Leftover turkey soup
New Year’s Eve eve. I was working from home and trying to get through my dication. I actually was successful which I was pleased about. I also decided that for once I should embrace working at home and cook my lunch from scratch. The last of the turkey leftovers was just waiting to be used up so I thought the the perfect ending for this turkey would be in a soup. Unlike all the other turkey leftover recipes that I have made in the past few days, this one just came from my head. I also thought it would be nice to use the instant pot and let it all mix and cook in there.
Ingredients
Turkey leftovers
Carrots – as many as you have/want
Onions – x2 small
Celery – x3 sticks
Potatoes – as many as you want/have
1 teaspoon of mixed herbs
6 cloves of garlic – peeled and crushed
Salt and pepper to season
Vegetable oil to saute the vegetable
Turkey stock
Leftover turkey gravy
Method
Wash, peel and chop the carrots
Wash and chop the celery
Chop the onions
Wash and chop the potatoes into small chunks
Peel the garlic cloves and squash with the flat of a knife
Saute the onions, garlic, and celery on the saute function of the instant pot with the vegetable oil
Add the carrots and potatoes and season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs
Add the turkey meat, stock and gravy and top up with water so that meat and vegetable are covered
Cook on the meat function of the instant pot (on mine this was 35 minutes)
When ready to open – stir through. The meat will slide of the bones, so remove the bones and season to your taste
I have to say, this was really really tasty. It was so comforting!
French Toast Panettone
Another year and another birthday. I always try and make something that Ignacio will like for breakfast. This year I had seen a recipe by Nigella Lawson on my Instagram feed which inspired me. I have been a fan of ‘eggy bread’ and sweet bread stuffs since a friend of mine mentioned it earlier this year and this recipe seemd the ultimate in luxury and indulgence. More importantly, I had most of the ingredients in my cupboard!
Serves: 4-6
FOR THE FRENCH TOAST
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
- 125 full fat milk
- 300 grams panettone (or pandoro), slightly staled, cut into 8 equal pieces
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon flavourless vegetable oil
TO SERVE
- 50 grams pomegranate seeds
- 1 teaspoon icing sugar
METHOD
- In a dish that will take half the panettone pieces easily – I use a 24cm / 9inch square glass dish – whisk the eggs together with the mascarpone and milk; you will have to be a bit patient to smooth out the mascarpone – not that a normal person would register this, but my impatience colours my judgement.
- Dunk 4 of the panettone slices in the egg mixture and leave to soak for 1 minute.
- Put 25g / half the butter and ½ teaspoon oil in a large frying pan, and set over a low heat to melt. Turn the panettone slices in the egg mixture, and soak the other side for another minute, by which time the bread should have soaked up enough to soften it and the butter should have melted in the pan.
- Turn up the heat, then add the soaked slices to the frying pan and cook for 1 minute each side, so that their egg-soaked surfaces are golden, and browned in part. Meanwhile, soak the remaining 4 slices in the egg mixture for their 1 minute a side.
- Remove the first batch of Panettone French Toast from the pan to a large plate, add the remaining butter and oil to the pan, and cook the second batch as you did the first.
- When all the pieces are cooked and on the platter, scatter with pomegranate seeds, then dust thickly with the icing sugar pressed through a tea strainer, letting the “snow” fall mostly on the golden sweet-bread slices rather than on the fruit.
Leftovers turkey pie
More turkey…
This time commandeered into a pie.
Ingredients
1 kg leeks, sliced into 1/2 centimetre rounds
A splash of olive oil and a smidge of butter
Pinch of dried or fresh thyme
As much cold turkey, goose or chicken meat as you have (400-600g is a good guide), torn into big chunks
Any leftover ham, torn into small pieces
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
1/2 pint chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons crème fraîche (if you have it)
500 g puff pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten
How to make
Melt a smidge of butter with a splash of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat, and fry the leeks for 3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of thyme.
2. Put the lid on the pan, and reduce the heat to quite low. Cook the leeks at this temperature for 30 minutes, checking on them every 10 minutes or so and giving them a shove to make sure they’re not catching on the bottom of the pan. They’ll give off a lot of liquid, so really should be fine.
3. When your leeks have had their time, preheat the oven to 190°C.
4. Now come the leftovers: add all your meat to the pan and stir through. Add anything extra at this point (Stuffing? Potatoes? Sprouts?). Stir it all through, and then mix in the flour. Add the stock and stir again, and the creme fraiche if you’re using it. Bring the mixture gently to a boil. If the mixture seems too wet for your liking, reduce a little bit.
5. Decant the pie mixture into a large, deep pie dish. Using the whole sheet of puff pastry if you have a sheet, or rolling it so the there’s an inch or so excess on each side if not, place it on top of the filling and tuck the excess in, or loosely crimp it around the edge. Paint the pastry with the egg yolk (mixed with a tiny bit of salt) so that the pastry burnishes as it cooks.
6. Bake for 35 minutes until puffed and golden and gorgeous.
7. Ta Dah!
Icing on the Cake
If you’re making leftovers pie, the last thing you want to be doing is fannying around with accoutrements, so we eat this with lots of frozen peas and nothing else.
Banana pancakes
Boxing Day was always going to start early when my twin nephews and niece were in town! They are 3 and 5 and full of energy. I was up at 6am when one of the twins decided that he was ready to start his day. I had mentally prepared for this, so to be fair it was not bad at all. I made a porridge mixed with bananas for the twins, while their older sister was seemingly content with a bowl of fruit (strawberries). However this did not last longer because a few hours later she looked at me and said ‘Aunty Bunmi, I’m hungry!” I was not suprised and I was also once again prepared, having thought about quick and easy things that I could make for these little ones while they were in my home. Pancakes seemed like just one of those quick and easy recipes and would use ingredients that I already had in my cupboards.
So we had banana pancakes with honey, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.
Ingredients
- 1 large ripe banana (around 150g)
- 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil , plus extra for cooking
- 120g self-raising flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 150ml oat, almond milk or soya milk
- syrup , sliced banana and berries, to serve (optional)
Method
- Mash the banana in a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, salt and oil. Add the flour and baking powder and mix thoroughly. Make a well in the centre and gradually whisk in the milk. The batter should be a thick, droppable consistency.
- Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of the batter to make American-style pancakes. You will be able to make about 4-5 at a time. Fry on each side for 2-3 mins until golden. Serve with syrup, sliced banana and berries, if you like.
Bunminola Bakes 