites quickly but with a light hand.

Spoon teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the paper-lined trays, leaving 3cm between blobs. Do this as quickly as possible and place trays immediately into the preheated oven. Cook for eight minutes or until the macaroons feel firm on the outside.

Wet a teatowel with cold water, wring out and place on the bench. Remove trays from oven and place on the damp cloth for a few minutes. Use a spatula to slide the macaroons onto a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before filling. If not needed immediately, store unfilled macaroons in an airtight container.

Makes 16 pairs.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING

Break 75g dark couverture chocolate into small pieces and pulverise in a food processor to a powder. Bring four tablespoons cream and one teaspoon butter to the boil in a saucepan. With the food processor motor running, pour the boiling cream mixture onto the chocolate in a steady stream. Process until smooth. Refrigerate until just cold and then beat in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Use straight away.

Excess ganache will become too stiff to spread. Allow it to return to room temperature and then rebeat for a few minutes to regain spreadable consistency.

Recipe by Stephanie Alexander