Bobby Flay's Go-To Technique For Using Up Extra Vegetables
Bobby Flay is constantly taking us on a food journey. Whether Flay is wandering the streets and eats in Rome with his sidekick Giada De Laurentiis in their discovery+ limited series, Bobby and Giada in Italy, or serving up some delicious dish from Hot off the Grill, or accepting challenge after challenge on his Throwdown with Bobby Flay (via Insider), we always feel like our culinary skills are a little better, if not more ambitious, for having watched from afar.
The Iron Chef who, per Food Network, has won 43 of his 61 battles on the show, is definitely a fan of vegetables. Flay most famously quipped, "Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course," (via Washington Post). We love this philosophy, but we know that not all family members might be feeling that vibe in the same manner. So, when you shop vegetable-heavy, you may tend to have quite a few leftovers that you don't want to go to waste. Well, never fear, Flay has offered up a genius technique to not only use up those veggies but even sneak them into the next meal without your kids realizing it. But the really great thing about Flay's solution, in our humble opinion, is that it uses a staple you probably already have in your pantry.
Rice can transform leftover vegetables
According to a video posted to Misfits Market's Instagram, Flay breaks out the rice to use up his leftover vegetables and transform them into a new meal. Flay does so in a really clever way, noting in the video: "A lot of times I have a lot of leftover vegetables from my Misfits box and I love to wrap it around some rice. So, it could be lots of different things." Variety! We love that, as will the family. And if you need some inspiration, just peruse Flay's recipes and you will find a treasure trove that can help you get creative with rice. From his Zucchini Boats with Mediterranean-style Chickpea Rice to use up those summer squash before they go to waste, to his Crispy Coconut Scallion Rice, Flay has got your back (via Steamy Kitchen).
Flay went on in the video to share, "I always have some red curry in my pantry, so I can make like a red curry coconut sauce. Take some of those ingredients, wrap it in the red curry sauce, and then serve it with like, some steamed rice or coconut rice or something like that. Or another thing I like to do is to make either a fried rice or paella dish. But, to me, rice is a great way and a great vehicle to utilize all those extra vegetables that you have in the refrigerator." We couldn't agree more and high-five to Flay for this fantastic tip.