Spruce Up Your Christmas Leftovers with Annabel Karmel

By cheryl, December 18, 2015

Does your post-Christmas food fest feature a merry-go-round of cold meats and turkey sandwiches? It’s easy to run out of recipe inspiration when you’ve spent days (and even months) planning and prepping for the big Christmas Day spread.

As a nation we throw out 10% of Christmas dinners which equates to a whopping 263,000 turkeys and 17.2 million Brussel sprouts*, so it’s time to make those meals go further and liven-up this year’s leftovers.

Turkey is such a versatile meat; it goes great in a Bolognese, stir fry or pilaf.  And leftover veggies can be easily brought back to life in creamy soups, golden fritters and vibrant pasta sauces.

So don’t dish out soggy seconds this season, jazz up your leftovers and watch your family gobble-them up in minutes! Forks at the ready…

Turkey Bolognese

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 small red pepper, de-seeded and finely sliced
• 500g minced turkey
• 1 carrot, grated
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in boiling water
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage or ½ tsp dried sage
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or ¼ tsp dried thyme
• 350g spaghetti or penne
• A little salt and black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the onion, garlic and red pepper for 3 – 4 minutes.
2. Add the minced turkey and stir until it changes colour, breakng up any lumps with a fork.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, except the pasta. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large saucepan of lightly salted water according to the packet instruction. Drain and toss with the sauce.

Makes 4 portions

For lots more Christmas recipe ideas check out Annabel’s cooking apps via the App Store or visit www.annabelkarmel.com

* Research undertaken by Unilever’s Project Sunlight #ClearAPlate campaign