Leftovers? Here’s Five Dishes To Make The Most Of Those Excess Trimmings

When Christmas Day has come and gone, it could be easy to decide you’ve seen enough turkey, ham and vegetables to last you a lifetime.

So we’ve chatted with Arun Kapil, chef and food entrepreneur of Green Saffron for some spicy curries and Head Chef Martin O’Donnell from The Twelve in Bearna.

Together they’ve come up with a range of alternative ways to tickle your taste buds from coconut and spice infused turkey to glazed ham, chestnut and sprouts spring rolls to keep you entertaining guests with a twist they’ll love….

Turkey Delight With Coconut, Spice and Lime

Left-overs? For a delicious way to use up left-over turkey, chicken, ham or beef try this recipe. Delicate, superbly aromatic, bursting full of flavour. Fresh Tamil spices, creamy coconut milk, lime juice and fresh coriander…absolutely beautiful!! Our version of the Tamil ‘Vadagam’ blend; ‘Turkey Delight’….full of Indian promise!

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients: 

• 500g or 1 lb onions, peeled, diced
• 60g or 2 oz ghee, butter or 3 tblsp vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or blitzed
• 20g or 1 fat inches ginger, grated or blitzed

Spices: 2 tsp cumin, 5 green cardamom pods, 4 cloves, 1tsp black pepper, ½ tsp fenugreek seeds grind these all then add, ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli flakes, 1 heaped tsp ground cassia, 1 heaped tsp turmeric,1 tsp black mustard seeds and 4 gratings of nutmeg 

• 1 tin coconut milk
• 1 tin tomatoes, chopped
• 1kg or 2 lb COOKED meat (turkey, ham etc), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• Juice and zest of ½ lime
• Coriander, fresh, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt, to taste

How to make your meal:

1. Sweat the onions in the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan until soft.
2. Turn the heat up to medium, add the garlic and ginger. Stir for a couple of minutes.
3. Next, add your Spice Blend and stir for another minute.
4. Turn up the heat a little, add the tomatoes and coconut milk, sugar, stir and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
5. Add the cooked meat and cook on a gentle heat until everything’s deliciously warm, approx 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Take off the heat, grate the lime zest into the pan, squeeze in the lime juice, sprinkle with the fresh coriander.
7. Stir, check the seasoning, adding salt if you think it needs it, stir again, then serve immediately…simple!

 Serving suggestion:

Sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander and serve with Green Saffron’s Vintage ‘AAA’ Basmati rice.

Alternative suggestions:

Try replacing the cooked meat with the same quantity of raw chicken or lamb and cut into mouth-size pieces, but remember (at stage 5, above) to cook it for about 20 minutes for chicken and about 1½ hours for lamb with the lid on until your chosen meat is cooked. Fish could also be used. Monkfish is recommended as it has a firmer texture. Again, remember to only just cook the fish. This could take as little as 15 to 20 minutes.

Curried Leftovers

Quick recipe suggestion:

 Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic
• 90g fresh ginger

Spices: 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander, 3 cloves, 2 green cardamom pods freshly grind them all then add 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and mix well together

• 1 red Birds Eye chilli, diced (optional)
• 200ml double cream or coconut milk
• 400ml light chicken stock
• 1 kg cooked meat, or a mix or cooked meat and vegetables
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tblsp toasted almonds
• Small handful fresh coriander

Method:

1. Grate the garlic and ginger into a bowl
2. Add the spice mix, fresh chilli, cream (or coconut milk), chicken stock, the cooked meat (but not the vegetables if you’re going to use them, they’ll be going in later)
3. Leave in your fridge to marinate overnight.
4. Next day, pour everything into a large saucepan, place on a medium heat, bring up to a bubble then allow to simmer gently for 30minutes until everything’s good and hot.
5. Add the vegetables, stir and continue to cook for another ten minutes, until the dish is warm, delicious and of good consistency (as you’d like it)
6. Remove from the heat, squeeze in the lime juice, sprinkle on the toasted almonds and fresh coriander, take to table and serve with either rice, potatoes, pasta, couscous or wedges of crusty bread!

Arun’s Snowman on a Stick 

Christmas pudding, coconut & currants

Makes 6 sticks

Ingredients:

• 50g smooth apricot jam
• 1 tblsp water
• 1 x 390g Green Saffron Crimbletastic Christmas pudding, or any amount of left-over Christmas pudding
• 60g desiccated coconut
• 30g white chocolate
• 6 small brochette skewers
• 12 raisins
• 2 or 3 red glace cherries
• 6 sultanas
• 6 small dice mixed peel

Method:

1. Pop the water and apricot jam into a saucepan, heat, stir and melt. Set aside.
2. Pop the pudding into a mixing bowl and break it up with a knife until it resembles bread-crumbs. Set aside
3. Pop the coconut onto a plate, grate the chocolate onto it and mix together with metal spoon.
4. Roll 6 balls of pudding weighing 40g and another 6 weighing 20g. Brush them with the jam, then roll them around in the coconut chocolate flakes, until they’re fully covered.
5. Brush the raisins with the jam and pop them on as eyes. Cut 6 small pieces of cherry, coat in jam and pop on as noses
6. Finally, slide a sultana followed by a small piece of mixed peel up the stick and wedge into place to stop the snowman sliding down his perch. Pop the sticks into some foil covered oasis and serve!

Xmas Pudding Chocolate Truffles

110g good quality chocolate

• 50 ml single cream
• 8g butter
• Pinch sea salt

Method:

1. Chop up the chocolate and place into a bowl.
2. In a small pot heat the cream and butter together until the cream simmers.
3. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until well combined.
4. Add a small pinch of sea salta allow to cool.
5. In a another bowl crumble the left over Christmas pudding approx 300g and combine with the cooled chocolate mix.
6. And mix well. Chill in the fridge and when cold take a teaspoon amount and roll in the palms of your hands ( the heat of your hands help mould into ball shape approx 20 g ), roll in a cocoa powder , toasted coconut or powdered nuts .

Glazed Ham, Chestnut and Sprouts Spring Rolls

 Ingredients:

• Leftover ham and sprouts
• 100g chestnuts
• Herbs – parsley, tarragon, chervil
• Egg
• Spring Roll pastry – available in larger supermarkets

Method:

1. Shred the leftover ham and place into a bowl. Finely slice the sprouts and chestnuts and combine with the glazed ham and mix well.
2. Add a handful of chopped herbs (chervil, parsley tarragon all works well )
3. Spring roll pastry available in good delicatessen or Asian shops usually in the freezer. Thaw the pack.
4. Lay a sheet at an angle on a dry surface. Place a large dessert spoon amount of the mix on the pastry and fold over the meat mix ensuring it is as tight as possible.
5. Roll twice and then tuck in the edges and continue to roll as tight as possible.
6. Before getting to the end brush the pastry with egg wash and finish rolling.
7. Deep fry at 180 c for approx 5 -6 mins until golden in colour.
8. Serve with a nice cranberry relish or a nice aioli.

Pulled Turkey and Ham Pasta with Chervil Cream and Parmesan Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta per servings

• Diced onion and garlic
• 250ml cream
• Leftover turkey and ham
• Herbs – seasoning to taste
• Handful of parmesan cheese
• Splash of white wine

 Method:

1. In a frying pan sweat off a finely diced onion  with some chopped garlic in some olive oil , add a splash of nice white wine and reduce slightly ( cook until half the liquid is gone).
2. Add 250 ml of cream and continue to cook until a sauce consistency 3 -4 mins.
3. In a pot cook some of your favorite pasta as per the instructions
4. Prepare the meat by pulling some of the leftover turkey and ham into pieces and set aside. Try ensure the meats are similar in size.
5. Chop some fresh herbs and grate a handful of parmesan and have ready to add in a separate bowl.
6. So a minute before the pasta is ready toss the meat through the sauce just to warm up. Be careful as too long in the sauce will dry it out, and add in the drained pasta.
7. Toss in the sauce, and add in the cheese and herbs as well at this stage/
8. Check for seasoning and plate up onto a warm plate.
9. Serve with a cold glass chardonnay and enjoy!

For an exciting and innovative dining experience this festive season, head out west to Upstairs @ WEST, the restaurant at The Twelve, Galway’s most stylish boutique hotel. Sourcing the finest local produce, the best wild and cultivated ingredients, and highlighting them at the optimum moment of seasonal perfection – this will be one dinner experience that’ll leave you feeling festive and full!