Once Christmas Day is over, many of us struggle with what to do with all the leftovers that are now crammed into the fridge. These are likely to include turkey or other meats, vegetables, cheese and half-drunk bottles of bubbly. So, what are you going to do with all of this leftover food?
Whether you have enjoyed turkey, beef or gammon and a whole host of festive veg, there are loads of different ways to make the most of your leftovers rather than assigning them to the bin!
To help you plan your post-Christmas meals using these delicious leftovers, we’ve come up with some suggestions to add variety to a tasty range of meals for lunch or dinner.
Leftover turkey
We all enjoy a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce and stuffing on Christmas Day night. But did you know that leftover turkey can also make a delicious pie. Try this recipe for Lebanese turkey pie made with filo pastry, aubergines and dried apricots. What’s more, this recipe takes less than an hour to prepare and cook.
Alternatively, why not try making a turkey meatball soup. You can combine the leftover turkey with stuffing and egg, roll into meatball and set to one side. Then dissolve two chicken stock cubes into 600 ml boiling water and stir through 2 cm of peeled and sliced ginger, one sliced red chilli, three sliced spring onions and one stalk of lemongrass. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the meatballs along with eight leftover sprouts and one sliced carrot and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Finally add 200 ml of coconut milk and heat through. Take off the heat and add the juice of half a lime and four sprigs of Thai basil leaves. This makes a fantastic soup flavoured by a taste of Thai.
Pizza toppings using Christmas left overs
Leftover meat, veg and other sides are great to add to home-made pizza as toppings. You can add slices of turkey, beef or chicken along with chunks of carrots, parsnips and sprouts.
All you need to do is to buy a plain pizza base (or alternatively you can use wraps or pieces of Naan bread) and simply top the base with your leftover meat, veg and cheese. You can even add dollops of sauces like cranberry or horseradish after the pizza has been cooked for additional flavour.
This is an ideal way to feed the family without wasting any of your festive ingredients.
Leftover Boxing Day Gammon
Leftover gammon or ham also make a great Boxing Day pie. In addition to your leftover gammon, peas and potatoes, the only other ingredients you will need are three finely sliced leeks, olive oil, butter, chicken stock and 200 ml double cream.
Simply heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and soften the leeks for around 10 minutes. Add 400g of leftover gammon or ham and 100g of peas, the cream and 200ml of chicken stock and heat until boiling. Season and top with 400g of mashed, roast potatoes. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and serve with warmed through leftover Christmas Day veg.
Boxing Day bubble and squeak
No Boxing Day is complete without a helping of crispy and tasty bubble and squeak. This is the easiest way to use up everyone’s favourite veggie leftovers. And if you haven’t tried it served with a poached egg on top before, let this Christmas be the year. You won’t regret it!
Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher
We hope you enjoyed these leftover recipes. But remember, these recommendations don’t just apply to Christmas leftovers, you can make soups, pies, pizzas or bubble and squeak all year round using your Sunday roast (or other meal) leftovers.
To order your family’s weekly meat supply you no longer have to go to the shops; you can shop from the comfort of your own home from www.bestonlinebutcher.co.uk with the reassurance that your meat will remain fresh in our sustainable Woolcool packaging.