Recipes for leftovers

Boxing Day Special & crowd pleasing batch cooking for hungry house guests

Hello Boxing Day buddies.

A quick Merry Christmas from me & wishing you a fabulous festive break. I’ll keep things short & sweet today & offer some of my favourite recipes for leftovers & also, in case you’re feeding a crowd here’s a few ‘everybody loves them’ big batch recipes.

We are celebrating the rest of this week in rural France where close family live. Here’s a few local things we’ve loved. Special mention to the horseradish sauce (“raifort”) served with the cured salmon and the biggest cheese straw I’ve ever seen.

A few (free) amuse- bouche to kick off a feast in the local village café in france

If you were with me last year, you’ll remember this paid subscriber newsletter which many of you said was worth it’s weight in gold the A - Z of Boxing Day Leftovers & as the name suggests there are 26 leftover recipes taking you through the alphabet!

Also I wondered, perhaps you have planned so efficiently and therefore find yourself with zero leftovers!? Or perhaps you’re hosting loved ones for an extended say or have popping in over the next few days and need some good - and easy and affordable- family friendly meals up your sleeve? If so, I recommend the Big Bolognese (bursting with veg) and if you’re all meat-ed out, this gorgeous and crowd pleasing Bean Chilli

Homemade leek and potato soup with cream and chives

Here’s my top 5 recipes for leftovers, enjoy enjoy enjoy

1. Turkey salad with clementine tahini dressing - recipe below

2. Coconut curry with leftover turkey with quick nutty slaw - recipe below

3. Sprouts with olives, caper & parmesan - recipe - toss with pasta or serve on toast

4. Boxing Day Brussels fritters - recipe below - with a really cheesy old video of me making them in my old kitchen (loved that kitchen)

5. Sprout slaw - and last but not least, this is a paid subscriber recipe from my friend Florence Blair it’s the most beautiful refreshing looking crunchy winter slaw

Sprout slaw from Florence Blair. Recipe on her Substack

Brussels Sprout Fritters Sprouts so suit being a fritter. Delicious hot or cold. You can make these with shredded cabbage too & should you have any leftover hard cheese or herbs like sage, thyme or rosemary, add into the fritter mix.

2 handfuls cooked Brussels sprouts (150g)

2 handfuls cooked root veg eg sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, swede, potatoes (250g)

1 onion or leek, finely chopped

1 medium egg

2 - 3 tbsp flour

2 - 3 tbs ghee, butter & leftover chicken/beef/duck fat (from christmas) for frying

Sea salt & pepper (go easy if you've already seasoned your veg from the main meal)

Optional toppings - fried or poached egg, Halloumi, mushrooms, leftover cold cuts

1. Whisk the egg in a large mixing bowl then chop the onion and add to the bowl.

2. Chop the sprouts and add to the bowl. Roughly chop the root veg and mash in.

3. Combine everything with a little seasoning and the flour.

4. Get a big frying pan on a high heat with 2 tsp oil then take a few tbsp of mix and add to the pan then repeat, easier if you can get 2 pans going at the same time.

5. Lower the heat to a medium then fry away and get a golden crust for 1 min, then flip and cook the other side. As your veg is already cooked, you're just heating them all the way through and getting a lovely crust. The first round will always be less than perfect and this is about rustic home cooking anyway, I always try this first round as Chef's bonus plus to check the seasoning, adjust the rest of the bowl if you need to, if the mix doesn't hold, add a little more flour.

6. Scrape out any bits from the pan (this is a must do or they will burn), raise the heat, add more oil & repeat until you've got a heaped plate of fritters, enjoy.

this is an assembly jobby recipe - ripe figs, clementines, radicchio leaves (to balance out the sweet fruits) and burrata dressed with a little vinegar, olive oil & salt and pepper

Turkey salad with clementine tahini dressing This is gorgeous served as a warm salad. If you want to skip the turkey, swap for any leftover cooked root veg, carrots, potato etc. Look out for Aleppo chilli from Syria which are fragrant and fruity rather than particularly spicy.

300-400g cooked turkey (or chicken), shredded

100g salad leaves

1 ripe avocado, cubed

Handful of herbs - I used parsley and mint, roughly chopped

½ cucumber or any crunchy veg like celery, radishes, fennel

1 x 400ml tin of cooked chickpeas (or other beans), drained and rinsed

1 fresh pomegranate seeds or use dried fruit like raisins or chopped dates

1 handful pistachio nuts, or walnuts, or any seeds and nuts that need using up

1 tsp or more, chilli flakes eg aleppo chili

2 tbsp butter / ghee/ coconut oil

1 tbs ground cumin or your favourite spice or spice mix eg harissa or smoked paprika

Clementine tahini dressing

2 tablespoons of tahini, stir well in the jar

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Juice and zest of 1 clementine or 1/4 orange

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (or balsamic)

1 small clove of garlic, very finely chopped

Sea salt & pepper

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, add a little warm water to get it to a dressing consistency, the warm water helps the thick tahini (especially if it’s solid in the cold weather) and then set aside.

2. In a large frying pan, toast the nuts until golden for a minute then set aside. In the same pan, toast the cumin and chilli for 30 seconds then add the butter, let melt, then add the turkey and drained chickpeas and coat everything and let fry for about 4 minutes until cooked through and edges are going golden. Season to taste

3. Meanwhile on a serving platter, arrange the watercress, herbs, cucumber and avocado then pile on the turkey & chickpeas, scatter with nuts and pomegranates and drizzle over half of the dressing to serve - let everyone add more themselves.

   

   Speaking of clementines, don’t forget to make these. Peel, melt, dip, salt and set.

   Turkey curry & slaw I’m sure many of us have had many a kind of turkey curry over the years. I love this as it’s gently spiced, not too rich & with sweetness from coconut. The cinnamon & lime remind me of south Sri Lankan curries, which are some of my fave.

   Approx 350 - 400g cooked turkey (or chicken), shredded

   3 handfuls cooked leftover root veg eg squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes

   2 handfuls (frozen) peas

   1 x tin full fat coconut milk

   400ml quality stock/ broth

   1 tbsp oil, coconut oil or ghee

   1- 2 tbsp tamari or soy, to taste

   A touch of fish sauce (optional), or a little extra sea salt

   Curry paste

   1 medium onion or a few shallots

   1 thumb sized piece of ginger

   3 garlic cloves

   1 handful coriander - use the stalks in the paste - SAVE the leaves for garnish

   1 - 2 red chillies, to taste, depending on how hot you like things or how hot your chillis are- or swap for your preferred amount of chilli flakes or chilli powder

   Juice of 1 lime and zest of 2 unwaxed limes

   1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon - I adore cinnamon in curries

   2 tbsp medium curry powder

   (Opt + 1/2 tsp turmeric for those extra immune supporting benefits)

1. Blitz the paste ingredients together in a blender

2. Toast the spices for 1 minute in a large saucepan until fragrant, then add the coconut oil and then the paste and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring from time to time

3. Add the coconut milk, then use the empty tin and fill up with stock/broth (easy way to measure it out), add that too and bring to a medium simmer for 10 minutes

4. Then add shredded turkey and roughly chopped veg to the pan along with tamari and let simmer away for 5 mins to heat through while you prepare the slaw and toppings. Add the peas for a final minute then take off the heat

5. Check the curry for seasoning, adding extra tamari or sea salt if it needs it, add some fresh lime juice and top with fresh coriander.

Quick Nutty Slaw If you’re not already doing the veg peeler slaw trick below, hope you like!

1/4 large cabbage, about 300g, core removed

1 small handful cashew nuts or peanuts

Juice and zest of 1 lime

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt & pepper

Optional - any leftover herbs like chives or mint leaves or coriander. If you had any desiccated coconut or coconut flakes, toast them with the nuts.

1. Run a veg peeler over the cut side of the 1/4 cabbage which gives you lovely thin fine shreds. In a big bowl combine all the ingredients except for the nuts & taste for seasoning. Toast the nuts for a min until just golden. Roughly chop & scatter.

Hope you have a relaxing day and lovely leftovers. I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned menu wise for this time in between Christmas and New Years?

Melissa x