Christmas is a time of plenty, but what are you going to do with all those leftovers? Here are some of our favourite leftover recipes.
For as fun as Christmas can be, it is often quite a stressful time, especially after the chaos of Christmas day. The idea behind our guide was to find quick, easy and fun recipes to turn your cold leftovers into delicious, stress free meals for the family.
Don’t worry about sticking to these recipes too strictly, just use what you have and enjoy yourself.
Leftover Turkey Casserole
Recipe by Sarah Cook at www.bbcgoodfood.com
Prep: 15 mins Difficulty: Easy Serves 4
Cook: 25 mins
This one pot stew uses up all your roast dinner leftovers in one go and has a great honey mustard tang.
Ingredients
2 onion, finely chopped
1 eating apple, cored and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried sage, or 5 sage leaves, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
300ml vegetable or chicken stock
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp runny honey
400g-500g leftover turkey, shredded
about 350g leftover roasted vegetables like roast potatoes, parsnips, celeriac and carrots, chunkily diced
Method
Fry the onion and apple in the oil until softened in a casserole or deep pan. Stir in the sage for 1 min, then stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the stock followed by the mustard and honey.
Bring up to a simmer and stir in the turkey and roast veg. Cover and gently simmer for 15 mins until turkey is piping hot. Season and eat with mash or jacket potatoes.
Sweet Potato & Sprout Hash with Poached Eggs
Recipe by Cassie Best at www.bbcgoodfood.com
Prep: 15 mins Difficulty: Easy Serves 3
Cook: 25 mins
This quick and easy pan-fried dish uses up leftover Brussels sprouts for a delicious Boxing day brunch, or a low fat, low calorie weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
2 tsp olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
300g Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
grating of nutmeg
3 eggs
Method
Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on high for 5 mins until tender but still holding their shape. Uncover the bowl and leave to cool a little.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide non-stick frying pan and add the onions. Cook for 5-8 mins until starting to caramelise. Add the sprouts and stir-fry over a high heat until softened. Push the sprouts and onions to one side of the pan and add the sweet potatoes, squashing them down in the pan with the back of a spatula. Leave undisturbed for 5 mins until starting to crisp on the underside. Season, add the nutmeg, mix in the sprouts and onions, and flip the potato over, trying not to break it up too much. Cook for a further 5 mins until really crispy.
Meanwhile, poach 3 eggs in a pan of barely simmering water. Serve the hash topped with poached eggs.
Leftover Turkey Banh Mi
Recipe by Jamie Oliver at www.jamieoliver.com
“The perfect leftover turkey recipe – these crispy meat, paté and pickle-filled baguettes are to die for. ”
Serves: 4 Cooks in 20 minutes Difficulty: Super Easy
Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon low-salt soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons leftover chicken liver pate
Optional:
• 1 fresh red chilli
• olive oil
• 190g leftover cooked turkey, preferably brown meat
• 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 2 medium baguettes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 cm piece of fresh ginger
• sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Hellmann’s mayonnaise
• ½ a small bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 carrot
• ½ cucumber
• ¼ of a white cabbage
• sesame oil
Method
For this recipe, you will need 190g leftover cooked turkey, preferably brown meat.
Tip – If you don’t have any leftover turkey: Preheat the oven to 19ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
Place chicken thighs or drumstick on a tray, drizzle with oil and season lightly.
Pop in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, and the juices run clear.
Remove any bones, then shred up to use in your dish.
Preheat the oven to 130ºC/250ºF/gas ½. Add a splash of olive oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Roughly shred and add the turkey (if you’ve got the skin, add that too) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Grate in the lime zest and stir in the chilli sauce, then reduce the heat to low and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until crisp and slightly caramelised.
Meanwhile, place the baguettes in the oven to warm through. Peel and add the garlic and most of the ginger to a pestle and mortar, then bash to a smooth paste with a pinch of salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Muddle in the mayo and the juice from the lime, then pick in the coriander leaves and stir to combine. Set aside.
To make the pickle, peel the carrot, then coarsely grate and add to a large bowl along with the cucumber and cabbage. Peel, finely chop and add the remaining ginger, then sprinkle over a pinch of salt and scrunch together with your hands to get rid of any excess liquid. Add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, the soy and vinegar and toss well to combine.
Open out the warm baguettes, spread the chicken liver paté onto one side of each, then pile over the turkey and pickled veg. Finish with a dollop of lime-spiked mayo, then finely chop and scatter over the chilli (if using) along with the reserved coriander leaves. Press down slightly on the baguettes to close, then cut the banh mi into chunks and tuck in.
Pytt y Panna (Little Pieces in a Pan)
Recipe by Jamie Oliver at www.jamieoliver.com
“My take on Pytt y panna is a great way to use leftover meat and a beautiful meal in its own right ”
Serves: 6 Cooks in 35 Minutes Difficulty: Super Easy
Ingredients
• 2 thick slices higher-welfare smoked bacon , or 6 rashers of higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
• 2 quality smoked or regular sausages, cooked
• 300 g quality cooked brisket, or other leftover cooked meat
• 80 g salami, skin removed
• 2 small onions, peeled
• 3 large carrots, quartered
• 1 kg potatoes, scrubbed clean
• a few sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme , leaves picked
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 quail’s eggs
• 1 jar dill pickles, to serve
• For the dressing
• 1 teaspoon good mustard
• 1 tablespoon good-quality cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small handful fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 small handful fresh dill, roughly chopped
• 1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
Method
For this recipe you will need 300 g quality cooked brisket, or other leftover cooked meat. If you don’t have any leftover cooked brisket: use pork belly instead – follow packet instructions (pack sizes will vary).
I wish I’d known about this dish earlier in my life, because it’s the sort of brilliant everyday dish I absolutely love. Essentially it’s a hash. Everyone I spoke to in Sweden seemed to have their preferred method of making theirs; this is mine. The one thing that seems to be consistent is that it usually involves using leftover meat and potatoes. The idea is to chop and slice all the ingredients into roughly 1–2cm cubes and add them to the pan as you go. So you’re prepping and frying until everything is beautifully cooked.
Swedes always serve this topped with a raw egg yolk. That might freak some people out, but you’ve got to get your head around it because the idea is that you toss it all up yourself and the yolk enriches the whole thing as it slowly gets cooked by the residual heat.
Heat a really wide shallow non-stick pan on a medium heat. Chop your bacon into small pieces and fry for 2 to 3 minutes so that the fat starts to render out. While that’s happening, chop up your sausage, brisket and salami into cubes, and add to the pan as you go. Do the same with the onions, carrots, potatoes and herbs. Keep stirring to make sure nothing catches, using your spoon to scrape all the goodness from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down if you think it’s cooking too fast. Have a taste to check the seasoning; the salt in the smoked meats will probably be enough, but add a pinch of salt and a good pinch of pepper if you think it needs it.
Keep stirring as it cooks and after about 20 minutes, once the potatoes and carrots have softened and everything looks delicious, make your dressing by putting all the dressing ingredients into a jar (reserving the dill flowers if you have them). Pour the dressing into the pan – the acidity will be fantastic with all that rich meat. Carefully separate the egg whites from their yolks and put them to one side. If you want to, leave the yolks in their shells so everyone can tip their own egg yolk into their dish and stir it through. That will give the dish a bit of a theatrical edge.
Divide your pytt y panna between the plates. Make a well in the top and add a yolk (or eggshell with a yolk in it) to each one. Load up a side plate with dill pickles, and roughly chop your dill flowers and scatter them over. The combination of meaty comforting hash, egg for sheen, dressing for acidity and herbs for freshness is insane. Go for it!
Featured image courtesy of Monique at Ambitious Kitchen