It is a bit of a running joke every year that Christmas turkey is the gift that keeps giving for days afterwards – turkey curry, turkey stir-fry, turkey sandwiches and more.
With the price of food rising higher and higher, it is more important than ever to get the most out of everything we buy, and that includes our food.
Before you even think about throwing anything away, use your imagination and make something delicious with your leftovers.
What to do with some of the leftovers:
Ham
Leftover Christmas ham is a great addition to a home-made pizza, especially when combined with fresh Mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.
You can also use the ham to make gourmet sandwiches, along with pickles, rocket and a good mayo.
Consider making a platter of sliced ham with gherkins, caper berries, pickled onions and cranberry sauce, served with crusty bread.
Make a soup
Soups are a wholesome and easy way to make the most of Christmas leftovers. Mix and blend all your leftover vegetables with chicken, garlic, ginger and saffron for a delicious detox chicken soup.
You can also spice up your leftovers by adding them to zesty Indian chickpea soup. Soup can be repurposed into a yummy soup stock to complement a roast or turned into a dreamy sauce for a leftover pasta dish.
Turkey or chicken
Stuff leftover turkey or chicken into croquettes, along with your favourite cheese, chopped fresh herbs and a little lemon zest. Both are also delicious in fried rice, as the meat absorbs the flavours of the sauce.
Add a few fresh veggies and fresh coriander to reinvent the dish. You can also use cold roast chicken and turkey by adding it to sandwiches or stir-fries.
Toasted roast turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce are sublime.
Lamb, beef or pork
Turn leftover meat into South American empanadas. Cut circles from pre-made pastry and stuff them with a mix of chopped meat, sautéed onions, hard-boiled egg and green olives.
Seal them like a little pie, add an egg wash, and bake in the oven until brown and crispy.
Use leftover meat to make a spicy filling for tacos, by shredding the meat and adding it to a spicy sauce, giving it plenty of time to soak up all the flavours.
Serve with warm tortillas, sour cream and a punchy salsa.
Transform your vegetables
Transform your leftover veggies into an egg-filled frittata. Leftover roast pumpkin or butternut is ideal in salads, especially when paired with goat's cheese, beetroot and baby spinach.
Or make a simple roast vegetable lasagne to turn all your veggies into a delicious and filling meal to serve the next day.
Freeze it
Store your favourite leftovers that you cannot get to immediately. You can always reheat and repurpose them at a later stage into any recipe because the best kind of food is the food that does not go to waste.
Pack the older frozen food items towards the front of the freezer shelves.
This will help you remember to finish older items first, before moving on to the fresher frozen goods.