Leftovers to Love - Reheating with your Combi Steam Oven

The CSQ is a big fan of using up leftovers and being creative in the kitchen, but I must confess that I haven't always been so virtuous in this area. Did you know that Australians discard (which is a fancy word for throw away!) up to 20% of the food that they buy? To put that in real terms, it's 1 out of every 5 bags of groceries that we bring home.*

It really isn't good. Such a waste of food and a huge waste of money.  And when you think about it in terms of sustainability and that bigger picture idea of being conscious of our impact on the planet, it also equates to wasting food miles with transport as well as wasting the energy and input that goes into farming and producing what we eat.

One thing that we can do, to create a little positive change, is focus on using our leftovers. As I write a blog around Combi Steam cooking, you don’t have to be Einstein to realise that there is a link coming here. The link between Combi Steam cooking and food waste is mastering the reheating options in your oven.

For some, you will have a dedicated function that is set up just for re-heating. In my brand of choice this is called Regeneration and there is also an automatic version of that same function called RegeneratOmatic, which is honestly a lifesaver! It may also be called Reheat. Regeneration or Reheat will use a balance of humidity and steam alongside heat so that you can replace the moisture in the food while also regaining that “just cooked” texture. Depending on how crunchy or crispy you would like the end result, you will need to adjust the temperature. For more crunch use a higher temperature. For less use a lower temperature. For somewhere in the middle, which will suit most leftovers like casserole, pasta or rice dishes, meats and vegetables, I would choose somewhere between 120°C and 140°C. In some Combi Steam ovens you may also need to choose the amount of Steam you need. Again, for most dishes I would leave it at the default setting, which is likely somewhere between 40% and 60% steam. If you are doing something that needs to be drier (like pizza or pastries) then you could reduce that to 20%-30% instead.

The advantage of using your Combi Steam to reheat is that balance between the steam and the heat from the element. The steam helps to add the moisture back into the food. You will notice that when you store food in the fridge after it has been cooked, it does lose some of its moisture and texture so this can only be a good thing.

In terms of timing, re-heating using your Combi Steam will take longer than using a microwave. But, it is not all about time. You may have to spend a little longer doing it this way, but the results and the enjoyment when eating, makes it all worthwhile. When you microwave food, you are essentially turning the moisture in the food into heat which makes it get hot. But, it also makes it get dry and can cause that rubbery texture, especially in meat. It can also over cook your food leaving you with a compromised texture. Microwave reheating can also be uneven as some parts of the food will heat faster than others. Using the Combi Steam ensures an even heat as the steam can penetrate more evening through the food while it heats. In terms of timing, for a single serve of leftovers I would recommend at least 10 minutes. If you are heating a portion of something a little more dense, like a layered pasta dish, I would increase that time to around 15 minutes. When it comes to heating larger dishes of food that serve many, you will need to increase the time accordingly - for something like a large casserole or lasagna it will likely take somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes. You can, however, portion it up and place the individual pieces of lasagna on a tray to reheat for a speedier result. This leads me to another advantage of Combi Steam reheating which is being able to place multiple portions, plates or bowls into the oven at the same time. The reheating time won’t change if you increase the number of plates and in this way, it may even end up quicker than the old microwave when serving more than one.

As I mentioned, my beautiful Combi Steam has the option to use RegeneratOmatic which is completely automated and sets the time, temperature and moisture levels for me. All I need to do is set either Crispy or Moist depending on the result that I want. For example rice, pasta, stirfry, curry, casserole etc are best done using Moist/Humid whereas Pastries, Breads and Pizza are usually preferred Crispy. This function is best for individual portions or serves of food. Try loaves, bread sticks or bread rolls that have been hanging around for a few days too long or some muffins or scones you baked a few days earlier. For a quick dinner reheat last nights leftover pasta dish or roast. It will literally be as good as new when you hear that beep and take it out to enjoy.

If you choose to freeze your leftovers to help them last a little longer, or you cook ahead in bulk and then freeze individual serves for later, you can also defrost your leftovers perfectly using the Steam function. For cooked food I find it better to defrost on the Steam function at 40°C. You can pop the food into the Combi Steam in ANY container or packaging at this temperature. If it has a lid or cover on that's ok but I often remove mine to help the Steam get in quicker and get the defrosting going. If you freeze you leftovers in containers or bags, flatter and thinner will always defrost quicker than more compact containers. It's about the density - the less dense the quicker it will defrost. You will never ever "cook" anything when you defrost with Steam at low temperature, and nothing will end up hard or dry. It's brilliant!

When you use your Regneration or Reheat function it is always better to defrost the food this way first so that you get the best reheating result.

So get leftovering using your Steam to defrost and Regeneration/Reheat to bring it back to life. Don't throw it away - think outside the square with new ways to use up those bits and pieces.

If you want to find ways to create new and exciting meals from your leftovers you can also search the Leftover Love tab in my Recipes section for some inspiration.

For those of you that like a little bit of extra help you might find my downloadable “cheat sheets” useful. For a small donation that helps to keep me posting and cooking you can find them here.

Happy Combi Steaming!

Yours in the kitchen

The CSQ x

*Food Waste info from http://www.foodwise.com.au/foodwaste/food-waste-fast-facts/