Don’t let good food go to waste this New Year with these two warming turkey and ham dishes from Claire Macdonald.
The first day of the year brings another day of feasting for many of us, making the most of having family and friends, if fewer than hoped for only a couple of weeks ago.
By now you will have the leftover cut-up turkey safely stored in a poly-bag in your freezer. What is to be done with it all?
Here are some ideas.
New Year leftovers
Leftover cooked turkey meat is, of course, every bit as delectable as it is when cold. The best thing to do with cold turkey is to make it into a fricassee.
Leftover ham is a joy and endlessly useful. Today we have a recipe for a ham, leek and mushroom gratin, good served with either baked jacket potatoes or with well-beaten mashed potatoes.
And the small amount of Madeira in the sauce makes all the difference to the flavour of this dish. If you don’t have Madeira, medium sherry is a second best substitute.
For more New Year recipe inspiration click here.
Turkey fricassee
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp drippings from the roasting of the turkey or 3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, skinned, halved and finely diced
- 2 sticks of celery, each trimmed at either end, peeled with a potato peeler to get rid of the stringy bits, and finely sliced
- 1 medium sized carrot, peeled, trimmed at either end, and then diced finely
- 2 rashers of back bacon, smoked if possible, fat trimmed away and the bacon sliced into fine strips
- 1 rounded tsp medium strength curry powder
- 1 rounded tbsp flour
- 600ml stock, turkey or chicken
- 50g raisins
- About 750g cut up leftover turkey
- 1 tsp salt, about 12-15 grinds of black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Method
- Heat the turkey drippings or the oil in a wide pan. Over moderate heat, fry together the diced onion, sliced celery and diced carrots, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Take care not to let this vegetable mixture turn colour, and the necessary cooking time is achieved when you can easily stick a knife tip into a bit of carrot – the carrot takes the longest cooking time.
- Stir in the bacon strips, cook for a further several minutes before stirring in the curry powder, cook for a minute, then stir in the flour. Cook for a further couple of minutes before adding the stock, slowly, and stirring all the time.
- Turn up the heat under your pan and stir until the sauce simmers. Add the raisins, turkey, salt and black pepper and lemon juice. Add more stock – or some milk – if you like a less firm sauce. Simmer very gently, for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- You can make the fricassee in advance but don’t add the leftover turkey till 15-20 minutes before serving. The danger is the turkey becoming shredded in texture if it sits in the hot fricassee for a length of time.
Ham, leek and mushroom gratin
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500-750g diced ham
- 2 medium sized leeks, each trimmed at either end and any outer leaves removed, the leeks then sliced finely
- 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 200g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 onion, skinned, halved and diced
- 2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 1 tbs flour
- 600ml chicken or ham or vegetable stock
- 150ml Madeira
- 1 level teaspoon salt, about 15 grinds of black pepper
For the surface:
- 50g butter
- 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs, white or brown, whizzed with a good handful of parsley
Method
- First, heat the first amount of oil in a medium to large saucepan and, over moderate heat, cook the finely sliced leeks till soft. Stir occasionally, but take care not to let the leeks turn colour as they soften. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cover a baking tray with parchment. Put the diced onion and sliced mushrooms on to this. Mix the second amount of oil thoroughly through the mushrooms and onion and spread evenly on the parchment. Season with salt and black pepper and roast in a hot oven, 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas Mark 6, for 30-35 minutes. Shuffle around the mushrooms and onion halfway through their cooking time. Roasting the mushrooms makes all the difference to their flavour.
- When roasted, tip the contents of the baking tray into the pan with the softened leeks. Mix well. Turn the heat up a bit under the pan, stir in the flour and let it cook for a couple of minutes before slowly adding the stock, stirring all the time.
- When the contents of the pan simmer, let them simmer gently for a minute or two, then add the Madeira, and the diced ham. Tip into an ovenproof dish, smooth even.
- To make the surface: melt the butter in a wide pan and, over fairly high heat, fry the parsley crumbs, stirring almost continuously, till they turn golden brown.
- Spoon the buttery parsley crumbs evenly over the surface of the ham gratin.
- Before serving, bake in a moderate heat 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 35-40 mins or until the sauce is gently bubbling around the edges. This cooking time is from room temperature, be sure to take the gratin dish from the fridge half an hour before cooking.
