Delicious ways to avoid waste in kitchen

"As a chef and a Yorkshireman, the theme of Love Food Hate Waste is naturally a way of life for me.

"Food is expensive so the mere thought of throwing it in the bin fills me with horror. At my cookery school, in Barton, North Lincolnshire, what we can't transform into another meal we recycle or compost.

"With just a little thought and imagination you can save up to 50 a month on your grocery bills."

n Visit www.lovefoodhate waste.com. For information on what's happening in your area, or to apply to be one of the contestants in the food lovers challenge, contact your local council's waste and recycling service.

n For more information about The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy, contact 01469 530044 or visit www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Mediterranean Lamb Casserole

Suitable for cooked lamb, natural yoghurt, soft peppers and over-ripe tomatoes.

Serves four

600g cooked lamb

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves, crushed

50g plain flour

Fresh basil

Fresh rosemary

400ml lamb stock

8 tomatoes

2 mixed peppers

Black pepper

200mls natural yoghurt

Serve with spicy parsnip scones, see below.

Cut the lamb into cubes or thick slices.

Peel and dice the onion, peel and crush the garlic.

Slice the tomatoes and de-seed the peppers and dice.

In a hot saut pan add the olive oil and fry the lamb until it takes a golden crisp appearance. Now place the lamb into a casserole dish.

Using the same saut pan add the onion, garlic and peppers and saut until softened. Now sprinkle the flour over the ingredients in the saut pan and stir in until all the flour is dispersed and cooked.

Gradually add the lamb stock while stirring continuously to avoid any lumps forming in the sauce.

Sprinkle the basil, rosemary and black pepper over the lamb and place the sliced tomatoes on top of the lamb and cover with the sauce.

Bake the dish in the oven at 180C for approx 40 minutes.

Remove and serve with a drizzle of natural yoghurt and more chopped basil.

Spicy Parsnip Scones

Suitable for sour milk and soft parsnips

Makes 10 scones

250g plain flour

25g baking powder

75g butter

10mls olive oil

100g parsnips

100ml sour milk

1 egg

Pinch of salt and white pepper

Smoked paprika

Chopped parsley

Sieve the flour, baking powder and smoked paprika into a mixing bowl.

Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture, add a pinch of salt and white pepper and rub into the flour mix until a fine breadcrumb texture is reached. Wash, peel and grate the parsnip into the mixture. Add the egg, milk and mix into a dough.

Roll the dough out to the required thickness and cut with a pastry cutter to the required size, egg wash and bake at 180C on a non-stick baking tray for eight to 12 minutes. When cooked, remove from the oven and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika and chopped fresh parsley.

Alaskan Baked Fruit Pancakes with Lemon and Cinnamon Sauce

Suitable for soft apples, pears, pineapple and bananas and flat lemonade

Serves 4

200g plain flour

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

250ml milk

50g butter

25g caster sugar

400g Fruit

For the sauce

400mls flat lemonade

Cinnamon

50g cornflour

25g butter

2 egg yolks

For the meringue

2 egg whites

80g caster sugar

Sieve the flour into a bowl and add the eggs.

Melt the butter and add to the flour and egg mixture with the milk, salt and sugar.

Whisk and strain the mixture to remove any lumps or egg shell, allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Place a little butter in a shallow frying pan and heat until very hot, add one ladle of the pancake mixture and cook until golden brown on each side. Place your chosen fruit in the centre of the pancake and fold in to an envelope and place on a buttered baking tray.

Whisk the remaining egg white and sugar to produce a light meringue and spoon on top of the pancakes, bake in the oven at 160C for approx 12 mins until the meringue is cooked to a golden brown colour. To make the sauce, take the flat lemonade, cinnamon and butter and bring to the boil in a pan, mix the cornflour with a little water and gradually add the cornflour mixture into the boiling lemonade mixture, remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks and strain. Serve with the hot pancakes.

Chocolate Fridge Cake

Suitable for broken digestive biscuits, left-over Easter eggs or other chocolates

Makes 12 portions

250g digestive biscuits

150g milk chocolate

150g dark chocolate

100g unsalted butter

150g golden syrup

100g dried apricots, chopped

75g raisins

60g pecans, chopped (optional)

Line a 20cm shallow, square-shaped tin with clingfilm. Bash the biscuits into pieces using a rolling pin.

Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of warm water. Stir occasionally until all the chocolate has melted.

Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the broken biscuits, apricots, raisins and pecans. Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the surface by pressing it down with palette knife.

Leave to cool then put the chocolate mixture into the fridge for one to two hours to set. Turn out the cake and peel off the cling film.

Cut the cake into squares and enjoy.