We all know that the best part of the Christmas Dinner is… the leftovers!

If you said roast potatoes, stuffing, or even pigs in blankets, we won’t judge you. They are undeniably blissful. However, we wholeheartedly believe that the pinnacle of the holiday season is knowing that whenever you open the fridge, you’ll be greeted with platefuls (and tupperware-fuls) of leftover morsels, just waiting to be turned into a new Christmassy meal.

Join us as we explore how best to upgrade your uneaten sprouts, remaining turkey meat and leftover cauliflower, to provide you with comforting yet nutritious grub that’ll see you through to the New Year. After all, our bodies need a little more variety than a diet full of chocolate coins and pringles can provide!

Turkey and Stuffing Pie

A Christmas leftover recipe guide simply wouldn’t be complete without a pie. This version, based on the Hairy Bikers’ recipe, allows you to add any scraps of veg you have lying around, both increasing the nutritional value and how far the leftover meat will go! As an added bonus, the pretty top means that it is the perfect centrepiece for entertaining after Christmas Day.

Pastry Ingredients (or simply buy 2 packets of ready rolled pastry!):

• 350g plain flour
• 125g butter, chilled and diced
• 75g lard, chilled and diced
• iced water
• salt
• 1 free-range egg, beaten, to glaze

Filling Ingredients:

• 15g butter or 15ml oil
• 3 leeks, thickly sliced
• 100ml dry white wine
• 500g-700g leftover turkey, diced (reduce according to additional optional fillings used)
• 200g leftover stuffing, broken up
• freshly ground black pepper
• Optional fillings: cooked diced ham, leftover roast parsnips or carrots, cooked diced smoked bacon

Sauce Ingredients:

• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 400ml turkey or chicken stock
• 200ml full-fat milk
• 100ml single cream
• few tarragon leaves, finely chopped

Method:

1. First make the pastry (if not using shop bought). Rub the flour, butter and lard together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs and add a good pinch of salt. Add just enough iced water to bind the pastry together without it being too crumbly, then form it into a ball, wrap it in cling film and chill it in the fridge.
2. To make the filling, heat the butter or oil in a casserole dish or saute pan and add the leeks. Fry for a few minutes then season with salt and pepper before adding the wine. Cover and leave on a low heat until the leeks are just tender, then remove the leeks with a slotted spoon and reserve any liquid.
3. For the sauce, melt the butter in a separate saucepan and add the flour. Stir until you have a thick roux, then gradually add the stock, milk and cream, stirring thoroughly with each addition to make a creamy béchamel. Add the reserved liquid from cooking the leeks for additional flavour.
4. Add the turkey, stuffing, leeks and any optional ingredients to the béchamel and stir very gently – be careful as you don’t want the meat or leeks to break up. Leave to cool completely.
5. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and put a baking tray in the oven to heat up.
6. To assemble the pie, take two-thirds of the pastry (or one packet of ready rolled). Roll it out to line a large pie dish – around 25cm/10in in diameter. Add the filling – it should more than fill the pie dish and give you a slightly domed top.
7. Roll out the remaining pastry (or use your second shop bought roll). Brush the edges of the bottom piece of pastry with beaten egg, then place over the top piece. Trim the edges and crimp together.
8. Use the trimmings to make any decorations you like, such as holly leaves, stars or christmas trees, then brush the whole thing with egg wash. Cut two small holes in the centre of the crust to allow steam to escape.
9. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the pie is a rich golden-brown colour and the filling is piping hot.

Tip: For a really Christmassy flavour, you can add some fresh thyme or rosemary to the leaks as they cook in the wine.

Leftover Sprout Bubble & Squeak Cakes

One of the great things about sprouts is how they carry the flavour of whatever they were originally cooked with - whether that be crispy pancetta, chestnuts or a little lemon zest. When you use up any leftovers, these flavours will help you elevate a potentially simple dish into something much more special!

These bubble and squeak cakes from Easy Peasy Foodie are perfect for breakfast as the star of the show, or with lunch or dinner as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 300g leftover sprouts (and/or other leftover vegetables)
• 750g leftover mashed or roast potatoes
• 25g butter
• 4 tbsp milk - optional
• Plain flour
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Mash the sprouts (and/or other leftover vegetables) and potatoes together with the milk, salt and pepper. Shape the mash into little burger shapes.
2. Tip a little plain flour onto a plate and roll the bubble and squeak cakes in the flour to coat.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Swirl to coat the base of the pan.
4. Put the cakes into the frying pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. If you are doing a lot, or want to do them ahead of time, keep warm on a plate in a low oven and repeat until they are all done.
5. Serve with a poached or fried egg for breakfast, or with salad, beans, sausages or leftover cold meats for lunch or dinner.

Patak’s Curry

At some point between Christmas and New Years, a curry absolutely has to feature in the meal plan! It’s likely that you will be craving a night off from ‘proper cooking’ by this stage so, thanks to having so much leftover meat and using a jarred paste for the base, this becomes a quick and easy meal to pull together. However, with a few simple accompaniments, it’s a welcome break from the usual festive flavours.

Remember that this recipe is more of a guideline, so feel free to change the paste to a different flavour if you prefer, use any vegetables you have lying around and to not worry about exact quantities!

Ingredients:

• Patak’s Rogan Josh paste
• 1 large onion, diced
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• Fresh or frozen coriander
• 400g leftover meat, chopped into bite-size chunks (turkey, chicken, lamb or beef work particularly well)
• 200g leftover vegetables, chopped into bite-size chunks (carrots, broccoli, green beans and even brussels can be fab here, but if you’re running short, simply add frozen peas!)

Method:

1. Heat some oil in a large pan and fry the onion until soft and translucent.
2. Add 2-3 heaped tablespoons of the Rogan Josh paste and gently cook for a few minutes. This allows the spices to release all their wonderful flavours and aromas.
3. Add in the chopped tomatoes and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. If you’re using frozen coriander, add this at the end for 30 seconds to start infusing.
4. Add your leftover meat and vegetables and simmer until heated through.
5. If you’re using fresh coriander, add just before serving.

Tip: Serve with basmati rice, a quality mango chutney, some poppadom’s and some raita (simply mix Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of mint sauce!) to make this a real treat.

Moroccan Turkey Salad

If you’re not feeling too dependent on hot meals during these wintery days, turkey is great in salads. This ultra-easy recipe from BBC Good Food brings the flavours of North Africa to our British dining tables!

Ingredients:

• 2 pitta breads
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 diced aubergine
• 1 tbsp harissa
• 250g halved cherry tomato
• 500g shredded leftover turkey breast
• 100g rocket
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate or 110g tub pomegranate seeds
• a few mint leaves

Method:

1. Tear the pitta into pieces and fry in the olive oil until crisp. Tip into a bowl, then fry the aubergine for 10 mins until soft.
2. Add to the pitta with the harissa, tomatoes, turkey and rocket. Toss well.
3. Scatter over pomegranate seeds and mint leaves.

Stock… for Noodle Soup

It may be really tempting to just throw the carcass of your Christmas turkey in the bin (by this point, the day seems to have gone on forever, right?!). But, if you can take a moment to wrap it in foil and put it in the fridge overnight, you can have a stock simmering away the next day whilst you chill in front of the TV. Trust us when we say it is worth it - you will get pints of the golden elixir to use in risottos, sauces and, as we show below, noodle soup based on a lovely recipe from Pinch Of Nom!

Stock Method:

1. Break the turkey carcass into manageable pieces with a cleaver or strong kitchen scissors, and place into a large stock pot. It's fine if it still has some little bits of meat attached – this will just add to the flavour.
2. Throw in some roughly chopped vegetables, such as onion, carrot and celery. Add some herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, bay leaves or peppercorns.
3. Cover the turkey and veg with water, then bring it to the boil and immediately reduce to a simmer.
4. Use a ladle to remove the frothy top layer, then leave to simmer for 2 hours.
5. Strain the stock through the sieve to remove the bones and vegetables. To intensify the flavour, cook and reduce your stock further.
6. Store the cooked stock in airtight containers in the fridge or freezer.

Noodle Soup Ingredients:

• 1.6l of turkey stock
• 2 large carrots, cut into thin strips
• 1 leek
• 100g sweetcorn or babycorn, cut into thirds
• 100g peas or sugar snap peas, cut into thirds
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 120g egg noodles or 80g fusilli pasta
• 300g cooked & shredded turkey or chicken
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Noodle Soup Method:

1. Heat some oil in a pan, then add the carrots and leak. Cook over a medium heat until soft.
2. Add the stock, sweetcorn and peas. Stir in the thyme and parsley and bring to the boil.
3. Add the noodles or pasta to the pan (breaking up the nests if using noodles), along with the shredded meat. Simmer for 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the white wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve, with some crusty white bread for dunking!

Bonkers Bread & Butter Panettone Pudding Tart

This Jamie Oliver recipe is a MedicAlert favourite (bonus points if you spotted it on our social media during the first lockdown!). It may not be the healthiest, but it certainly is good for the soul! It is decadent, Christmassy, and perfect for a very adult take on a childhood favourite.

Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 4 tablespoons demerara sugar
• 750g plain panettone
• 1 vanilla pod
• 300 ml double cream
• 300 ml whole milk
• 5 large free-range eggs
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 60g quality dark chocolate (70%)
• 60g bitter orange marmalade

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 (see tip below, if you’re preparing the tart in advance). Lightly grease a 28cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
2. Bash 2 tablespoons of demerara sugar in a pestle and mortar until fine, then mix with the remaining demerara so you have a range of textures. Tip into the tart tin and shake around to coat. Tap gently, then tip any excess back into the mortar for later.
3. Slice the edges off the panettone in strips and use them to line the base and sides of the tart tin, pressing down hard to compact and create a pastry-like shell.
4. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds, then put both the seeds and pod into a pan on a medium heat along with the cream, milk and butter, and simmer for 5 minutes or until the butter has melted.
5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs and golden caster sugar for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Whisking constantly, add the hot cream mixture to the bowl until combined, then discard the vanilla pod.
6. Now it’s time to build this crazy comfort pudding. Pour one-third of the custard into the base of the tart and leave to soak in for a couple of minutes.
7. Tear up all the remaining panettone into rough chunks, soak them in the bowl of creamy custard for a minute or two (the more it sucks up, the better!), then layer up in the shell you’ve created, snapping up and adding little chunks of chocolate and dollops of marmalade between the layers – there’s no need to be neat about it, you want a range of heights, saturation and textures.
8. Pour over any leftover custard, leaving it to soak in if necessary, then sprinkle with the remaining demerara sugar.
9. Bake for around 25 minutes, or until set. Allow the pudding to rest for 10 minutes, then serve with cream, custard or ice cream, if you like – it’s delicious cold, too, if you’ve got any leftovers!

Tip: If you're pushed for time, assemble the tart the night before, store in the fridge, then bake the next day. Simple!

Staying healthy over the holiday season

With many of us now in tiers 3 and 4 of the Coronavirus restrictions, the temptation to stay on the sofa and eat snacks from dawn ‘till dusk may be overwhelming. However, it is as important than ever - potentially more so! - to maintain variety in your diet and keep your body moving.

December and early January may be cold but they are also often crisp: dry and sunny, with just a little breeze. If you can, head out for a stroll in your local area and appreciate the beauty all around you. If you have kids in tow, choose something - yellow cars, swans or robins, or even cow pats! - to count.

If you’re less able bodied, open some windows for 20 minutes to less excess moisture out the house, which will actually help your house to warm up quicker afterwards! Whilst they’re open, why not try some simple yoga stretches to keep your joints supple? You can find some ideas here.

Whatever you decide to do, keep your MedicAlert bracelet or necklace on at all times. For the equivalent of just £2.67 per month, you'll know that we're with you at every step, keeping you safe, just in case. 

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