Christmas Leftover Pasta

Christmas Leftover Pasta

Looking for alternative ways to use up your leftovers from Christmas Day? I’ve already got a leftover pie recipe, but after making two already this year for the freezer I needed to use up my leftovers in a different way.

You can use whatever you have to hand, almost anything goes but here are a few substitutes for my recipe below:

  • Onions and leeks – shallots
  • Brussel Sprout Tops – shredded Brussel Sprouts, kale, cabbage, spinach
  • Turkey stock – pinch of stock powder with 100ml water
  • Thyme – other herbs such as sage, oregano or chives
  • Cream – use milk, but add an extra teaspoon of flour
  • Turkey – leftover roast chicken
  • Ham – bacon (cook with the onions if raw) or pancetta
  • Parmesan – any leftover cheese would work such as stilton, cheddar, goats cheese
Christmas Leftover Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 100g mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • A few sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
  • 1 tsp plain flour
  • 100g turkey stock
  • 100g Brussel sprout tops
  • 150ml double cream
  • 100g ham, chopped
  • 150g cooked turkey, chopped
  • 100g peas
  • 300g pasta

To serve

  • Parmesan

Method

  • In a pan add the oil and onion. Cook for a few minutes before adding the leeks and mushrooms, cooking till soft.
  • Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water for 2 minutes less than the cooking instructions.
  • Add the garlic and thyme, stir and add the flour. Mix well to coat everything before pouring in the stock. Cook till the sauce thickens.
  • Add the Brussel sprout tops and cook till just wilted before adding the cream. Mix well and add the cooked meat and peas.
  • Mix the cooked pasta into the sauce, using a little pasta water to loosen the sauce as needed.
  • Serve topped with parmesan and enjoy.
Christmas Leftover Pasta
Christmas Leftover Pasta

Tomato and Pine Nut Sauce

Using my homegrown sun-ripened tomatoes and pairing it with pine nuts makes for the most delicious and creamy sauce, yet is completely vegan! Perfectly paired with freshly cooked pasta, you could also use it over roasted vegetables, marinated cuts of meat, fish, or tofu, or spread it over freshly toasted bread to make a quick bruschetta.

Any left overs can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 500g tomatoes, roughly diced
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves and stalks
  • 50g pine nuts

Method

  • Cook the onions and oil together over a low heat till the onions become translucent and soft.
  • Add the tomatoes and roughly chopped basil stalks, bringing to a light boil over a medium-low heat. Keep cooking till the volume has reduced by a third and the mixture becomes thicker, about 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, lightly toast your pine nuts under the grill for a few minutes, turning frequently to prevent them from burning. Keep them lightly golden to retain their natural sweetness.
  • Add the basil leaves and pine nuts to the tomato mixture and blend till smooth.

Per serving: 163kcal/ 13.0g fat/ 1.2g saturated fat/ 8.3g carbohydrates/ 2.4g fibre/ 3.4g protein

Reduced Mince Bolognese

With so many people being more conscious about what they eat and how it affects the climate, but unsure as to how they can reduce their food carbon dioxide emissions, this is the recipe for you. It’s my halfway house to enjoying a little meat, but making it go further with the help of one of my favourite store cupboard staples, lentils.

This is a recipe I developed years ago, when at University and trying to make my student budget go a little further without having to compromise on nutrition, but more importantly taste. Lentils are a fantastic way of adding some extra bulk to a meal, whilst being nutritious on their own. This is perfect for trying to reduce your meat intake in dishes such as spaghetti bolognese where meat is usually the main ingredient of the sauce. Per 100g, turkey mince contains around 23g protein, and lentils are not far shy of that figure at 19.3g protein. And if we were to use mince alone, we will be having 5g less fibre per portion of sauce.

I also use turkey mince in my bolognese, rather than beef. This developed a while ago where I switched a lot of mince based recipes towards turkey mince. It’s an extremely useful source of protein, and comparing gram to gram against other meat minces such as beef, there is a lower carbon dioxide emission (estimated mean 6.0 vs 28.7 kg CO2-eq/kg), which is again beneficial to the environment.

This Bolognese sauce is also the perfect batch cooking recipe. It makes 8 servings of sauce which can easily be frozen down in portion sizes for an easy meal at a later date. Alternatively, make a bechamel sauce and layer up with lasagne sheets, or use some chillis and kidney beans to make a chilli con carne and you’ve got yourself some easy alternative meals to enjoy.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 3 sticks of celery, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 150g mushrooms, finely diced
  • 300g minced turkey thigh
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 tbsp mixed Italian herbs
  • 4 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 carrot sticks, finely diced
  • 600ml chicken/vegetable stock (or 1 stock cube made up to 600ml)
  • 250ml red wine
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 250g red lentils
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 large courgette, grated

Method

  • Gently fry the onions and celery in the oil till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Add the mushrooms and cook till soft and their liquids have evaporated.
  • Push the vegetables to the side of the pan and fry the turkey mince in the centre till golden brown and mix with the vegetables.
  • Add the tomato puree, herbs, carrots, stock, red wine, canned tomatoes, lentil and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over a low heat stirring occasionally for 45 minutes.
  • 5 minutes before serving, add the grated courgette.
  • Serve with fresh egg pasta, parmesan and fresh basil.

Per serving of Bolognese sauce: 213kcal/ 3.6g fat/ 0.8g saturated fat/ 18.7g carbohydrates/ 7.5g fibre/ 17.5g protein