From stock to sandwiches - 6 things to make with Christmas leftovers

Christmas means leftovers, and this year more than ever, in a cost-of-living crisis, we’ll all want to get the most out of our festive dinner.

So, here are just a few of the fabulous things you can create with all that food left in your fridge.

Turkey or chicken

Whatever meat you are opting for, leftover roasted meat should never be wasted.

“Aside from cramming the whole lot into the best sandwich of the year, there are a host of other things to do with your leftovers from Christmas dinner,” says food writer Fliss Freeborn (studentcuisineforthegloomyteen.com).

“The first thing I do is pick the remaining meat off the turkey carcass until it’s cleaner than if it’d been tossed into a river of piranhas, then I plop the carcass into a big pot with an onion, some celery, some black peppercorns and plenty of salt. Cover this with boiling water, then keep it on a rolling boil for a good half an hour before turning it down to simmer to make a rich turkey stock.”

This stock could be used for “a fabulous base for a turkey noodle soup, made with a handful of the shredded leftover meat, some finely sliced cabbage or pak choi and your choice of noodles”, says Freeborn.

For something else a little different, you could make a pasta.

“Leftover turkey isn’t always the obvious accompaniment to pasta, however dark turkey thigh meat, in particular, is fantastic in pasta dishes as it holds more moisture than the breast,” says Peri Eagleton, co-owner of Seggiano (seggiano.com), an Italian food retailer.

“We make a turkey tetrazzini, with a simple white sauce, flavoured with chicken stock, cream, mushrooms, frozen peas and white wine. You can run this sauce and shredded leftover turkey through some spaghetti and top with breadcrumbs and Parmesan before baking it for a short while in the oven – for a delightfully delicious and easy-to-cook pasta bake, Italian style,”

Potatoes

Leftover roasties, if you can fathom such a thing, do really well in a Spanish-style omelette or tortilla, Freeborn says.

“Fry half-moons of white onions in extra virgin olive oil until soft and golden, then slice your roasties into half-centimetre thick rounds and tip them into the pan to brown a little on their newly exposed sides. Season with salt and a touch of smoked paprika, then pour around as many beaten eggs as you see fit and cook until just set in the middle,” she says.

Sprouts

Leftover sprouts can be a bit of a hurdle.

“I stir fry mine with soy sauce, chilli flakes and sesame oil – any leftovers I have tend to get pinched from the fridge, cold, straight from their container,” says Freeborn.

“But if you’ve opted for a more traditional boiled sprout as a bit of a token gesture, you can still save the day and not throw them out after they’ve been ignored at the table. Cut them in half, toss them in olive oil and salt, and roast them face down on a flat baking tray to produce a softened, slightly caramelised mess which you can then stir through a hearty winter salad of bulgar wheat, roasted squash and harissa.”

Stuffing

“Although I firmly believe that anything can go in a sandwich if you’re trying hard enough, stuffing is an obvious choice of filling when it comes to festive sarnies,” says Freeborn.

“So slice or spread stuffing onto soft brown bread then pop it into a toastie maker alongside a smack of wholegrain mustard and a crumbly bit of mature cheddar leftover from the cheeseboard. If you can find a splodge of applesauce to sweeten the deal, you’re in for a proper treat when this is all gooey and melted and golden.”

Leftover cheese

“Using up lots of odds and ends of the Christmas cheeseboard is a great way to make a creamy pasta dish quickly and easily,” says Eagleton. “For cheeses that melt well, grate or crumble them up and stir them into a simple white sauce for added flavour.

“Cooking pasta alongside it, use your starchy pasta water to loosen the sauce until it reaches the right consistency. Stir through the pasta [with] a teaspoon of chilli flakes and a sprinkle of semi-dried basil. Simple and incredibly satisfying,”

Sweet treats

We buy many a dessert at Christmas which may go to waste because you’re all too full to eat them.

“Pudding-wise, you can use stale panettone instead of bread in bread and butter pudding,” suggests Freeborn. “[Or] chop up leftover Christmas pudding into little cubes and stir it through shop-bought vanilla ice cream.”