What to do with your Christmas Leftovers? I was aked this question by BBC Radio Guernsey today. I guess the first question is what did you cook for your Christmas Lunch? Turkey? Ham? Popping up on lots of foodie social media are lots of turkey curries right now and plenty of festive pasta bakes but what can we do with our Christmas leftovers that doesn’t involve curry or pasta.
In a professional kitchen Réchauffé is “a warmed-up dish of food,” made from leftovers. It shares the same French origin réchauffer “to warm up, reheat,” as the English word chafe which originally meant ‘ to warm up’ and is used in chafing dish. You may have seen one of these metal dishes in a restaurant with a small burner underneath it to keep food hot at the table.
The best example of a Réchauffé dish is Shepard’s Pie which was made from ground up cooked lamb. When you work in a restaurant as a chef one of the key skills is minimising waste and using up left-over food and Réchauffé dishes are good way to do this. When I was learning the profession, it was a test of your skills and ingenuity. Imagining the contents of everyone’s fridges right now here are a few suggestions for some super ways of using up the remains of your Christmas day food.
What to do with your Christmas Leftovers? Recipes
Ultimate Boxing Day Sandwich with Quick Pickled Red Cabbage and Brussel Slaw
This is a real showstopper. I really likes lots of flavour and texture in my sandwiches, so I really go overboard with the fillings. First of you have any sweet braised red cabbage left over mix it with a tablespoon or so of cider vinegar and a splash of sweet chilli sauce. This will add lots of flavour to your sandwich.
To assemble start with some nice, sliced bread, maybe some sourdough, butter and set on a plate. Spread more mayonnaise on one slice and cranberry sauce on the other. Layer shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced turkey, ham, stuffing, and bacon chipolata rolls, then add the red cabbage and a generous pile of Brussel slaw. Top with the second slice of bread. You might need to hold the whole thing together with a couple of cocktail sticks before cutting in half.
Christmas Brussel Slaw
Ingredients
- 50 gr Raw Brussel Sprouts very finely shredded
- 50 gr Red or White Cabbage very finely shredded
- 50 gr Carrot washed, peeled and grated
- 2 Spring Onions very finely sliced
- 2 heaped tablespoons Mayonnaise
- A generous splash Double Cream
- 1 teaspoon Caster Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- Juice of half a Lemon
- Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
Equipment
- Grater
Instructions
- Place the shredded vegetables into a bowl. Add the caster sugar, a generous pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and a splash of cream if you have some. Mix together and store in a sealed container in the fridge.
Notes
Boxing Day Bubble and Squeak Soup
When I was growing up it was always traditional that Boxing Day was cold cut day, lots of slices of cold meats, beef, ham, pork, turkey, what ever is left over served with plenty of chutneys and pickles and Bubble and Squeak. Bubble and Squeak is a fry up of mashed potatoes and left over vegetables, parsnip, carrots, cabbage, Brussel sprouts. I like to add any leftover roast potatoes smashed up to add some extra crunch. The secret is to fry them in any leftover beef dripping or duck fat from the Christmas roast and season generously with plenty of salt and pepper. The same ingredients make a delicious soup
Christmas Leftover Loaded Potato Skins
We always have lots of cheese at Christmas following dinner and as a key ingredient on sharing boards with olives and cured, sliced meats, the downside is you can end up with lots of little bits of different cheese in your fridge. I bake some small potatoes in their skins then when they are cold carefully cut them in half and remove most of the cooked potato. Mash it in a bowl with lots of butter and grate in half of your surplus cheese. Season well and add some chopped chives if you have some and some leftover bits of ham if you like meat. Return the potato mix to the skins and grate over the remaining cheese, return to a hot oven and bake until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown and the potatoes are hot.
Christmas Gazinty – otherwise known as make a Hash of it!
I used to work with a wonderful Scottish couple, and we used to make a vegetable soup called Gizinty. This only works with a broad Scottish accent, but it’s so called because everything ‘goes into it’. I love a Hash which is a kind of left over fry up and it is a delicious way to serve some of the Christmas leftovers. Saute some finely chopped onion in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan, when soft add roughly cut up roast potatoes and gently fry for another five or so minutes until they are heated through and crisping up. Slice up some Brussel sprouts, pigs-in-blankets, and stuffing balls and warm through. To finish stir in a tablespoon of cranberry sauce and a handful of chopped parsley. If you want to take it to the next level top with a fried egg.
MAY I ASK A FAVOUR?
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