There truly is only so many turkey butties a person can eat. Here we have some much more fun ideas on how to use those Christmas day leftovers that nobody ever knows what to do with!
Turkey and stuffing Christmas bake
For this recipe, you need a little bit of technical skill, time and some ready-rolled puff pastry, but they’re worth it. Move over Greggs, this is a proper festive bake!
Quantities vary on the filling ingredients. You can use as much or as little turkey/stuffing as you want or have.
· 300g Roast turkey (diced/roughly chopped).
· 100g cooked stuffing.
· 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.
· 95g plain flour.
· 500ml stock or diluted gravy.
· Cranberry sauce for dipping.
· Gently heat up the oil in a saucepan on low heat
and add the flour gradually so that it
cooks out. It should resemble a paste.
· Add the ‘stock’ bit by bit mixing well until it
resembles really thick plasticine, and no flour
lumps remain. It should move freely around the pan and shouldn’t stick.
· Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then add the turkey and the stuffing. Mix well.
· Lay out your puff pastry, scoring into rectangles and brushing each with a beaten egg.
· Spread the turkey mix over the puff pastry but not quite to the edges, then top with another piece of pastry, crimping with a fork to seal.
· Brush again with a beaten egg and cook on a grease-proof lined baking tray at 175c until
golden brown and the pastry has puffed nicely.
Cheeseboard Arancini
A fantastic way to use up all your leftover cheese from those boxing day cheeseboards. It takes a little time but you can prep the risotto in advance and pop it in the freezer till you’re ready to use it.
· 1 large onion – finely diced.
· 2 cloves of garlic- finely minced.
· 400g risotto rice.
· 2 tbsp butter.
· 1 tbsp olive oil.
· 250ml white wine.
· 1.2 litres of stock - vegetable or chicken.
· Fine Italian breadcrumbs.
· 2 eggs- beaten.
· 3 tbsp of plain flour.
· Leftover cheese – anything will be
delicious so use whatever you have.
· Enough neutral oil to half-fill a heavy-bottomed pot (or you can use that air fryer you got for
Christmas!).
Risotto base
· Add the oil and butter to a wide saucepan on medium heat.
· Add the onion and sweat until translucent, before adding the garlic and stir until fragrant.
· Pour in your rice and toast for a few minutes until the outside of the grains become
translucent.
· Pour in your white wine and cook down till the alcohol has burnt off and the mixture becomes
almost dry again.
· Proceed to add the stock a ladle at a time, stirring constantly to release the starch in the rice.
Do this until you have used up all your stock and the rice is cooked with a very slight bite.
· Season to taste with salt and pepper.
· Grate and add your leftover cheese – if you have anything soft like brie, goat cheese or
mozzarella, chop these into small cubes, we can use those later!
· Leave the risotto to cool, preferably refrigerate overnight so it tightens up.
Arancini
· When ready to use take a golfball-sized amount of risotto in the palm of your hand, spreading
it out to a flat circle.
· If you have leftover soft cheese as mentioned before, pop a cube into the middle of the circle
and roll the risotto around to encase.
· If you don’t want to add a surprise filling, simply roll into balls until you have used up all your
risotto.
· Set up a breading station with a plate of flour in 1 bowl, your beaten eggs in another and
finally the breadcrumbs.
· Toss each ball in the flour, then the eggs and coat in the breadcrumbs.
· Heat your neutral oil to 175c and using a spoon drop your arancini into the oil, frying for 3-4
minutes until deeply golden and crisp – don’t overcrowd the pan as this will bring the
temperature of the oil down.
· Remove from the oil and place onto paper towels, seasoning with salt immediately whilst
they’re still hot.
· Serve with aioli or even a little Christmas chutney and enjoy!
Mince Pie Chocolate Fridge Cake
Who ate all the pies? Not you apparently and now you have a bunch of them leftover!
This super easy, no-cook recipe transforms those leftovers into something entirely new.
If you, like a lot of us, also have a lot of chocolate around during the holiday season then this is perfect to use some of that up too!
· Leftover mince pies.
· A nice mix of milk and dark chocolate.
· The zest of 1 orange.
· Leftover nuts- roughly chopped.
· Simply melt the chocolate in short bursts in the
microwave, then stir in your nuts, orange
zest and crumbled-up mince pies.
· Give it a good mix and pour into a shallow roasting
tray or casserole dish.
· Leave to set in the fridge until completely firm, slice
it up and you’re good to go! Enjoy!