Waste Free Christmas

Transform Christmas Leftovers With Manu Feildel's Tips

Get creative in the kitchen and don't let Christmas leftovers go to waste
One of the most anticipated indulgences at Christmas is the feast, but it often results in mountains of leftovers. In Australia, 90% of us usually discard over 25% of our food during the festive period1, and OzHarvest estimate over 5 million tonnes of food ends up as landfill each year in Australia2. Australian Eggs Ambassador, Manu Feildel, has shared his top tips for turning Christmas leftovers into next-day meals. Manu says, "There are plenty of easy ways to stop Christmas leftovers going in the bin and create tasty meals at the same time. Eggs are one of my favourite ingredients, and are a great way to turn festive leftovers, such as roast turkey, vegetables and potatoes, into new meals. Not only can eggs turn mains into a day-after breakfast, but you can also use them to make classic favourites like fried rice, with only few extra pantry staples."

Here, Manu shares his tips for cooking with Christmas leftovers:

Christmas dish #1:
Roast turkey and stuffing

Leftovers:
Baked Middle Eastern Shakshouka with eggs:
Use leftover roast turkey and stuffing in a delicious Shakshouka for breakfast. Shakshouka is a combination of eggs baked in a sauce of tomatoes, chilli, peppers and garlic, spiced with cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper and nutmeg. Add leftover roast turkey and stuffing to the sauce – normally this would be served with sausage or beef balls, but the turkey makes a great no-waste addition.

Turkey & prawn fried rice:
Fried rice is a great dish for making with leftovers as there are many ingredients that will work well, you really can't go wrong. Cook some rice and stir-fry in a wok with eggs, vegetables (carrot, peas or whatever you have in the fridge is fine!) and chopped up leftover turkey. If you served cooked prawns at Christmas and have leftovers, chop up and add them in! Season with soy sauce.

Christmas dish #2:
Roasted potatoes & vegetables

Leftovers:
Hash brown with ham and fried eggs:
Don't let leftover roast potatoes go to waste, instead turn them into the ultimate comfort food – hash browns. Shred or crush leftover Christmas potatoes (you can also use leftover vegetables for veggie hash browns), add an egg, salt and pepper and combine in a bowl. Form a small patty and fry in a shallow pan until crispy and serve with fried leftover ham (or bacon) and eggs – the ultimate morning after breakfast.

Bubble and squeak with smoked salmon and poached egg:
Bubble and squeak is the original leftover dish and is perfect for making sure nothing goes to waste. Traditionally, it's made from boiled potatoes and cabbage, but any vegetables such as carrots, peas, Brussels sprouts, roast pumpkin or basically any vegetables from your Christmas feast can be used. Add all the ingredients you want to use to the pan and mash together to form a patty. Fry until golden and serve with a poached egg, and leftover smoked salmon.

Christmas dish #3:
Cooked prawns

Leftovers:
Prawn cocktail with soft boiled egg:
Seafood often goes to waste but if you store leftover prawns in an airtight container overnight, you can turn them into a prawn cocktail the next day. For the sauce combine mayonnaise, ketchup, brandy, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco to taste. Then to serve, layer cooked prawns in a glass (martini glasses are traditionally used) with lettuce, top with the sauce and add half a soft-boiled egg and slices of avocado.

Christmas dish #4:
Bomb Alaska or Christmas log

Leftovers:
Semi frozen Eton mess:
Turn a Christmas log or Bombe Alaska into an Eton mess. This traditional English dessert is made by simply mixing crumbled meringue with berries and whipped cream. Delicious!

For more inspiration, visit https://www.australianeggs.org.au/recipes-and-cooking/