I’ll be honest, when the excitement of Christmas Day has been and gone, the only way I want to enjoy the leftovers is standing in a dark kitchen, lit only by the low light of the fridge (Nigella Lawson style), picking at the spoils of the feast. The only company would be my dog Max, who could smell a Christmas ham from the other side of Ireland, anxiously awaiting a sliver.
After the pomp and ceremony of Christmas dinner, it might feel like a let down, but really, eating a day-old roast potato with turkey and stuffing is as much a part of the tradition as setting the Christmas pud alight.
By the time St Stephen’s Day is upon us, most will be nursing sore heads or sore bellies, far too distracted by a Netflix binge session or a TV movie, to be contemplating creative ways to shape scraps of turkey into a meatloaf or bake lumps of Christmas pudding into an ice-cream bomb.
It is the days in between Christmas and New Year, when I’ve wandered in and out of the kitchen, slowly depleting the stash of ham enough times that the leftovers begin to look a little sad in the fridge, that I turn to recipes as far away from tradition as it can get.
This is the time to transform your leftovers by using spices and strong fragrant flavours from Asia and the Middle East. Dishes such as turkey laksa with a spiced coconut broth, crispy ham spring rolls, or shredded turkey fried with za’atar and served with a kale and pomegranate salad, are all welcome changes.
This chilli and lemongrass curry recipe is one I usually make with chicken thighs, but leftover turkey makes an ideal replacement. Its ferocity depends on the chillis you choose, but fragrance and aromatics are guaranteed from the curry powder and lemongrass. These will provide an instant method of transport to somewhere altogether more exotic.
If using foreign flavours is too much of a stretch, the idea of folding your leftovers through a velvety white sauce spiked with mustard and baked in the oven with a rough puff pastry lid laced with Cheddar cheese might be more to your liking.
Both make a meal out of humble Christmas dinner leftovers and are guaranteed winners. The choice of whether or not to make them in a onesie with slippers on, is totally up to you.
