What to do with your Christmas leftover - including 7 turkey sandwich ideas!

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An Asian style Turkey Sandwich is just one of the creative ideas of what to do with your leftovers. Image: Supplied

SO Christmas literally went with a bang! You’ve pulled the crackers, drank drinks that only see the light of day once a year and your liver and stomach are now on a go-slow.

With the mountains of leftover food looking like an invasion of the foil monsters in your fridge you now have enough provisions to feed a mini army. But just how many turkey sandwiches can a man gobble before his enthusiasm curbs?

On the plus, you won’t have to go shopping for a while. On the minus, you have to make sure that your family don’t curse the words ‘turkey’ and ‘ham’ when you reply to their question of ‘what’s for dinner?’.

We asked Malone's Butcher Sam for some easy and quick ideas and tips to revitalise Christmas leftovers into a culinary array of delights.

Flavour Toolbox
Firstly, be armed with your toolbox of flavours. You can let your imagination go wild with this armoury. Malone's produce delicious Cranberry Relish, Hot Mango Chutney, Beetroot Relish, Tomato Relish, Chilli Sauces (locally made Fang’s). 

Or for a decadent taste to your left overs add a dash of truffle oil.. be careful, it can be addictive! Malone’s Terrabianca, olio aromatic al tartufo is the real deal (beware of imitation truffle oils). This can be used to liven up your left over potatoes and vegetables (chop up and fry in a pan) and add oil. BBQ your turkey and ham and serve with a salad with truffle oil vinaigrette!

7 creative turkey sandwich ideas

  1. With Chive Cream Cheese and Bacon
  2. With Provolone cheese and Giariniera (mixed pickle vegetables)
  3. With Watercress and thinly sliced apple
  4. With toasted pecans, sliced brie, fresh rocket salad and Malone’s Cranberry Relish (or another relish from the flavour toolbox)
  5. With peeled cucumbers and carrots in thin strips, spring onions, fresh mint with Hoisin mayonnaise for that Asian twist, Bahn Mi style sandwich.
  6. Open face sandwich with rocket salad, honey mustard, red onion and ripe nectarines. 
  7. Try with a Panini – layer roast turkey, swiss cheese and onions on bread then grill until bread is crisp and the cheese has melted. Then add your relish.

 

And keep reading for some other ideas of what to to with your leftover turkey and ham.

Turkey Curried Pot Pies

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2/3 cup diced carrots
  • 1 1/3 cup diced potatoes
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 2 cups shredded leftover turkey
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2/3 cup Malone's have Veal stock
  • 1-2 tablespoons of Malone’s curry (they have green (hot), yellow (mild) and Malay Penang (mild)
  • Salt (Malone’s Himalayan salt) and pepper, to taste

For the topping

  • Puff pastry dough, thawed
  • 1 egg (Malone’s Yamagishi Happy Eggs)
  • 1 tablespoon water

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F 190 C degrees. Lightly grease a medium casserole dish or large ramekins.
  2. In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat then add onion, carrots, and potatoes leftovers. If any veg are not cooked add these 5 minutes before your leftovers.
  3. Add peas and leftover turkey to the pan then sprinkle flour over mixture. Stir to cook off raw flour taste a bit, about 1 minute, then add Malone’s veal stock.
  4. The mixture should start to thicken soon. Mix in the Malone’s curry powder of your choice and salt and pepper. Season to taste.
  5. If you need more liquid, add 1 tablespoon of stock at a time. The consistency should be thick but there should be some thickened liquid. Remove from heat.
  6. Evenly divide the mixture amongst the ramekins or put it all in the casserole dish.
  7. Roll out the puff pastry dough then cut out to fit the ramekin top or casserole dish.
  8. Place the puff pastry on top of the ramekins or casserole dish then using a sharp knife, made slits in the dough.
  9. Whisk together egg and water then using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the pastry dough.
  10. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puff pastry has cooked through and is golden on the top and filling is bubbling and cooked through.
  11. Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.


Ham & Vegetable Soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package of dried split peas, green and rinsed
  • 1 bag of Malones pre-prepared stock – add water if too thick.
  • 2 medium cubed potatoes
  • 2 medium onions peeled and chopped
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, washed and chopped
  • 2 cups cooked ham, trimmed of fat, diced
  • For the vegetables substitute any that are your left overs – chopped.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Chop veggies and meat, then combine everything in a large stockpot -- going VERY EASY on the salt as your ham and stock might be salty enough already (you will test and add more later if needed).
  2. Stir, then bring to a boil over high heat.
  3. Don't walk away from the pot. As soon as it comes to a boil, stir, then lower the heat to low and drop a lid on the pot, venting just a bit for a few minutes so you don't have a boilover.
  4. As soon as the temperature drops enough to avoid a boilover (a few minutes), go ahead and let the lid sit fully on top of the pan.
  5. Let cook on low, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring once or twice, until all veggies are tender.
  6. Give the finished soup a taste test and adjust salt and other seasonings as needed.
  7. For a creamier soup you can use a hand blender or a quick spin in a blender to make the consistency smoother. 


Do you have any other leftover ideas? Let us know in the comments below!

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