How to make soup from leftovers

Do not let your leftovers go to waste when you can transform them into a tasty meal in minutes.

Chef Paul Thinus Prinsloo of Waterkloof Estate, who is also Africa, and the Middle East regional winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef shares tips on how to make soup from leftovers.

Meat

Instead of adding all your meat to a stew, keep some aside to prevent wastage and make a soup from the rest.

Pasta and grains

Don’t mix all of the pasta when making mac and cheese if you know it is going to be too much, keep excess pasta and use it for a bowl of Minestrone soup.

Potatoes

Potatoes such as a mash can be used in soups for flavouring and thickening.

Raw vegetables

Raw vegetable offcuts can be stored and used as the base for your soup.

Leftover stew

The leftover stew can be reused, by adding more liquid and veggies to the mix or as a start to a soup.

Here is a quick recipe that you can try.

Leftover Stew Soup (2kg leftover)

Ingredients

2 x large onions fine chopped

4 x large carrots sliced into cubes

1 x bunch celery fine chopped

1 x bunch leeks thin slices

5 x cloves garlic minced

4l beef stock

500g lentils (partly cooked)

500g whole peeled tin tomatoes

1 x tomato paste

200g grated parmesan

Method

In a hot pot sweat your veggies.

Add garlic and tomato paste and lentils, cook until the pasta starts sticking to the pot.

Deglaze with beef stock.

Add tomatoes and stew mix. Stir until stew has been mixed.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour or until thick for soup consistency.

Dish soup up and add grated parsley over before serving.