Room for any more? I certainly have! After all the build-up about what comes out of the kitchen on Christmas Day, there’s a huge sense of relief in the days that follow. The pressure is off, expectations revert back to normal and logistics stop being thought through in such detail.
The only problem is how to make use of all the food left over: those roast potatoes you over-catered for, sprouts that never even appeared, the smoked salmon that ended up not being needed, the sweet wine, not to mention the Christmas pudding that defeated everyone.
Leftovers should be just that – using up what you have to hand, rather than having to go to the shops to buy even more – so don’t worry if you don’t have all the ingredients listed here. There’s enough flavour going on in the sweet-and-sour turkey salad, for example, for it to withstand a couple of changes or omissions. You can improvise with the dressing as well: if you don’t have fish sauce, say, just increase the soy sauce to two tablespoons and add an extra squeeze of lime.
It’s time to put away the lists, clear out the fridge and cut yourself some slack.
Smoked salmon and roast potato tart
I’ve used a 4cm-deep tart tin here, to cram in as many leftovers as possible, but if your tin is shallower, just reduce the filling by a quarter. Serves six.
300g shortcrust pastry (homemade or bought in), rolled out into a 30cm round
400g roast potatoes, broken into 2-3cm pieces
150g smoked salmon, roughly torn into 5cm pieces
350ml double cream
3 eggs, lightly whisked
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
5g dill, roughly chopped
10g parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper
100g creme fraiche
30g unsalted butter
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Take the pastry and line a fluted, 24cm-diameter and 3-4cm-deep tart tin, pressing it into the edges. Line with baking paper, fill with baking beans and blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, then bake for 10 minutes more, until the pastry is cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly.
Lay the potatoes over the base of the pastry shell and dot with the pieces of salmon. Whisk together the cream, eggs, nutmeg, herbs, a third of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then pour over the potatoes and salmon; you want them to just peek out over the surface. Use two teaspoons to spoon dollops of creme fraiche evenly over the surface, then bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tart is cooked and the top is golden-brown.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan on a high heat for two to three minutes, until golden-brown. The moment the tart comes out of the oven, brush the top with butter and set aside. This tart is best served warm, rather than piping hot.
Sweet and sour turkey salad
Beef, chicken or gammon work just as well instead of the turkey, if that’s what’s left over from yesterday’s menu. If you have more than 200 grams of leftover meat, add more to the salad and increase the amount of dressing as needed. Serves six.
100g flat rice (or mung bean) noodles
½ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
¼ iceberg lettuce, cut into 2cm-thick slices
2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
20g picked Thai basil leaves (or normal basil), torn
20g picked mint leaves
40g picked coriander leaves
100g bean sprouts
100g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
3 red chillies, deseeded and julienned
200g cooked turkey, chicken, beef or gammon meat, shredded
30g shop-bought fried shallots
For the dressing
50g palm sugar, finely grated
1½ tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp lime juice, plus the finely grated zest of 1 lime
4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing until the sugar has dissolved, and set aside.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions (they vary from brand to brand). Drain, then put in a large serving bowl with all the remaining ingredients apart from the fried shallots. Pour over the dressing, toss gently, then take to the table or divide between six individual bowls. Serve, with the shallots sprinkled on top.
Shredded brussels sprouts with currants and barberries
Use a mandoline, if you have one, to shred the sprouts: you want them very thin, about 1-2mm thick. The colour of the barberries looks great against the green sprouts here, and they have a welcome sharpness, but don’t worry if you don’t have them: if need be, just double the quantity of currants, soaked in a tablespoon of lemon juice. This works very well alongside boiled ham or in sandwiches with leftover turkey. Serves four, as a side dish.
100ml white-wine vinegar
4 strips shaved orange peel (from about a ⅓ orange), plus 60ml orange juice
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 small cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 star anise
5 allspice berries
15g currants
15g barberries
½ small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
250g brussels sprouts, trimmed and thinly shredded
10g basil leaves, finely shredded
5g mint leaves, finely shredded
30g flaked almonds, lightly toasted
Salt and black pepper
Put the vinegar, orange peel and juice, sugar and spices in a small saucepan, bring to a boil on a medium-high heat and leave to bubble for three to four minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and there is only about 60ml of liquid left in the pan. Strain into a small bowl, then stir in the currants, barberries and onion. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes, stirring a few times, then transfer to a serving bowl with all the remaining ingredients. Add a third of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, toss again, and serve.
Christmas pudding with chilli chocolate sauce and sabayon
Trust me, this will change your mind if you think you really can’t face so much as one more spoon of Christmas pud. Serves eight to 10.
600ml double cream
1-2 small dried red chillies, torn in half (depending on heat)
2 small cinnamon sticks, broken in half
4 strips shaved orange skin, plus ¼ tsp freshly grated zest to serve
6 egg yolks
90g caster sugar
200ml marsala
120g 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate, broken into 2cm pieces
500g Christmas pudding, lightly mashed with the back of a spoon
Pour half the cream into a small saucepan, add the chillies, cinnamon sticks and orange skin shavings, then bring slowly up to a simmer on a medium heat – this should take about five minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave to infuse for an hour (or for even longer if the aromatics haven’t permeated the cream by then).
Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to come a third of the way up the sides. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to medium and place a heatproof bowl on top: it needs to fit snugly, without the base of the bowl touching the water. Put the egg yolks, sugar and 170ml, marsala into the bowl and, whisking constantly, cook for about eight minutes, until the mixture is thick, shiny and hot. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave the sabayon to cool down to room temperature, whisking it a couple of times as it does so.
Pour the remaining cream into a large bowl and whisk to soft peaks, then fold into the cooled sabayon, until combined and smooth. Set aside while you finish the pudding, though you could keep it in the fridge for a few hours, if need be.
Strain the infused cream into a medium heatproof bowl, then place this over a small pan of simmering water (take care that the base of the bowl does not touch the water), gently to warm it through. Stir in the chocolate until melted and thick, then set aside.
To serve, gently warm through the Christmas pudding in a saucepan, then stir in the remaining marsala. Divide between individual glass bowls or large, stemmed glasses, top with warm chocolate sauce and finish with the sabayon, making sure you can see some of the pudding and sauce underneath. Sprinkle a little freshly grated orange zest over each portion and serve.
