Reheating leftovers without drying them out

✅ The essentials

A leftover dries out when you reheat it too hard and with nothing. The secret is a little moisture and a lid: a spoon of water and a plate on the bowl in the microwave, a splash of water and a lid in the pan, a sheet of foil over the dish in the oven. And you reheat until it is steaming all through, not just lukewarm.

📏 The landmarks

• Microwave: in a bowl covered with a plate, a tablespoon of water for pasta, rice and vegetables, medium power, and you stir halfway. Two to three minutes for a portion.
• Pan: medium heat, a splash of water, lid on, three to four minutes. That is the best way for pasta, rice, stir-fries and meatballs in sauce.
• Oven: 150 to 160 °C (300 to 325 °F), the dish covered with foil, twenty minutes. For gratins, quiches, dishes in sauce, and pizzas uncovered so they stay crisp.
• Pot: low heat, stirring, for soups and sauces, with a little water if they thickened.
• It is ready when it is steaming in the centre, not only on the edges. Meat in sauce is better reheated gently than hard.
• A leftover is only reheated once. What you do not eat does not go back to the fridge.
• Pink meat does not reheat without finishing cooking: eat it cold, in slices, in a salad or a sandwich.

⏱️ How long it takes

Three minutes in the microwave, five in the pan, twenty in the oven. Often less than cooking.

🩹 If it goes wrong

It is dry: a spoon of water, cream or sauce, a lid, one more minute. It is lukewarm in the centre and burning on the edges: that is the microwave, stir and put it back a minute on medium power. The rice is hard: a little water, lid on, and it turns tender again in the steam.

🍽️ Make it tonight

Yesterday's bolognese sauce, reheated on low heat with two spoons of water while the pasta cooks.