Toppings are another great way to decorate a dish and have the added advantage of acting as a stretcher to make the food feed a couple more mouths if required. Crumbles are often overlooked yet they are simple to make for either sweets or savories. Savory crumbles are ideal for vegetarians and can be flavoured with cheese, or nuts, or herbs.
Cobblers, or scone toppings are another variation, similar to the favorite American dish of biscuits and gravy. Dumplings too are simple to prepare and who can resist them on a cold winters evening. They can be made in advance and frozen in balls ready to drop straight into a stew (just add an extra ten minutes to the overall cooking time.)
As well as adding toppings for appearance you can also use them to add a bit of texture and crunch, often lacking in leftovers recipes. Take some stale bread and cut it into cubes and spread over the top of a dish destined for the oven, sprinkle some grated cheese as well for extra flavour. Similarly, slightly stale breakfast cereals like cornflakes, oats or rice crispies can be used. One of my favorites is to slice day old roast potatoes and spread them over the surface with a little grated Parmesan cheese before baking - not one for people on diets.
Mashed potato (fresh or previously cooked) is another excellent topping, especially with a little something extra running through it. Adding wholegrain mustard works well with beef dishes as does a little horseradish. Root vegetables like carrots and swede can be mashed in to give a bit of colour and extra flavour. After you have added a potato topping, tease it into lots of small peaks with a fork and brush with melted butter. Finish under the grill for a few minutes to get those crispy bits that everyone loves. Yesterdays stuffing can also be crumbled into mash and then cooked, fried it is similar to a hash recipe. Adding the remains of a jar of pesto or chopped dried tomatoes makes an excellent side dish to go with chicken.
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