I don't throw yesterday's Yorkshire puddings away

By Sunday evening the roasting tin has cooled, and in a bowl on the side sit the leftover Yorkshire puddings: golden, dark at the edges, the middles already a little less crisp than they were at lunch. In autumn, when the roast comes back to the table every week and the evenings draw in early, there are nearly always a few left. For years I left them on the tray until morning, with no plan at all, and by Monday they had gone soft and sad, and in the bin they went.

Now I don't throw yesterday's Yorkshire puddings away. I just treat them like any other cooked leftover, and give them a plan before I go to bed.

The plan starts on Sunday evening. Once they have cooled, which takes no time at all because they are mostly air, they go into a tub or a bag and into the fridge, within two hours of coming out of the oven. Not left on the open tray overnight, not on the windowsill. My fridge sits at 5°C or colder. From there I have two days. If I can see that Monday and Tuesday are already full, I freeze them instead, the same evening, in a bag with the date on it. They freeze well, because there isn't much in them to go watery.

Reheating is where they come back to life. I heat the oven properly, to about 200°C (180°C fan), and put the puddings on a tray in one layer. From the fridge they need about five minutes; from frozen, a few minutes more. I don't take them out because the outside looks done: I break one open and check that the middle is steaming hot all the way through. Then they crisp up again, the edges crackle, and the kitchen fills with that Sunday smell for the second time in two days. I reheat them only once. Whatever doesn't get eaten after that doesn't go back in the fridge for a third try.

I don't do it in the microwave. It does heat them, but they come out soft and chewy, like a damp sponge, and there is no point in a Yorkshire pudding that isn't crisp.

What do they become on Monday? Sometimes just a plate with the last of the roast and gravy. The gravy has its own pan and I bring it to the boil until it is bubbling, so it is properly hot too. Sometimes I fill each pudding with a spoonful of hot leftover vegetables or a few slices of roast meat, heated until steaming, and it is a small supper in ten minutes. And sometimes, when there is just one or two, they go to the table as a sweet thing: warm from the oven, a spoonful of jam or golden syrup in the hollow. On a dark autumn evening that feels like a treat.

There are a few things I don't keep. If they have gone soft and woolly in the bag, or smell off, or show any spot of mould, they go. If I'm not sure how long they have been in the fridge, they go too, and my nose doesn't get the final say. Yorkshire puddings are made from flour, eggs and milk, so I remember they contain gluten, egg and milk when someone at the table has an allergy.

Fresh from the tin and these leftovers aren't quite the same, and I don't pretend they are. But a tray of forgotten puddings is a waste, and yesterday's puddings that I actually eat today, hot and crisp, are a small win at the start of the week.

Reheated Yorkshire puddings with gravy. Serves 2. About 10 minutes. You need 4–6 leftover Yorkshire puddings (chilled within 2 hours of cooking, no more than 2 days old, or frozen), leftover gravy, and leftover roast meat or vegetables if you have them. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Put the puddings on a tray in one layer and heat for about 5 minutes from the fridge, a few minutes longer from frozen, until steaming hot in the middle. Bring the gravy to the boil until bubbling; heat any meat or vegetables until steaming hot. Fill the puddings and serve straight away. Reheat once only. Contains gluten, egg and milk.