Credit: ©Ola O. Smit
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4 min read
Leftover turkey doesn’t just have to mean endless cold-cut sarnies and the same-old curry recipes, as proven by these three flavour-packed recipes.
It’s safe to say that as much as we all love Christmas dinner, there are only so many days we can live off cold cuts and turkey sandwiches.
Sure, even after stuffing ourselves silly on 25 December – and most likely starting on the leftovers that very same evening – the novelty of turkey for every meal can soon wear thin.
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Sound familiar? If you find yourselves eating leftovers for days on end over Twixmas, we have the recipes for you.
Bridget Jones’s mum may make her famous turkey curry every Boxing Day, but for Christmas 2022, we’re taking our leftover cues from Zuza Zak’s Pierogi. A culinary tour of Poland’s most-loved dish, for the festive season, the cookbook author is making the most of not only your cold turkey, but also your remaining roasties and veg – not to mention a touch of homemade cranberry sauce. It’s leftovers with a difference.
And while we may be a little more used to apple crumble, food writer Megan Davies’ savoury take with mustard, mushrooms and turkey is an easy way to use up odds and ends from Christmas lunch.
Finally, though temperatures have warmed up slightly from the sub-zero climes of last week, there’s still nothing like a bowl of steaming ramen on a cold winter night. And Darina Allen’s easy-to-follow recipe is the ultimate way to reinvent any roasted meats. Not just for Christmas, it works just as well with leftover chicken from your regular Sunday lunch.
Boxing Day pierogi
Zuza says: “You can, of course, make similar pierogi after any roast at any time of the year, but I feel that the time and family bonding effort needed to make lots of pierogi is perfectly suited to the festive period. I recommend that you dice the turkey by hand rather than using a food processor – not only for the texture, but also to ensure that no small bones are overlooked. If you don’t have any vegetables left over from Christmas, cook a ladleful of frozen peas and add that to the mix.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the cranberry sauce:
- 150g fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp orange zest
- Juice of 1 orange
For the dough
- 300g plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- Large pinch of salt
- 100-120ml warm water (from a pre-boiled kettle)
For the filling:
- 150g roast turkey meat, finely diced
- 150g roast potatoes, finely diced
- Handful of mixed roasted vegetables, finely diced or 50g frozen peas, cooked
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Salt and white pepper
To serve:
- 20g goose fat, for frying
Method
Make the cranberry sauce first, as it needs to chill in the fridge. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the cranberries fall apart and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Cool and transfer to a sealed container (this can keep in the fridge for up to a week).
Put all the ingredients for the dough, apart from the water, in a large bowl and combine with your hand. Slowly pour the water into the bowl with one hand while mixing with the other. Add just enough of the measured water to bring it together (you may not need it all).
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-7 minutes, then cover with a clean, damp dish towel and allow to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
Make the filling by combining all the filling ingredients in a bowl and seasoning well. Roll the dough out as thinly as you can and you use your favourite method to shape, fill and seal the pierogi (see more details here), placing them on a lightly floured surface as you go.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and boil the pierogi in batches. When they float to the top, give them an extra 2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon, shake off any excess water, and transfer to a warm bowl with the goose fat in it. Toss gently to coat.
Heat a large frying pan and carefully fry the cooked pierogi on both sides in the goose fat until golden and crispy. Serve and enjoy with the cranberry sauce.
Pierogi by Zuza Zak (£18, Quadrille) is out now
Mustard, turkey and cranberry crumble
Megan says: “Gather your leftover Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey and get making this savoury crumble. It’s a welcome change from turkey sandwiches and we all need some inspiration for the day after, so try it out and see what you think. I like making this in individual pie pots.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 1 onion (any onion or use celery, fennel or carrot)
- 150g baby button mushrooms (any mushrooms, or use more turkey)
- 5g fresh rosemary (or thyme or oregano are lovely, or parsley)
- 3 garlic cloves (purée or powder will do)
- 150g Brussels sprouts (or any type of cabbage or peas)
- 250-300 g leftover cooked turkey (or chicken or pork; for vegetarians, use cooked root veg)
- 1 tablespoon plain flour (any flour)
- 100ml white wine (or cider, sherry or any vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or grainy mustard or 1 tablespoon mustard powder)
- 250ml single cream (or double cream, mascarpone, sour cream or whole milk)
- 200ml water
- Butter, for frying
For the crumble:
- 25g butter (salted or unsalted is fine)
- 50g plain flour (ideally use plain flour, but wholemeal also works well)
- 15g rolled oats (ideally use oats, but if not add more flour or ground almonds)
- 10g parmesan (or any hard cheese, such as pecorino, cheddar, etc)
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7.
Halve, peel and thinly slice the onion. Halve the mushrooms. Remove the rosemary leaves from their stalks and finely chop, discarding the stalks. Peel then thinly slice the garlic cloves.
Add a generous knob of butter to a large saucepan set over a medium heat and once hot, add the onion and mushrooms. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, until softening and starting to caramelize.
Meanwhile, thinly slice the sprouts and tear the cooked turkey into bite-sized chunks.
When the onion and mushrooms have had 5 minutes, add the sliced sprouts, stir to combine and fry for another 5 minutes, until softening. Next, add the rosemary, garlic and a good pinch of seasoning to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes, until fragrant. Stir often to avoid the garlic burning.
Add the flour to the pan, stir to coat all the ingredients and let it ‘cook out’ for a minute, then add the wine and let it bubble away until it’s almost fully absorbed. Add the mustard, cream, water and turkey. Stir very well to fully combine, while it comes to the boil. Taste to check for seasoning (it will need a generous amount), then remove from the heat and divide evenly between your pie dishes.
Next, make the crumble. Chop the butter into small cubes, then add to a large mixing bowl with the flour and a pinch of seasoning. Rub between your fingers to make rough, sandy breadcrumbs, then add in the oats and grate in the parmesan. Mix it all together to combine, then scatter over the mustard turkey filling in the pie dishes.
Place the dishes on a large baking sheet, then transfer to the top shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes until cooked, golden and bubbling away.
Let sit for a couple of minutes out of the oven, then serve.
Goes well with:
Steamed greens, and I actually love this with oven chips on the side…
Leftovers:
Just reheat and scoff. No better way with this one.
Fridge Raid by Megan Davies (£18.99, Ryland Peters & Small) is out now
Ramen
Darina says: “Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup – the ultimate comfort food; the basic broth needs to be well flavoured but it can be varied in so many ways. The broth can be a mixture of chicken, pork, dashi, miso or vegetable stock. Noodles can be traditional wheat ramen noodles or you can use buckwheat or brown rice noodles for a gluten-free version. The chicken can be substituted for a similar braised brisket or short ribs, pork shoulder, pork belly or bacon, tofu or shrimp. Use whatever vegetables are in season, such as sprouting broccoli, asparagus or shiitake mushrooms. You can also top it with a couple of pieces of nori or a sprinkling of sesame seeds or peanuts. The variations are endless. It’s also a fantastic way to use up leftovers at any time of year. Here’s a basic starting point.”
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1.8 litres homemade chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, gently smashed
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 300g butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled and cut into 5mm pieces
- 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
- 200g ramen noodles or noodles of your choice
- 100g spinach, Swiss chard or kale, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander
- Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
- 450g roast chicken or turkey thighs, with or without skin, sliced
- 3 x 8-minute hard-boiled eggs
- 6 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 6 lime wedges
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Put the chicken stock, soy sauce, mirin and ginger into a saucepan over a medium heat and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes. Discard the ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sesame oil, squash and chillies and simmer for 10 minutes.
Cook the noodles in boiling water according to the packet instructions until just tender. Drain well. Add the spinach to the broth and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the coriander and lime juice.
Divide the noodles between six bowls and top with the chicken. Ladle the broth over the noodles. Shell the eggs, halve and lay half a ‘jammy’ egg in each bowl and sprinkle with lots of green spring onions and garnish with a lime wedge. Eat while very hot – broth first and then other ingredients, or any way you want.
Good to know:
For extra deliciousness, boil the eggs for 8 minutes, drop into iced water, peel and then submerge in teriyaki sauce. Cover and keep in the fridge overnight.
How To Cook by Darina Allen (£22, Kyle Books) is out now
Photography: © Ola O Smit; Rita Platts © Ryland Peters & Small; Nassima Rothacker
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