Boxing Day never looked so good with these simple yet smart ideas from our experts to use up the remains of the big day
- Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
What interesting things can I do with my Christmas Day leftovers?
Chloe, Margate
Sure, Christmas dinner is great, but leftovers can be even better. Yesterday’s meat and veg encased in pastry for a pie, for example, or a turnover is a winner come Boxing Day, says Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive chef of Northcote in Lancashire and The Game Bird at The Stafford in London. “They’re super-simple and can be made from everything left in your fridge.” She melts 20g butter, adds a diced onion and 100g sprouts, and cooks until soft. “Add crushed garlic, 60ml cream, season and cook for four minutes, then add a handful of diced turkey and ham.” Spoon on to squares of rolled puff pastry and fold, “pinching the sides to ensure you don’t have any air pockets. Slash with a knife and bake at 230C (210C fan)/450F/gas 8 for five to seven minutes, until golden.”
Alternatively, keep turkey day going with a risotto, Tim Siadatan of Trullo and Padella, both in London, says: “Make it like you normally would, then at the end go in with chopped cooked turkey, a decent whack of butter and parmesan.” Get it on a plate, top with sliced raw sprouts (“for crunch”) and crumbs of stilton, and finish with good olive oil. Turkey – plus pigs in blankets, stuffing, and chestnuts – would also be at home in ravioli. “There’s lots going on here,” Siadatan says, “but it’s worth it.” Chop your filling ingredients, then enclose mounds of the stuff between sheets of pasta, stamp out your parcels and cook. Sauce-wise, Siadatan recommends “a nice, bitter Italian leaf” such as radicchio, which he roasts, chops and adds, along with butter, to gravy that has been reduced. Crown with crisp sage leaves.
Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com
Continue reading...