In this final instalment of our festive food blogs, Head Chef at the TLH Derwent Hotel, Andy Johnston, has suggested a couple of tasty soup ideas and a deliciously indulgent Cheeseboard Macaroni to make good use of your Christmas leftovers.
You’ll also find a link for you to download a leaflet containing all of our festive leftover recipes . We hope you enjoy them.
Cheeseboard Macaroni with a spicy topping
Gooey and gorgeous and rather indulgent – but it is still Christmas. This is a great way to use up left over bits and pieces from your cheeseboard and any half-eaten tubs of cream.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
50gm butter
1 white or red onion – finely chopped
50gm plain flour
450ml milk
150ml double cream (you can use part milk, part cream if you don’t have enough cream left over)
1 tblsp English mustard
250gm left over cheese grated – some blue in the mix will be nice
400gm macaroni or penne pasta
1 thick slice bread made into breadcrumbs
1tsp smoked paprika
1tsp dried chilli flakes
Method:
Heat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan / Gas 6
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat until starting to soften. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute taking care not to burn it. Gradually add the milk and stir continuously until you have a smooth, thick sauce. Add the cream and cook for 4 minutes, stirring all the time so the sauce does not catch on the bottom. Stir in the mustard, most of the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and leave to one side.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well. Stir the pasta into the cheese sauce then pour into a greased ovenproof dish. Mix together the remaining cheese, breadcrumbs, paprika and chilli and sprinkle over the pasta. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbling and golden.
Serve with a green salad.
Hot and Sour Soup
If you’re not familiar with the piquant and contrasting flavours of this oriental style soup, then this is a great way of using up leftover turkey and veg and makes a nice change from the more traditional and heavier traditional style soups. You will need to put some Tom Yum paste on your pre-Christmas shopping list and this is widely available in all major supermarkets. Feel free to vary the vegetables by adding mushrooms, garlic, mange tout or fine green beans. You could also add some cooked fine noodles for a more substantial dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tblsp vegetable oil
4 tblsp tom yum paste
350gm leftover turkey, brown or white, shredded
2 carrots, cut into thin strips
4 large shallots, finely sliced
1 small leek or 4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 stick celery, finely sliced
2 tsp grated ginger (you can buy pre-chopped frozen ginger which works just as well)
2 tsp lemongrass, finely chopped
750ml turkey stock
500mlwater
Juice of 1 lime
2 tblsp roughly chopped coriander to finish.
Method
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan and gently stir fry the vegetables, ginger and lemon grass for about 4-5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the tom yum paste and fry for another 2 minutes or so. Gradually add the turkey stock and water, stirring until all mixed together. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the prepared turkey breast and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add the lime juice a little at a time and keep tasting until you achieve the right level of sourness to suit you. Serve in bowls sprinkled with chopped coriander.
A huge thank you to all our TLH Chefs for sharing their recipes for Christmas Leftovers and tips for this series of blogs this December. It has certainly given me some ideas to try out with my own leftovers this Christmas, especially the spicy bubble and squeak recipe from Nick Coombes. For all our chef’s Christmas recipes you can download a leaflet here and we hope you’ll get some inspiration to try something new.
In the meantime, if you’ve got a couple of minutes to spare, why not take a look at our latest Christmas video to give you a flavour of our celebrations here at TLH.