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Market Trader Ideas for Christmas Leftovers

Christmas is a time for indulging, and this year, more than ever, we want to celebrate and enjoy great food with our nearest and dearest. But what happens to all those Christmas leftovers? Our Market Traders have shared their tips just in case you overbuy this festive season – in fact, after reading this you might want to!

Leftover Ham

Ham is a Christmas staple for most households, whether it be a cooked ham for lunch or cold ham for afternoon tea. But when you’ve had your fill, what do you do with the leftover ham in the days ahead?

The good news is that when stored correctly, the ham can last for weeks.

“If wrapped in a ham bag or damp tea towel and kept in the fridge, the ham can last for 3-4 weeks,” said Dean from J&L Quality Meats.

“My family loves to eat ham sandwiches but we also use the ham in stir-fries and pea soup.”

Simon from Ian’s Meats agrees “I love ham and pickle sandwiches, so the leftover ham is well used and it’s easy to store in the fridge with a damp cloth to make it last longer.”

Leftover Turkey Roll

D&J’s owner, Stella has some great ideas of how you can use your leftover turkey roll. “If you take out the stuffing, the turkey roll is fantastic to use in a curry,” she advises.

“You can also put small portions of the turkey in pastry with a white sauce to make little hot turkey parcels. Alternatively, make a turkey pie.

“If you want to use the turkey roll leftovers in a really simple way, then you can slice up and eat as part of a salad. Or, make a sandwich – if you have the apricot and macadamia stuffed turkey roll, it is great in bread with some apricot jam.”

Arthur of Arthur’s Poultry agrees that turkey sandwiches are a great way to use the leftovers “I can’t go past turkey sandwiches after Christmas. I highly recommend the cranberry and chestnut filling with the turkey roll as it makes such a great Christmas lunch or dinner, but then a fantastic sandwich in the days after that you can also add cranberry sauce too.”

The team from John Cester’s say you have to make a sandwich with leftover turkey roll. “It’s just so obvious, easy and tasty to use the leftover turkey roll in a sandwich or roll. But you can re-heat it and enjoy with some gravy too. If you are looking for something healthier then I recommend a tossed salad with the turkey and added cranberries.”

Leftover Pork Roast

Paul from Neil’s Meats recommends making toasted pork sandwiches with your leftover Christmas pork roast. “You can’t go past a toasted sandwich using leftover Christmas pork roast. The great thing about pork roast as well is that you can simply re-heat it to make another roast.

“If you want to make something completely different to the Christmas lunch or dinner, then you can use the pork to make a stir-fry with rice and veggies. You can often use some of the leftover veg with this too.”

Ash from G.McBean Family Butcher will be eating porchetta this year. “The rolled pork belly has lots of flavour, so it is great to simply re-heat the following day or eat cold in sandwiches.”

Leftover Fruit & Vegetables

John at Pino’s Fine Produce has plenty of options for leftovers. “If you have roasted veg leftover, such as potatoes and pumpkin, they go great in a frittata. But if you have some veg that has not yet been cooked, like broccoli, cauliflower, peas and beans, you can blanche them and then keep in the freezer.”

“So many people have leftover fruit at Christmas and you don’t want to waste it, but there are so many uses! Your freezer is your friend when it comes to leftover fruit. Berries, especially blueberries are fantastic frozen and you can use them in summer puddings or in smoothies.

“If you have mangoes left, I recommend cutting them in half and taking the skin off before putting the flesh in the freezer. On a hot day you can take them out and suck them like a mango ice lolly. Stone fruit is ideal to stew and enjoy with ice cream.

“Of course, cherries are a fruit we all love at Christmas. As the season is so short, it is definitely worth taking the stone out and freezing them, so you have cherries in autumn and winter. You can also make jams with the cherries and berries.

“If you are freezing your fruit, the best way is to put them in a bag and lay them flat so they are spread out. Once they are frozen, you can put them in a container.”

Marjorie from Paddlewheel loves to make the traditional Bubble & Squeak with her leftover veg. “You can’t go past Bubble & Squeak when you have leftover veggies. You simply mash up the veg, crack an egg in and fry. You can also add cold meat and piccalilli for extra flavour. A veggie bake is a great alternative.

“If you find yourself with leftover fruit then try making a trifle or a fruit crumble. Fruit and veg are so versatile there’s no need to waste anything.”

General Christmas Leftovers

Ruby from Hagen’s loves leftovers so much she plans for them. “My family just loves leftovers. We actually over cater on purpose. We take everything to our holiday house, so we cook up lots of food for Christmas Day and then eat everything over a few days. My cousin Pat has started creating leftover recipes for us!”.

To try out one of Hagen’s leftover recipes, click here.

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