If your rubbish bin is overflowing with leftovers, vegetable peelings, and tea bags, why not put it on a diet? It’s easy to do. Recycling your food waste instead of putting it in the bin only takes a little effort and is an easy way to help protect the environment and save your local council money they can spend on local services.
Menu
Paula McIntyre
Tired of turkey sandwiches? Take top chef Paula McIntyre’s tips for
transforming your Christmas leftovers into more delicious meals.
12 Delicious Things To Do
With Christmas Leftovers
1. Best-ever Brunch
Make a delicious brunch by shredding and frying leftover ham with spare potatoes and sprouts. Top it off with a poached egg.
2. Satisfying Soup
Create a hearty soup by combining chopped root vegetables with a tin of cannellini beans, a tin of chopped tomatoes, some chopped rosemary and stock.
3. Super-easy sandwich
Make a mouth-watering Monte Cristo sandwich with leftover ham and cheese, sandwiched between bread and fried in olive oil.
4. Seasonal Risotto
For a festive risotto, cook onions and garlic in butter until golden. Add risotto rice and then stir adding hot stock a ladle at a time, until absorbed and the rice is soupy and creamy. Then add chopped turkey or ham, leftover vegetables, chopped fresh herbs and grated cheese.
5. Beautiful Biryani
Turkey biryani is turkey cooked with onion, ginger, garlic, chilli, garam masala and mixed with cooked rice and leftover vegetables. Top with fried onions and fresh coriander.
6. Cheeky Enchiladas
Make turkey enchiladas by frying turkey and leftover vegetables with onion and chilli. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, chopped chilli and a tin of kidney beans. Cook for 10 minutes, wrap in soft tortillas, place in a baking dish, top with grated leftover cheese and bake until golden.
7. Perfect Pasta
Fry leftover shredded ham with an onion and garlic, add cream, leftover grated cheeses and toss in some cooked pasta to create a delicious creamy pasta dish.
8. Veggie Surprise
For leftover vegetables with a twist, fry them with chilli and chopped tinned tomatoes. Then crack four eggs into the pan, top with grated cheese and finish under the grill.
9. Cracking Pakoras
To make pakoras, mix chopped leftover vegetables with curry spice, an egg and flour to bind. Fry until crisp and golden and serve with yoghurt mixed with chopped chilli.
10. Sumptuous Stuffing
Leftover stuffing can be chopped, fried with onion and garlic and add a small tin of tomatoes. Place in hot dog rolls, top with cheese, bake in the oven and serve.
11. Tasty Rarebit
You could do a rarebit with cheese by mixing it with a good dollop of mayonnaise, whole grain mustard and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Place on bread and toast until bubbling and golden.
12. Simple Stock
The best way to get the most out of turkey stock is to chop the carcass, simmer with onion and celery in water for at least an hour and strain. The stock can be frozen and used in gravies, risotto or soup.