WoW Food: Simple ways to elevate Christmas leftovers

I think many of us would admit to secretly quite enjoying the leftovers from Christmas dinner.

Maybe it’s because the biggest feast of the year is a little formulaic and rigid, as delicious as it is. That’s probably why we love it; knowing exactly what is on the menu every year is comforting.

Leftovers, on the other hand, present an opportunity to throw all that rigidity out of the window and get creative with those endy bits of the kitchen feast. Repurposing means less food waste, but after spending a lot of money on food and then lots of time cooking it, not to use it all is foolish, too.

This year’s lovely leftovers inspiration comes in the form of delicious things that, with very little effort, will convince everyone you’re one hard-working genius in the kitchen…

Herbs

Herbs are an essential part of making our favourite Christmas foods taste Christmassy, but it’s easy to overbuy only to watch them wither away in the veg crisper. Try these tricks to get more out of them for longer.

Dry: Ideal for woody herbs like thyme and rosemary. Tie herbs in a loose bunch and hang them up somewhere cool for two weeks until fully dry. Pick the leaves from the stems and pop them into a little glass jar, and they’ll be good up for to a year.

Freeze: Herbs freeze well. Chop them up and pop them into a zip-lock bag or reusable container so you can take just what you need, when you need it. Herbs can be used from frozen to flavour soups, casseroles, etc. Mix herbs up for an aromatic blend.

Pesto: Whip up a quick batch of herby pesto with garlic, some kind of nut, hard cheese like parmesan, lemon, extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning. Keep in the fridge for a week or freeze.

Topped Sourdough Crostini

Bread is one of the most wasted food items in our home kitchens. An easy option is making breadcrumbs (to which you could add those leftover herbs and some onion to make a lovely stuffing or topping). But if you invested in a lovely loaf of really good sourdough, elevate the endy bits into these little crostini, ideal as a cute starter or a little party snack:

Thinly slice the sourdough bread, toast until golden, then allow to cool and go crispy. Top with a festive chutney and layer on slices of creamy Durrus cheese, or some charcuterie.

Langoustine Bisque

Seafood is a popular choice at Christmas, either as a starter for the main event or a Christmas Eve feast. Freshly landed Irish langoustines are particularly good this time of year and look majestic presented on a platter with some roasted garlic aioli for dredging.

But what to do with all those shells? I always keep them and freeze them down for when I have time to make this incredible-tasting bisque.

Use the bisque as a base for a luxurious soup with flecks of fresh crab; loosen with water and use it in place of a stock for an incredible tasting risotto; or as a richer take on a classic bouillabaisse with white fish and mussels.

Ingredients

• Shells leftover from 1kg Irish langoustines
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large white onion, finely diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 large fennel bulb, finely diced, fronds reserved
• 175 ml white vermouth
• 1 ½ tsp brandy
• 1 x 400g tin of good-quality chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp of smoked sun-dried tomato paste
• 1 litre fish stock
• 2 tsp smoked paprika

Method

• Heat a stock pot over a medium heat, add the oil and shells and cook for 15 minutes.
• Add the onion, garlic, carrot and fennel to the pot and cook with the lid on for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the vermouth and brandy and cook, uncovered, for a further minute to cook off the raw alcohol. Then add tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, fish stock and paprika, and stir.
• Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and pick out the claws using tongs. Transfer everything to a high-powered blender and blend until everything is smooth.
• Place a fine sieve over a bowl and pass the liquid through the sieve. Take your time doing this to squeeze out every drop of liquid from the shells and vegetables.
• That is your finished bisque stock. No need to season. Pour into Tupperware containers and allow to cool before placing in the freezer.

Duck or Goose Rendang

A Rendang is an aromatic curry typical of Malaysia and Indonesia, usually made with beef or lamb. Duck and goose are richly flavoured, making it a great substitute, and ideal as a meal for two using the last of the meat picked off from the bones.

You can try your hand at making an authentic Rendang by picking up a copy of Agak Agak (Blasta Books, €17) by Sham Hanifa, which includes his famous Lamb Rendang recipe that is always on the menu at his Co Leitrim restaurant, My Kitchen.

Alternatively, Mr Bell’s Emporium at the English Market and SensAsian in Ballincollig both stock Mr Yeo’s Rendang Curry Paste to deliver curry in a hurry:

Marinade 400g of duck or goose meat in Mr Yeo’s Rendang Curry Paste for four hours. Heat up a frying pan and stir-fry for 10-15 minutes. Add a little water to loosen if needed. Serve with freshly cooked jasmine rice and garnish with sliced red chilli and coriander.

Roasted Vegetable Soup with Chestnuts

I always seem to have roasted carrots and parsnips leftover from Christmas dinner.

The easiest way to deal with them is to whip them into a soup, reheated for a speedy lunch or stored in the freezer for another time.

Although the contents of the soup are primarily carrots and parsnips, other roasted vegetables can be added, like squash or pumpkin.

Soup is endlessly forgiving, so go ahead and throw in the very last couple of roasted spuds or sauteed leafy greens like spinach or kale.

For every 250g of roasted veg, add 100ml of hot vegetable stock. Fry off a diced onion, a clove of chopped garlic and maybe some celery from the fridge if you have it, until soft and translucent. Add to a blender with the already roasted vegetables, etc, and add the hot vegetable stock. Blend until smooth, adding more stock if needed. If eating straight away, pour into a saucepan and reheat through until just bubbling.

Add any spare fresh herbs (thyme is good), check the level of seasoning and adjust to taste. Pour into bowls and garnish with some crumbled over chestnuts (optional) and a swirl of cream.

Braised Red Cabbage Samosa-Style Pastry Pockets

It’s very hard to make a small amount of braised red cabbage, but these cute little almost-samosas are just the ticket for dealing with leftovers.

Ingredients

• Ready to use filo pastry sheets (regular or gluten free)
• Leftover braised red cabbage
• Macroom Buffalo Greek Style Cheese, crumbled
• 1 egg, beaten
• Black and white sesame seeds

Method

• Preheat the oven according to instructions on the pastry packet.
• Take a sheet of filo pastry and cut into three equal-sized rectangles. Take one piece and fold one edge into the middle about a third of the way from the bottom of the piece of pastry, then fold over again to create a little cone-shaped pocket and a tail of pastry.
• Spoon in some braised red cabbage and crumble in a small amount of Greek-style cheese.
• Fold the tail of pastry in to cover the open edge of the pocket, then fold over again.
• Brush a little beaten egg on the last bit of tail, then fold that over to seal. Repeat until you have run out of pastry and/or braised red cabbage.
• Place the samosas on a baking tray lined with parchment. Brush over with some more of the beaten egg and top with a sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds. Bake until golden and crispy, about 10-15 minutes. Serve hot from the oven.

Potato & Cheese Pie

This is a great way to use up any leftover roasted or mashed spuds, topped up with some fresh if you need it, and then go in hot and heavy with any last bits of cheese – especially stronger tasting ones like cheddar, gouda or Comte.

Using up leftovers is all about having a good store of handy ingredients, and one of the handiest of all is ready-to-use pastry. Roll It Pastry makes a gorgeous all-butter puff pastry that is ideal for this pie (it is also sold in Dunnes as part of the Simply Better range).

Defrost the pastry and roll it out to fit a 20cm tart case, ensuring there is enough for the pie base and top. Line the tin with pastry and fill it with cold potatoes (it’s important all ingredients going into the pie casing are cold).

Sprinkle in the grated cheese, then cover with the other piece of pastry. Crimp both layers of pastry together to seal and brush with beaten egg for a golden colour during baking. Bake in a preheated oven (200°C) until the pastry is puffed, golden and cooked through. Remove from the tin, and serve hot with gravy and veg.