Say no to food waste and turn your leftover turkey, ham cold cuts and cheeseboard stragglers into a truly delicious post-Christmas dinner. You won’t regret it.
Ryan Riley, the author and founder of non-for-profit cookery school Life Kitchen, has shared three, flavour-packed recipes for Christmas leftovers from his new cookbook. He runs a cookery school for those with cancer, which aims to help patients find pleasure in food again.
He’s created a limited edition free cookbook – A Life Kitchen Christmas – with 7,000 copies available. “Celebrations at Christmas time often centre around feasting on our favourite festive dishes with loved ones – such moments shared at Christmas can be even more precious for those living with cancer,” he says.
“Following a difficult year of increased cancer waiting times in UK hospitals due to the coronavirus pandemic, I wanted to offer cancer patients and their families a source of festive cheer, and a way to relieve the pressure that often comes with hosting during the festive period.”
Re-eat the magic of the big day with these mouth-watering recipes you’ll want to make time again and again.
Leftover cheeseboard galette
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 25-30 mins
Ingredients:
1 x 320g sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
A large handful of mixed Christmas nuts
100g brie, roughly chopped
100g cheddar, roughly chopped
100g blue cheese, crumbled
1 egg yolk, beaten
2 tablespoons green pesto
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190°C/170°C fan.
2. Unroll the pastry sheet onto a baking sheet, leaving the paper it comes rolled in underneath. Sprinkle the nuts in a rough circle in the middle of the pastry.
3. Combine the cheeses in a bowl, ensuring you get a good, even
distribution of them throughout. (Use any leftover cheeses you have
lurking in the fridge – these are just suggestions.)
3. Add the cheese mixture on top of the circle of nuts and roughly fold
in the edges of the pastry to turn the rectangle into a circle of pastry
covering just the edges of the cheesy centre (don’t worry – it doesn’t
have to be neat).
4. Brush the pastry edges with the beaten egg yolk and bake the galette
for 25–30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the pastry is
crispy and golden brown. Drizzle with the pesto and serve.
Boxing Day toastie
Makes: 1 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 5-7 mins
Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
3 tablespoons Moorish smoked harissa humous
3 tablespoons caramelised onion chutney
A small wedge of camembert (or any other cheese you have to hand)
Leftover Christmas day meats (gammon and turkey are our favourites)
2 tablespoons pink pickled onions (you can make your own, or buy them)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for frying
Method:
1. Place the 2 slices of bread on your work surface. Spread the humous on top of 1 slice, then top with all of the other ingredients apart from the butter. Sandwich with the second slice of bread.
2. Place a frying pan on medium heat. When hot, add the butter and allow to melt.
3. Gently transfer the sandwich to the pan and fry for 3–4 minutes on the first side, then carefully flip it and fry it for another 2–3 minutes, until both sides are golden and the cheese is melty. Remove from the pan and slice to serve immediately.
Stuffed leftover Yorkshire puds
Makes: 8 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
50g dried porcini mushrooms
200ml boiling water
8 leftover Yorkshire puddings
8 teaspoons mint jelly or sauce
8 tablespoons stuffing
8 slices of leftover roast meat
8 teaspoons cranberry sauce
8 rosemary sprigs (optional)
1 beef stock cube
Method:
1. Place the mushrooms into a heatproof jug and pour over the boiling water. Leave to rehydrate for 10 minutes, then drain the mushrooms reserving the liquid to make a little umami-packed gravy later. Chop the mushrooms up as finely as you can.
2. Cut a hole in the tops of the puddings if there isn’t one already
and line them up on a baking tray.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of mint jelly or sauce and 1 tablespoon of stuffing into each pudding cavity. Sprinkle in some of the mushrooms and then roll up the slices of meat and push those into the cavities, too. Add 1 teaspoon of cranberry sauce, and a rosemary sprig, if you wish.
4. To make the umami gravy, pour the mushroom stock into a small saucepan. Crumble in the beef stock cube and place the gravy over a medium-high heat. Bring to the boil until the liquid has thickened and reduces by half (about 15 minutes), then serve immediately alongside the puddings for dunking.
Recipes from A Life Kitchen Christmas by Ryan Riley and Kimberely Duke, edited by Judy Barratt, designed by Lawrence Morton, and printed by Hardback Books. Cookbook is limited edition, with 7,000 copies available, and is free, bar the £2.95 postage fee.