Leftovers from the festive meal: how to use up leftovers

Christmas, New Year's Eve and co. - Leftovers from the festive meal: how to use up leftovers

After the big Christmas feast, many people still have food and prepared dishes left over from the festive season. In order not to throw anything away, but at the same time no longer have to indulge in the gluttony of festive roasts, dumplings and other hearty dishes, it is advisable to experiment with the individual ingredients of the holiday dishes - and to conjure up new, varied dishes.

The prerequisite for this is, of course, that the leftovers are properly stored and still fresh. You can safely do without a spoiled stomach after the holidays. Special care should be taken with meat and fish dishes. They should have been stored in a cool place without interruption after the Christmas meal and be odorless and visually flawless. If in doubt, dispose of them: Dispose of them. Freezing is also an option for other dishes for which they cannot be used immediately.

Recycling ideas for meat and fish dishes

Roasts and sausages

The typical festive roast as well as goose, duck or pork can be finely sliced and used as a topping on bread or as a garnish in soups and salads. How about an aromatic roast sandwich with avocado cream, tomatoes and rocket, for example? Also delicious: finely chop poultry and make an exotic Thai salad with lettuce, garlic, ginger, chili and peanut sauce.

Do you still have sausages with potato salad left? A hearty sausagegoulash, gratin or a vegetable stew with wieners gives the meat dish a new zest.

Fish and seafood

Special care should be taken with fish and seafood. Smoked fish dishes such as trout or salmon are the least harmful and are ideal for use in both hot and cold dishes. If you don't just want to eat the fish with bread for brunch, you can also prepare tasty wraps, salads or a delicious Poké Bowl. For main courses, smoked salmon can be used in pasta dishes, on tarte flambée or in a hearty ceviche. Can't stand fish in its original form? Delicious dips with yoghurt, horseradish or cream cheese make a great change and harmonize wonderfully with salmon, trout or seafood.

Further processing of side dishes

Potato dishes and dumplings

Potato dishes are a big hit at the holidays. Leftover raw potatoes can be made into roast potatoes, chips or a quick hash brown . Mashed potatoes can be made into pancakes, potato soup and even baked into bread. A little mashed potato in the dough makes the pastry particularly fluffy. Dumplings, on the other hand, are baked with Parmesan to make tasty fried dumplings - and the potato dish also cuts a fine figure in a gratin or casserole .

Rice and pasta

Using rice and pasta couldn't be easier. They taste delicious fried with vegetables and soy sauce, as a garnish in soups, casseroles or salads and can even be used as the main ingredient in desserts such as rice pudding or noodles. Highly recommended: This quick recipe for a red cabbage pasta or delicious cabbage noodles like grandma used to make.

Baguette

Leftover baguette can be used in the kitchen to make bread potato chips, garlic bread and can also be used in a Mediterranean bread salad with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. If the bread is too old, poor knights, bread casseroles or gratinated baguettes are suitable. You can also use stale bread and baguettes to make breadcrumbs or croutons .

Spice up fruit and vegetable side dishes

Prepared salads offer little scope, but can provide variety as a bread topping. If you have (slightly wilted) lettuce leaves, tomatoes or cucumber left over, the ingredients can be used not only in a classic salad but also as a pesto, spread or soup garnish. The ingredients can even be used in smoothies . Prepared with ripe banana, you can hardly taste the lettuce or cucumber. Cooked vegetables can also be used in salads, with pasta or rice and in casseroles or stews . Also delicious: a vegetable frittata, which is particularly tasty with carrots, fennel and zucchinis. Typical vegetable side dishes such as red or green cabbage are also delicious pureed as a soup and served with sour cream or yoghurt. Fruit side dishes should be the least of your problems, as mandarins, apples and the like generally keep for a long time anyway. Ready-made fruit salads or compote can be enjoyed with yogurt or ice cream or saved from spoiling as an ingredient in a smoothie.

How to use leftover cheese

Raclette is one of the absolute Christmas classics. If you have bought too much cheese, you don't need to worry too much at first. It will usually keep naturally in the fridge for some time anyway. Cheese that has been out all evening, on the other hand, can be used in casseroles. If you have very large quantities, you can make a cheese fondue - grate the cheese, add it to hot white wine and allow it to melt over a medium heat while stirring. If you also have plenty of gherkins, sweetcorn, silver onions and diced ham left over, you can use these together with the cheese to make a casserole, a tasty farmer's breakfast or on a pizza.

Delicious ideas for desserts

Believe it or not, even chocolate Santas, stollen and speculoos can get out of hand after the holidays. New variations can help. Chocolate Santas can be melted down and turned into cold dogs, pralines, chocolate crossies or chocolate fruit. Stollen can be turned into crumble , and sweet dumplings made from the cookies also taste great. Dry speculoos can be used in a layered dessert, as tiramisu or in a cake. And open baking ingredients such as ground nuts can be used in nut corners, granola or bread.

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