Don't waste food, re-cook your leftovers

This is not fair...

Transforming leftover fish, to"Fishballs"

Think about those who can't afford a decent meal in the world. Hunger is one of the main problems of humankind today and it effects a vast range of population especially the children. I don't mean to depress any of you but lately - especially after the birth of my daughter - I am trying to throw less food in the garbage by cooking them in various forms again. For instance, after cooking bonito last night, there were some leftovers tonight, so I decided to make fishballs instead of throwing them in the garbage.

The process is incredibly easy and fast to make it; even you can manage to get your kids to like fish without a hassle. So, lets get started...

Here are the ingredients:
Leftover fish
Leftover bread
1 Onion
Parsley
1 Egg
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cumin
Salt&Pepper

Leftover and wet bread, leftover fish, onion, parsley, egg, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin

Take your hard and leftover bread slices, and wet them under the water finishing it with a good squeeze to drain them. De-bone and de-skin your leftover fish, shred them with your hands along with the bread and put them into the mixing bowl. Chop your onions, parsley and anything you may had with your leftover (in my case, I had cooked tomatoes, garlic, and green peppers) and add them into the bowl as well. Add one egg (with its yolk), salt, pepper, and cumin on top.

Chop everything, add salt, pepper and cumin

Now, by using your hands, knead the whole mix for about 3 - 5 minutes, making sure that everything hold each other. Let it rest for about 10 minutes, and make medallion shaped thick circles. Do not forget to heat your oiled diecast cooking pan heat up until a slight smoke starts coming up.

Kneaded mix ready 

Pre-heat your diecast pan for 5 minutes at high flame, but lower it towards the end

Fishball medallions waiting to be cooked

By now, your diecast pan must be slightly smoking. This means you are ready to put your fishballs on it. If you forgot to put some olive oil in the pan, it is never too late. You can spread some, right now but let it sizzle a bit. Now, place your fishballs gently on the pan...

Tempting sound of sizzling....mmmh :)

Do not touch your fishballs for at least 5 to 6 minutes. You can check and see if they are grilled crisp and golden with the help of a pair of tongs. Be careful ! If you try flipping them over too early, fishballs would break up their circular forms. So, be patient and let them cook well.

A nice golden crisp

Now do the same length of cooking for the other side, and when it is finished, decorate your plate with thin sliced tomatoes and tortilla. Dress it up with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve it hot...

Place them on a tomato base

Yummy !

You can also serve it with grilled on the side

With this easy and fast recipe, I hope that we will avoid throwing food away and think of those who go to sleep with empty stomach everynight...especially the children.

Enjoy !

You can visit the following links to learn and contribute more:

http://www.unicef.org/

http://www.oxfam.org/

http://www.savethechildren.org