Reheated rivalry: why I’m the champion of leftovers

There is a particular joy in watching someone do their culinary thing: not merely the motions of chopping and stirring, but that one dish or process they have perfected. My partner’s fish-finger sandwich—fried in butter, finished in a pan-sweat to melt cheese and with custom condiments—earns as much reverence as any signature pancake hack or carrot cake.

For me, the skill I guard jealously is reheating leftovers. Reheating often gets treated as drudge work, the task assigned to whoever you wouldn’t trust with the washing-up, and the results can suffer. With leftover pasta I fry it in a hot, wide pan with a touch of olive oil to blister the starches and caramelise the tomato, then add a few tablespoons of water, cover, and let the steam revive the dish.

Pizza benefits from a similar approach: crisp the base in a hot, dry pan, sprinkle a little water, turn the heat down and cover until the cheese softens. Think about each element of a dish and what it needs.

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