What To Cook With Your Christmas Leftovers: Top Tips from Blackfriars' Andy Hook
Blackfriars Restaurant boasts the oldest purpose-built dining room in the UK. Housed inside a Dominican monastery, the historic venue is a marvellous location for a special meal and their menu is full of gutsy, traditional British food.
Chef and owner Andy Hook is passionate about locally sourced, seasonal produce and his food is exceptionally well-conceived, comforting and flavourful. The restaurant has been packed to the rafters over the Christmas period, as diners feast on festive favourites, and here Andy spills the beans on some of his favourite Christmas leftover recipes!
“The perennial question that raises its festive head each year: what to do with Christmas leftovers? Yes, how do you make the most of your Christmas turkey, roast vegetables and trimmings?
“Well, let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. Turkey sandwiches on fresh white bread with stuffing and cranberry sauce are a must, whether on Christmas Day evening or in the days following. I like to add bacon and Dijon mustard to mine or a bit of fresh lettuce to liven it up. Then there’s traditional bubble ’n’ squeak, which I like to make with shredded turkey, leftover veg and mashed potato plus an egg to bind it all together. Make into patties, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer, then fry in lots of butter and finish in a hot oven. You can then pimp it up with bacon, black pudding, a poached egg and buttered spinach as well as brown sauce or cranberry sauce if you feel inclined, which all makes for a particularly wholesome, hangover-curing breakfast, and perfect for setting you up for the day!
“I need to let you into a little secret here. I love Brussels sprouts so much that my consumption is not just limited to Christmas! And if you could buy fresh sprouts all year round, I’d eat them all the time! Blanched and refreshed in iced water before frying in butter is always a good start with anything green. Now fry in butter until golden before adding breadcrumbs, fresh sage, parsley and thyme as well as the zest of lemon. Finish with freshly-grated parmesan. An alternative is to dry-fry pancetta cubes until fat is released. Gently boil Brussels and parsnips until tender then add to pancetta along with cooked chestnuts and fresh parsley.
“We should also mention the ubiquitous turkey curry. The main thing here is to make the sauce first by gently frying onion until golden then adding your choice of spices – for example, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli – before garlic and ginger which should be fried for a few minutes longer until the aromas are released. Add leftover carrots, parsnips and Brussels, then blitz the whole lot with enough vegetable stock to make a gravy-sauce consistency. Test for seasoning then add salt, pepper, garam masala and mango chutney to taste before adding cooked turkey leg meat chopped up into bite-sized portions. Stir in a splash of cream then garnish with toasted almond flakes and fresh coriander.
“Another family favourite is turkey and ham pie made with leeks and tarragon, parsnip, chestnut and apple soup made with turkey carcass stock, or even ‘klump’ - I’ll leave you to look that one up! And for afters, my go-to pud is always Christmas pudding fried in butter and served with brandy butter. Admittedly it’s not great for diets but is absolutely delicious! Happy Christmas!”
