6 Boxing Day Cheat Meals To Make With Your Christmas Leftovers
Christmas Day has come and gone and even though you’re still kind of bloated from yesterday, the hungover peckishness has started to set in. Don’t worry though, because the boys and girls behind some of Malta’s best foodie Instagram accounts have got you covered. Get inspired by their efforts and follow the official Boxing Day mantra- Eat, Sleep, Watch a Film, Repeat.
1. Posh Breakfast Hash
You’re bound to have some leftover roasties from yesterday’s bombastic Christmas lunch. Hopefully you or one of your more responsible family members has covered them and kept them in the fridge. You could chop them up and make a Spanish omlette or frittata for brunch, which is just a normal omelette with cooked potatoes in it- more filling and absolutely delicious with hot sauce. Or follow the lead set by this dish from Pastizzi Gourmet, in which a mix of sweet potato and your average spud were cubed and fried up with fresh thyme and topped with a fried duck egg. Nice!
2. Roast Beef & Stilton Sandwich
Meat should never ever ever go to waste, and that’s why God created sandwiches. Perk up your boring leftover turkey sandwiches by mixing up a super quick curry mayonnaise, which to you and me is two tablespoons of mayo to one teaspoon of curry powder. This former specials board beauty by Emma’s Kitchen makes use of thinly sliced roast beef, Stilton and apple & onion chutney. Whoa there. If you know you have all of those things lying around don’t waste any more time and make a beeline for the fridge- you know what you have to do!
3. Super Sesame Stirfry
If you passed up on eating your greens yesterday to make room for an extra serving of your auntie’s Christmas chocolate log, you’re likely to have some leftover vegetables to hand. Give them a new lease of life à la Sarah Eats Out by stir frying them with onions, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, lemongrass and sesame seeds. If you have a tin of coconut milk and some Thai Green Curry paste to hand you’re winning- serve that right up with some boiled rice. If not, you can have your stir fried veggies with noodles, tossed into the wok or large pan and fried in with a couple of beaten eggs, some of yesterday’s turkey meat and sesame oil, Pad Thai style, or as a side dish to any leftover gammon or ham which you can glaze with honey before re-roasting in the oven. Now we’re talking.
5. Classic Hearty Curry
Turkey curry on Boxing Day is somewhat of a tradition in the UK, and you can disguise yesterday’s main dinner table attraction and veggies in a variety of Indian gravies. Leftover turkey or chicken goes well with pretty much any curry sauce; a Korma like this one from Foodie Malta or a Tikka Masala made with tinned tomatoes would do nicely. If you have any lamb leftover, do it justice by preparing a Rogan Josh or Madras- with any luck you’ve got a fully stocked spice rack and a stray green pepper and onion somewhere. Serve with yellow pilau rice for extra points, just add a heaped teaspoon of ground turmeric to the boiling pan water- result!
5. Sweet Cinnamon & Chocolate Bowl
Now this just looks like Christmas in a bowl! If you have a sweet tooth, this one’s for you. In this gorgeous looking dish by Island Eats, an apple, pear and pecan compote is made by sautéing the fruit and nuts in honey, lemon juice and Christmas spices with a side of vanilla yoghurt whizzed up with a banana in a blender- delightful and not so unhealthy at all! You can try and make something similar looking (but indulgently calorific) at home with whatever dessert remnants you have leftover. Warm up some Christmas pudding, add hot custard or ice-cream (or both), crushed hazelnuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon and perhaps a few chocolate gold coins and hope for the best. #dietstartsnextyear
6. Let’s Have A Toast
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in this crazy old year called 2016 it’s that toast is now a thing. Sure, it’s been a thing for a while- we all love toast, but with it’s modern day status upgrade we’ve learned to treat our traditional sourdough loaf with all the love and attention it deserves. No longer are posh ingredients reserved for the fancier carbohydrate platforms, the poppyseed crackers and wood-fired pizza bases of the world. So if you’ve been gifted with any delightful preserves, pâté or limited edition virgin olive oil this Christmas, don’t be precious- slather them on toast! You’ll soon be glad you didn’t quite get through the whole cheese board yesterday…