From Surprise Bags to Shared Plates: A Zero-Waste Dinner Party
What happens when you give a group of friends a Too Good To Go Surprise Bag and a dinner invite...
I’ve always loved the idea of turning some rather sad ingredients into something really special - and this dinner party was exactly that. I gathered a few friends and gave us all the same challenge: make a dish using something from their own Too Good To Go Surprise Bag. It felt like a fun experiment…but honestly? The results delicious! We ended up with bruschetta made from bruised tomatoes and wilted basil, the cosiest baked gnocchi, and apples that were on their last legs - baked into the most comforting crumble. Nothing wasted. Just simple, generous food, shared around the table.
…here are all the recipes if you’d like to make them, too.
Classic Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients
1 baguette, sliced
2 punnets cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
A small handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Pinch of sea salt flakes
Feta Olive Checkerboard
Ingredients
1 block of feta
A handful of green olives
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
½ brown onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh chilli (or a pinch of chilli flakes), finely chopped
700ml passata
Pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
500g gnocchi
3 tbsp grated parmesan
1 ball fresh mozzarella, torn
Small handful of fresh basil, plus extra to serve
Harissa Roasted Carrot & Cauliflower with Whipped Feta
Ingredients
2 carrots, chopped on a diagonal
½ head cauliflower, cut into florets
1½ tbsp harissa paste
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon and Rocket Risoni Salad
Ingredients
1 cup risoni (or orzo) pasta, uncooked
2 cups rocket, roughly chopped
3 tbsp grated parmesan
3 tbsp crushed pistachios, optional
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Choc-Dipped Strawberries with Pistachios
Ingredients
1 punnet of strawberries
100g dark chocolate (or milk chocolate, if preferred)
2 tbsp pistachios, finely chopped
Baked Apples with Cinnamon and Almonds
Ingredients
75g rolled oats
50g plain flour
50g maple syrup
30g almonds, roughly chopped
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
60ml coconut oil, firm or slightly softened
3 apples, cored and halved
¼ cup hot water
Vanilla ice cream, to serve
