3 genius recipes to use up your Christmas leftovers

After the joyful excess of Christmas dinner, one thing is inevitable: there will be leftovers.

And if you can’t bear the idea of repeating your exact festive lunch for days afterwards, it’s well worth using them up in new ways to keep things interesting – and minimise any potential food waste.

But where to start? From festive sausage rolls to generous pies, these are three nifty ways to really make your leftovers sing after December 25…

1. Roast dinner sausage rolls

Makes 16

• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 plump garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1tsp dried mixed herbs
• 450g leftover cooked meat and/or vegetables
• 2tsp chipotle paste or other chilli paste
• 2tsp crème fraîche, cream or milk (if needed)
• 40g cold butter
• 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, about 35 x 23cm or roughly 330g from a block
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1⁄2tsp nigella seeds
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/Gas mark 7 and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

2. Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion with a pinch of salt over a medium heat until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and mixed herbs and fry for a couple more minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and leave to cool to room temperature.

3. Chop the leftovers by hand or pulse in a food processor. Don’t overdo it; the mixture should be rough not smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the leftovers to the bowl with the onions and add the chipotle paste and crème fraîche. Grate in the butter. Mix well.

5. Lay the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface with a short side closest to you. Fold the top edge down to meet the lower edge and lightly press to make a crease along the centre. Unfold and cut along the crease to make two smaller rectangles.

6. Fold each of the small rectangles in half along the short side. Unfold and cut along the crease to make four rectangles 9 x 23cm. Place a quarter of the filling along a long side of each pastry rectangle. Squeeze the filling as you go so it holds together. Brush the facing long edge with egg, then firmly roll into a log. Press to seal firmly. Repeat with the remaining filling and pastry.

7. Cut each log into four equal pieces and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg and sprinkle with nigella seeds. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve hot.

Second Helpings by Sue Quinn is published by Quadrille. Photography by Facundo Bustamante. Available now.

2. Ham and celeriac rémoulade sandwich

Makes 1 sandwich

• 2 nice, thick slices of good white bread
• Lashings of butter
• Heap of cooked ham, cut thin, or thick if that’s what you prefer (I like it thin)
• 2 heaped tbsp celeriac rémoulade (see below)
• 1tsp mayo
• 1tbsp very finely chopped flat leaf parsley or chives (whatever you prefer) (you might need more herbs; be prepared)

For the celeriac rémoulade (makes enough for 4-6 people):

• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• 1tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1tbsp Dijon mustard
• 100g mayonnaise (I like Hellmann’s) or homemade
• 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1⁄2tsp salt
• 10-12 grinds of black pepper
• 1 small celeriac (celery root), top and messy bottom cut off, peeled (but don’t do any of this until you’ve made the sauce)

1. Make the celeriac rémoulade: Put all the ingredients apart from the celeriac into a bowl and whisk them together. Taste it. Nice, huh?! Now julienne the celeriac with that special peeler you’ve bought and mix the slithers into the sauce as you go, being careful not to julienne yourself. At the end, mix well – I like to use my hands for this one so that I can gently squish everything together. Once mixed, leave for at least one hour, or ideally a few hours, for the flavour to develop and the celeriac to soften. My fried Owen, I believe, salts his celeriac slivers before putting everything together. I never bother! This’ll keep for three days in the refrigerator.

2. Make the sandwich: Butter the bottom of your bread with a heavy hand and pile on the ham in a nice even layer.

3. Pile on the rémoulade. Lid on, bit of a squish, trim the crusts off and cut the sarnie in half with a serrated knife, back and forth, back and forth, being careful not to squidge the bread. Spread all round the open, now crustless edges of the sandwich with mayo. Sprinkle the chopped parsley onto a little plate or something and dunk the mayo’d edges into it. Sit down, feet up, TV on, enjoy yourself.

Max's World Of Sandwiches by Max Halley & Ben Benton is published by Hardie Grant. Photography by Robert Billington. Available now.

3. Leftover Christmas pie

Serves 6

• 2tbsp olive oil or water
• 2 leeks, washed and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 160g sweetcorn
• 200g leftover vegan roast, cut into cubes (or leftover vegetables)
• 1tsp sea salt
• 2tsp cracked black pepper
• 240ml vegan-friendly white wine or vegetable stock
• 360ml oat or soy cream or coconut milk
• 1tbsp white miso paste
• A little flour, for dusting
• 320g ready-made vegan puff pastry

For the glaze:

• 4tbsp maple syrup
• 4tbsp non-dairy milk
• 4tbsp vegetable oil

1. Heat the oil or water in a large saucepan placed over a medium heat. When hot, add the leeks and garlic and sauté for three to four minutes until soft. Add the sweetcorn and vegan roast (or veg), stir with a wooden spoon, and cook for a further three minutes. A little caramelisation on the turkey will add a great flavour. Add the seasoning, then pour in the wine or stock, scraping any bits off the bottom to deglaze the pan. Cook for a further three minutes.

2. Stir in the cream and miso paste and simmer gently for 15 minutes – don’t let it boil. After 15 minutes, it should be nice and creamy. Check the seasoning, and add more if needed. Scrape the filling into a 23-centimetre pie dish and leave it to cool for around 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 180°C. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out your pastry to around four-millimetres thick and wide enough to fit over your pie dish.

4. Carefully transfer the pastry and lay it over the filling, gently pressing around the edges of the pie dish to seal and trim off any overhanging pastry. Pinch the pastry around the edge of the pie dish to create a fluted edge. Get creative with the pastry trimmings – roll out again and cut into festive shapes or letters to decorate your pie, brushing with milk.

5. Mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl, then brush the glaze over the pie top and decoration. Bake on the lower shelf of the preheated oven for 30 minutes until the pastry is beautiful and golden. I like to brush over a little more glaze just before serving.

Plants Only Holidays by Gaz Oakley is published by Quadrille. Photography by Simon Smith. Available now.