The best cold leftovers

Did you order far too much food during an evening of binge-watching, insist on making that recipe for twelve people or simply get a little too enthusiastic about cooking in the spirit of better too much than too little? We’re crazy about leftovers in the editorial department. These are our favorites that are also incredibly delicious cold.

Or perhaps even more delicious. For those moments when you’re too lazy or hungover to turn on the oven or microwave.

Pizza
Do you get home late, have nothing in the fridge but are extremely hungry? Then there’s a good chance you’ll order a far too large pizza that you won’t be able to finish in years. In the editorial department, we’re more than happy to confess that we regularly take a cold slice of pizza from the box the next day. Nothing wrong with that.

Pasta
Let’s just be honest: no one manages to cook the right amount of pasta. Fortunately, the fact that there’s always far too much isn’t a problem. Mix the pasta with all the sauce in the evening (you should do that anyway, if you want to eat pasta like a true Italian) and store everything in the fridge. The next day, you can happily tuck into cold pasta.

Noodles
Noodles are actually pasta’s Asian sibling, and they also happen to be exceptionally good cold. How about Thai pad thai, Chinese mie noodles or Japanese soba or udon noodles, for example? After a night in the fridge, all the flavors will have soaked deliciously into the strands. Ideal as a hangover meal after a night out.

Pancakes
Americans love fresh pancakes for breakfast, but for anyone who prefers being lazy to getting up early: cold pancakes from the night before are perfect for breakfast. Whether they’re Dutch pancakes, French crêpes, American buttermilk pancakes or Japanese fluffy hotcakes. Deliciously sweet with syrup, jam or brown sugar, but also savory with bacon or cheese. Make sure to cover them well before putting them in the fridge, otherwise they’ll dry out quickly.

Meat
Have you gone all out roasting a whole chicken, making the perfect meatballs or preparing a juicy roast or a beautiful steak? Leftover cold meat is fantastic the next day on bread with a generous spread of mustard, mayo and crisp lettuce.