Let’s talk about leftovers.

You know by now that I am a big fan of cooking once and eating twice.

It just makes so much economical sense to me:

Less fuel used

Less planning

Less work

Fewer shopping trips to the market with fewer temptations

Overall, less time taken.

Leftovers may also be a nasty not-really-four-letter-word for some.

!BORING!

With a little imagination though

I believe one can turn leftovers into some very creative meals.

Look at what I did with my Warm Lentil Salad (find the story here).

Four days of yummy, healthy and certainly not boring meals.

OK maybe that fourth day straight out of the food container doesn’t count.

My big leftover kick this week involves

mashed potatoes in disguise using some mashed potatoes and kale,

frying the leftovers into crispy cakes

and serving them with a wonderfully flavourful

…and easy

rouille.

MASHED POTATO KALE CAKES with ROUILLE

makes 12 little cakes

what you will need for cakes

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 cup finely chopped kale leaves

2 tbsp finely minced onion

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

oil for cooking

what you will need for rouille

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp tomato paste

2 pressed cloves of garlic

pinch of smoked paprika

pinch of cayenne

putting it together

In a small bowl, whisk all the rouille ingredients together and set aside.

Mix all the potato cake ingredients together.

Adjust seasonings.

Heat cooking oil in a skillet.

Working in batches,

spoon portions of potato mixture (about 1/4 cup each)

onto hot skillet.

Flatten out slightly to about 1/2″ thick.

Don’t touch until you begin to see the nice brown crust forming

then carefully flip to brown the other side.

Keep warm while you cook the remaining cakes.

Serve warm with a dollop of rouille.

The cakes were comfort-food-delicious but the rouille was the star.

Thanks for the inspiration Bon Appétit January 2011