Get savvy with your Christmas leftovers

One of the things that keeps home cooks going at Christmas is the knowledge that once the turkey is cooked there’s a good week of easy eating out of the leftovers.

Turkey sandwiches, turkey salads, turkey curries, turkey pies, turkey pasta – plus delicious soup from boiling the bones – make a large whole turkey the best choice for economy as well as ease.

The British Turkey industry says buying a whole turkey complete with legs, wings and a carcass for the stockpot makes sense in a year when, still shocked by the credit crisis, we all need the reassurance of value for money.

It calculates an average size 4-5kg bird will give you the basis for up to 30 meals at a cost of 83p a head for the turkey meat.

The British Turkey Information Service, which gives defrosting, cooking and carving advice, says you should strip the carcass and refrigerate the meat as soon as possible after Christmas lunch. The leftover meat will keep several days in the fridge, but make sure it is piping hot again before eating when using in hot dishes. Finally, for complete reassurance that you are buying a British turkey reared to high welfare and food safety standards, look for the Quality British Turkey mark, now shown alongside the familiar Red Tractor logo.

To stop family rebellion at the thought of yet another pile of sandwiches, get savvy with the leftovers. Three ideas to tempt jaded tastebuds:

- Slow cook a Moroccan-style stew with fragrant sweet butternut squash, fiery harissa and the authentic spice mix ras al hanout.
- Crumble leftover Stilton into a creamy pie filling of turkey, sweet potatoes and earthy mushrooms. Top with shop-bought puff pastry and cook until golden on top and piping hot underneath
- Make a tasty jambalaya by adding juicy prawns, spicy chorizo, tomatoes and Cajun spices to rice cooked in stock.

Find full recipes details at britishturkey.co.uk. Try this one to start you off:

Leftover Turkey with Spicy Coconut Sauce
Serves 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2tbsp sunflower oil
500g/1lb 2oz leftover turkey, cut into bite size pieces
3 shallots, peeled and sliced
2 courgettes, trimmed and sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
2tsp ground turmeric
1tsp chilli powder
2tsp cornflour
200ml/7fl oz turkey stock
200ml/7fl oz coconut milk
2 pineapple rings, chopped
50g/2oz cashew nuts, lightly toasted
1 bunch of leaf coriander, chopped

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the shallots, courgettes and red pepper. Gently fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the turmeric and chilli powder and cook for 1 minute. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water until smooth and stir into the pan with the stock. Stir until boiling, lower the heat and add the turkey to the pan. Cover and cook gently for 15 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk and season to taste. Add the pineapple and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Serve with the cashews and coriander scattered over, alongside boiled rice, chutneys and naan bread.

Britishturkey.co.uk also has an online calculator for accurate defrosting and cooking times.