Sick of sandwiches? Switch up your leftovers

How to put the inevitable Christmas excess to good use? Take inspiration from Angela Hartnett and turn roast vegetables into fabulous frittatas and plum pudding into boozy Chelsea buns

Some of the most enjoyable Christmas meals I’ve had were while winding down on Boxing Day. I love grazing on cold stuffing straight from the fridge, and throwing meals together instinctively in the kitchen when there’s less pressure.

Many of us tend to buy and cook too much at Christmas: there’s so much food waste in our kitchens, and I think it’s important to try to change that. There are so many dishes we can make the leftovers into, but if I really have too much, I always try to give it away to friends, family and staff to take home.

Potato frittata (above) or baked eggs are easy ways to make use of leftover veg: just heat brussels sprouts, carrots, chilli and onion in a pan, crack a few eggs over them and pop them under the grill. Soup is another winner for veg, or you might simply cover them in a light, creamy white sauce for a makeshift gratin. There are no fixed rules when it comes to creating concoctions from leftovers.

There are also plenty of ways to use up leftover turkey other than in sandwiches, from Thai-style turkey salads, to Mexican fajitas with peppers, onions and chilli. But a good pie is a means to use up any kind of cold meat: if you’ve also got carrots and cabbage, or herbs such as tarragon or parsley, you can throw those in as well. If you’re really too bored with eating turkey, you could even freeze the meat and save my recipe to try in a few weeks, or make the pie and then freeze it. Make the pastry thick enough for a nice crust, but not so much that it’s soggy in the middle.

The Christmas pudding rolls (featured overleaf) are a festive take on Chelsea buns; I got the idea from Elystan Street chef Phil Howard, who made them at a charity event I attended a few years ago. I thought they were a clever alternative way to use excess filling for mince pies or leftover Christmas pudding, and they’ve stuck in my mind since. So, dig in, it all needs to be eaten!