I thought if I wrote about it this week, I might actually not be able to look away from one of the most daunting endeavours I have ever taken on. I finally decided that after years of teaching cookery and a strong sense of sustainability creeping into my kitchen, but most of all, a growing love for Glasgow and it’s people, I was ready to take the plunge.

After nearly two years of shying away from finally putting my plans into action, I have finally decided to open a community cook school in Glasgow later this year. I'll be starting small, but with hope it will be a place where people can learn to cook good from scratch, celebrating the diversity of Scotland as well as the natural larder of this enriched country. I want to pass on my growing love for ethical and organic, plus a passion for all things veggie; I hope to teach and host events in an incredible location based on the same social good food principles – plus I will be joined by many wonderful kindred spirits that will help along the way.

So I have spent most of the past few weeks obsessing about everything from company structure to possible classes, and this got me thinking most of a need for a more no-waste food culture, and classes that might help people with this. We read how much food is wasted each week in people's homes, so much of it can be used to make perfectly delicious and healthy meals for the family – but somewhere along the line we started throwing out food that was fine to eat. Whether this is due to the lack of knowing how to turn leftovers into something exciting or merely the disposable culture that has become such a part of our 21st century existence, it still needs to be addressed.

So as I planned a no-waste workshop in my head, I thought back to my childhood where nothing reasonably edible was every disposed of. Always finding ways to reinvent a dish, I have always loved this dish – my small way of not wasting food. Use whatever herbs, spices and topping you have and never throw away or have to eat boring plain mash again.

Aloo bharta - Mashed potato with cumin and crushed chilli

I call this a spiced Pakistani mashed potato. My grandmother would make it with leftover mash. I also make an avocado version (see Kitchen

secret below), which works as a dip with crisped pitta or as a side dish. You can use this mash to recreate a street snack sold on roadsides called aloo bonda: just make round balls from the mash, dip in pakora batter and deep-fry. Served with a fresh chutney.

Kitchen secret

To make an avocado version, add mustard seeds to the oil at the

start, allow to splutter, then add the remaining ingredients. Omit the

amchoor and mint leaves.

Preparation 15 minutes | Cooking 20 minutes | Serves 4–6

3 Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and

cut into 4 pieces

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 small garlic clove, chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

¼ tsp ground turmeric

5 curry leaves

salt, to taste

1 tsp crushed dried red chilli

2 tbsp finely chopped

coriander (cilantro) leaves

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

10 mint leaves, finely chopped

1 spring onion (scallion), finely

chopped

1 tsp dry-roasted cumin seeds,

roughly ground in mortar

and pestle

2 green chillies, deseeded and

finely chopped

1 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

(or the juice of ½ lime)

1 tsp dry-roasted coriander seeds,

ground

Boil the potatoes in a large saucepan until soft, then drain, return to the pan and mash them well, cover and set aside.

Heat a shallow pan with the coconut oil over a medium heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter for 30 seconds. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 7–9 minutes until soft and light brown around the edges.

Add the turmeric and stir the onions, then add the curry leaves and allow to splutter.

Remove the pan from the heat. Heat the mashed potato in a pan or microwave until piping hot. Stir the onion mixture into the mashed potato until combined. Season with salt and add the remaining ingredients. Serve warm.