I don’t know about you but in my household the the Christmas feast seems to live on for days and days! We ALWAYS over cater so I spend what seems like forever using up the numerous and varying leftovers we have in all ways possible. I have previously posted about ways in which to use up leftover chicken or turkey in curries, risotto and pies however this year I was keen to try out some new recipes and use up side dishes such as veg and gravy.
Our humongous turkey, Christmas 2016
The first thing I did post the Christmas mayhem was to make a delicious stock from the turkey carcass. It really is a great idea to do this as otherwise the bones only get chucked in the bin and by boiling the carcass down for several hours with a few herbs, peppercorns and veg remnants you get the most falvoursome, delicious stock which really adds something special to future soups, sauces and risotto. Plus, making stock requires very little prep and effort so you could do it whilst taking a Boxing Day nap on the sofa!
Next of the list was to make bubble and squeak out of all the leftover vegetables we had piled up in the fridge. We mashed together roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots with carrot puree and Brussel sprouts with pancetta into patties before dusting with a little flour and pan frying in batches with a little leftover turkey flat. Completely indulgent but at least you can make sure you are at least having some veg during the Boxing Day chocolate binge! To counteract the indulgence, I also made some roasted carrot, parsnip and garlic soup to pop in the freezer all ready for the New Year health kick!
Christmas Day feasting, 2016
Early on in Christmas week I was scanning for last-minute inspiration when I came across Jamie Oliver’s annual installment on Channel 4, Jamie’s Ultimate Christmas (aired 8pm, Channel 4, Monday 19th December 2016). I am a massive Jamie Oliver fan, as readers of this blog will be well aware, so I couldn’t resist tuning in. Jamie shared some wonderful recipes and tips for side dishes such as gravy and roast potatoes, main courses including a mouth-watering beef Wellington and desserts including a very indulgent chocolate pud which looked absolutely heavenly! Well worth a watch on demand if you are after some inspiration for future meals or better yet, Jamie Oliver’s Christmas cookbook, Jamie Oliver’s Christmas, is now available to purchase.
One of the dishes which really caught my eye was Jamie’s leftover turkey risotto which not only used up the remaining turkey but also turkey skin, gravy, cheese, stock, veg and prosecco (whatever leftover prosecco is!). A winner for sure!
Leftover turkey skin
Thyme, 8 springs
1 onion, diced
1 leek, diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
300g Arborio risotto rice
A good glug of prosecco
1.5L turkey stock
300g leftover turkey meat, chopped
Leftover turkey gravy
50g pamesan
25g butter
Tbsp marscapone
1) Place any leftover skin from the carcass in a cold frying pan. Heat gently until the fat disperses and the skin becomes super crispy and golden. Sprinkle over some thyme then remove from the pan and set aside to keep warm.
2) Place premade turkey stock in a pan on the hob and allow to simmer gently.
3) Heat a frying pan with a little fat then cook the veg gently until translucent and soft. Stir in the risotto rice and heat until you hear soft popping then, pour in a decent glug of prosecco and allow it to bubble away.
4) Add a ladleful of stock at a time to the frying pan, allow it to cook away before adding another ladle, remembering to stir frequently.
5) After roughly 15 – 20 minutes, the rice should be almost cooked. At this point, begin reheating your leftover gravy.
6) Remove the risotto from the heat and quickly stir in the parmesan, butter and marscapone. Season and scatter a little more thyme.
7) To serve, ladle the risotto into bowls leaving a small divet in the middle in order to spoon in some of the delicious gravy. Sprinkle over a little more parmesan and top with the crispy turkey skin.
Jamie Oliver’s turkey risotto
We deviated from the recipe a little due to what we had in the fridge. For example we shamefully had run out of leeks and celery so we omitted these from the recipe but increased the amount of onion. We also didn’t have any marscapone to hand but had a bit of cream cheese lying around from the salmon pate parcels we made for the starter on Christmas day (recipe to follow in due course!).
The substitutions certainly didn’t do the dish any harm as it was, quite simply, delicious!! The risotto was so creamy, rich and flavoursome, helped by the homemade turkey stock that we allowed to boil for some 8 hours a few days before. We also used a bit of leftover turkey fat that we had on hand to start the risotto off which certainly led to the depth of flavour. I was hesitant about the addition of the gravy but it really was a nice deviation from a traditional risotto. I used another Jamie Oliver recipe for my Christmas Day gravy – Get Ahead Gravy, which really was rather wonderful and took some of the stress out of the last-minute cooking on Christmas day, highly recommended!
Ingredients for Jamie Oliver’s Get Ahead Gravy about to go in the oven in preparation for Christmas day
Obviously this dish is rather indulgent due to the butter, fat, cheese and crispy skin but it is so tasty and a wonderful way to use up Christmas leftovers and one last treat before the post Christmas diet begins! Of course the turkey could be substituted with chicken so this dish could be made after a normal Sunday roast too! Definitely one I will be trying again, gravy and all!
