Christmas dinner has come and gone.
If you were one of those people that couldn’t wait to get your hands on your Christmas feast, then you’re not alone.
Throughout the month of December, whenever hunger hit all we could think about was the gorge steaming hot turkey, all the juicy veg and roast potatoes.
However, now all that grub is happily in our tummies, we have a good few bits leftover.
Honestly, we’re totally over the old turkey and ham sambos, so if you want to spice your leftovers up a bit, there’s some recipes that might take your fancy:
Refried rosties
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- 10 small pickled onions, cut in half
- 1/3 tbsp cayenne
- few sprigs of thyme
- 500g leftover potatoes
Method:
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add pickled onions and fry for 3-4 mins until caramelised. Add the cayenne and thyme leaves, then tip the roasties into the pan along with another 1 tbsp oil. Use the back of a wooden spoon to squash slightly. Leave for 3-4 mins to fry and get extra crisp on one side, then give them a good toss.
- Add the remaining oil, toss and fry again for extra crispiness. Season and serve.
Gluten-free veggie pasties
Ingredients:
- Whatever veggies you have left over
- 1 tbsp English mustard
- salt and pepper
- 60g cheddar cheese
- 1 free range egg
For pastry:
- 300g gluten free plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 free range egg
Method:
- To make the pastry, sieve flour, salt and xanthan gum into a bowl. Place the butter and 130ml water into a small pan over a low heat and bring to the boil, then set aside to cool slightly. Beat eggs, then stir into the flour mixture. Gradually add the warm butter until it comes together into a rough dough, then bring it together with your hands. Cover and leave to rest while you make the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Trim and finely chop the leek. Melt the butter in a medium pan over a low heat, then add the leek and thyme leaves. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until softened, then leave to cool. Pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves, then add to a bowl with the leftover veggies, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash well, stir in the cooled leeks and grate in the cheese.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the pastry into 12 equal pieces, then roll each one out to roughly the thickness of a pound coin (if you find the pastry crumbles too much, roll it out between two large pieces of clingfilm). Using a saucer (roughly 12cm in diameter) as a guide, cut the pastry into circles.
- Place roughly a spoonful of the mixture on one half of each pastry round, spreading it out slightly. Beat the egg, then brush it around the edges. Gently fold the pastry over the filling, pressing the edges to seal. Place on the prepared baking tray, brush with a little more egg, then pop in the hot oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and crisp, brushing with a little more egg halfway through. Serve hot!
Ham fritter with roasted tomatoes
Ingredients:
- 250g vine tomatoes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 80 ml milk
- 180g finely chopped ham
- 1 small red capsicum
- 6 spring onions
- chopped chives
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place tomatoes on baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sift flour, baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt into a bowl with the sugar. Beat egg and milk in a jug until combined. Add to the flour, then stir until you have a smooth batter. Add the ham, capsicum, spring onion and chives, then stir to combine. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat 2cm sunflower oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Using a heaped tablespoon of batter for each fritter, add 3-4 spoonfuls to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until golden. Keep warm while you repeat to make 12 fritters in total. Serve with the tomatoes, rocket, sour cream and chilli sauce.
