The Thrifty Cookbook

salt and pepper
Tabasco sauce, to serve (optional)
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan, add the onion, garlic and chillies and cook until softened but not browned. Add the sausages or chorizo and cook until the fat begins to run and they start to colour. Add the rice, bay leaf and spices and stir well so that the rice is coated in the oil and flavourings. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. After about 10 minutes, when the rice is half cooked, add the vegetables and then the leftover chicken and continue to simmer until the rice is just about done. Watch the rice: if it is just covered by stock, all will be well, but if it begins to look too dry, add a little more stock as needed.
Stir in the prawns and mix well. Turn off the heat, put the lid on the pan and leave for 3–4 minutes, to allow the prawns to cook in the heat of the rice. If you are using tiger prawns, however, you will need to add them with the chicken, as they will take 10 minutes to cook; smaller prawns will need almost no cooking and will become tough if overdone. Season to taste and serve hot, with a dash of Tabasco sauce for more bite

This spicy rice dish from the southern states of America uses long grain rice and just about anything you have lying around. It’s a great vehicle for mixed vegetables, with either leftover chicken or frozen prawns. Don’t be alarmed by the length of the ingredients list below – just use what you have and ignore whatever you don’t.
This recipe is just a starting point. For example, to make use of Christmas leftovers, use ham and turkey together, adding a 400g can of chopped tomatoes after the onion has cooked and reduce the quantity of stock accordingly. You could also convert it into a pasta dish by replacing the rice with small pasta such as macaroni, which gives the Creole thing an ironic Italian twist.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 hot chillies, deseeded and finely chopped, or 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
3 or 4 sausages or 1 good-sized chorizo sausage, skinned and chopped
360g long grain rice
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
1.3 litres stock
any mixed vegetables you have: a couple of red peppers, cut into strips, for example, and a teacup or two of diced courgettes, peas, beans or cauliflower florets
2 teacups (about 200g) diced cooked chicken
2 teacups (about 200g) defrosted raw prawns

ice simmered in oniony, spicy stock and youcando it this way, adding leftover meat or vegetables right at the end once the rice is cooked. But you can also make a pretty good approximation with a spare bowl of rice that will take half the time.
The bonus is that this is also a great way of clearing the fridge of needy vegetables or leftover meat.
Serves 3
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, crushed
a little butter or olive oil
1 teacup leftover or raw vegetables, cut into small pieces
1 teacup leftover meat, shredded fairly small
1½–2 teacups (160–200g) leftover rice
salt and pepper
To serve:
a handful of parsley or other herbs, finely chopped plain yogurt
Gently cook the onion and garlic in a little butter or olive oil in a frying pan, letting the onion brown to add sweetness to the dish. Add the vegetables. Leftover vegetables will simply need to heat through, but if they are raw, cook until they are tender. Add the meat and rice and season well with salt and a little pepper. Move the mixture about until it is hot right through. Serve in a bowl, with a handful of chopped parsley or your favourite herb and a dollop of tart plain yogurt