Dinner Tonight, Dinner Tomorrow: Round One
Tonight's dinner can give you a big—and delicious—head start on tomorrow's.
Hi! We don’t live on Substack anymore, but will occasionally be posting here to remind you to visit us at our new home. You can sign up for a membership or a free subscription, here.
Sure, leftovers are great for the next day’s lunch. But what if tonight’s meal ended up as tomorrow’s supper—yet in a totally new, unexpected way? Welcome to Dinner Tonight, Dinner Tomorrow, a series that we hope you find as useful as we do.
Sometimes, unaltered leftovers serve exactly the right purpose—cold pizza for breakfast never hurt anyone, and pasta salad that’s had a good night’s sleep in the fridge makes a comforting and refreshing lunch. What’s even better, though, is crafting a delicious dinner tonight that can easily transform into something equally enticing but totally different the next night.
Both convenience and waste reduction should remain top of mind in this process. Today’s cooked sweet potatoes can become tomorrow’s za’atar-forward flatbread. Today, spending time with a vegetable peeler might end up looking like something adjacent to sushi while tomorrow, the peeler can remain clean while a hearty salad comes to life. (Note that, for those with smaller appetites or less ambition, just one dish can be the meal for each night.)
Think of repurposed dinners like your favorite remixes: They might not be “broken,” and they might not “need to be fixed,” but it’s entirely possible that they can get even better.
Today: Carrot and Cucumber Roll-Ups with Smoked Eggplant Spread
Silky and smoky, crunchy and fresh, and, visually, delightful, these roll-ups tick all the boxes. Ribboned carrots and cucumbers are idyllic vessels for charred eggplant blended with garlic, lemon, salt, tahini, and extra virgin olive oil. Topped with a vivid green oil/sauce—optional, but definitely recommended—and toasted sesame seeds, this recipe makes the idea of just rolling with it as appealing as ever. Plus, you’ll be left with lots of carrots, cucumbers, and smoked eggplant spread for an exciting new meal tomorrow.
Today: Charred and Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Green Olive Salsa Verde
Seared, roasted, and topped with a punchy green olive salsa verde, these sweet potatoes are everything you need, in the sense that they leave you feeling full, delighted, and energized. This recipe leaves room for endless interpretations on sweet potato leftovers (flatbreads await you tomorrow—find that recipe here).
Tomorrow: Carrot and Cucumber Salad with Feta and Dill
Loosely nestled cucumber and carrot ribbons come together to create crevices for generous crumbles of feta and fresh sprigs of dill. This recipe is a reminder that what’s simple can also be incredible, without requiring too much time or effort. Lemon juice, olive oil, and salt are capable of making almost anything delicious, and personalizing amounts of each (and including additional toppings) to your liking is just as easy.
Tomorrow: Sweet Potato Flatbread with Smoked Eggplant Spread and Green Olive Salsa Verde
You’d be hard pressed to find something more simple and satisfying than sweet potato flatbreads. These ones come together quickly, too, with cooked leftovers that are mashed and mixed with za’atar, salt, and all purpose flour. With a nice amount of smokiness (thanks to the eggplant spread you made last night, that you’ll always want to have on hand), and a briny zing of green olive salsa verde, a fun, filling meal comes together in almost no time.
 | A guest post by
|