Love Your Christmas Leftovers!

December 27, 2011

Author: Fay

Here are some fantastic tips and a recipe from our friends at Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, a branch of Love Food Hate Waste.

It’s not Christmas without a mountain of leftovers to go through on Boxing Day and beyond. Having some clever ideas for making the most of your festive fare, and not ending up with too much in the first place, is a thrifty and fabulous way to green up your holiday season. Here are some tips and recipe ideas:

Slice up leftover turkey and place in a lidded container in the fridge. Make sure to refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking (the sooner the better). Leftover turkey will keep 3-4 days in the fridge or in the freezer for 2 months or more (depending on how reliable your freezer is).

Turkey carcasses, as well as beef and ham bones, are fantastic for making homemade soup stock, so save and make the most of them. Freeze the stock to use it up at a later date.

It seems there are always some fruit mince pies left over. Luckily they freeze fantastically well, and can be defrosted and warmed gently in the oven before serving. Perfect if you’re pining for Christmas many months later.

Tired of the Boxing Day leftover turkey sandwich? How about this lovely Leftover Turkey and Leek Pie, a creamy Lemon Chicken and Pea Risotto, or our favourite – the highly addictive Leftover Turkey Curry Soup – recipe below.

Leftover Turkey Curry Soup

This soup is quite possibly the definition of comfort food! It works with either turkey or chicken leftovers and is the perfect thing on a cold wintry day.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp or 90g unsalted butter

2 tbsp curry powder

2 large onions, finely chopped

1.5l chicken stock

6 sprigs of parsley, including stalks

100g uncooked rice, or about 1.5 mugs cooked leftover rice

Salt & pepper to taste

220ml (1 cup) single cream

1kg or about 2 lbs turkey leftovers – if you have less, scale down the recipe accordingly, or use leftover roast veg to bulk it out

1. Melt butter in a pot. Add onions and curry powder and cook, covered over low heat, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the stock, rice and parsley. Bring soup to the boil, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the turkey leftovers, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

3. Cool turkey bits in the stock. Remove the meat and dice it. Reserve the meat.

4. Pour soup through a sieve, and transfer the solids to a food processor (or use an immersion blender). Add one cup of the cooking liquid (reserving the rest of the liquid, and process until smooth.

5. Return the puréed soup to the pot and add the single cream. Stir in the reserved stock. Add the reserved diced turkey, and simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with a garnish of parsley.

For delightful recipe ideas for all your leftovers, check out Love Food Hate Waste’s recipe index.

Have a happy and tasty Christmas!

Vera Zakharov

Love Food Hate Waste Community Outreach Co-ordinator, Brighton & Hove Food Partnership

The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership works on a city-wide level for a healthier and more sustainable food system. We are working in partnership with the Brighton & Hove City Council to promote the Love Food Hate Waste campaign.