A hearty clean sweep

Working around the leftovers of Christmas time meals is no mean feat. Chefs share delicious ways to make the most of carry-forward meat, s, cakes and toffees

Plum cake balls
Using leftover plum cake

Ingredients
Leftover plum cake
A few spoons of buttercream £ Melted chocolate
Sprinklers of your choice

Method
Crumble the plum cake. Mix a few spoons of buttercream to combine the cake. Roll them into balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Dip the balls into melted chocolate and let them set on a plate. While the chocolate is still soft, add some sprinklers over it.

Sheetal Dedhia, founder, Sheetal’s Baked with Love

Tom Kha Gai
Using leftover chicken or turkey

Ingredients
1/2 pound (220 g) cooked turkey/chicken (shredded) 
2 cups turkey/chicken stock 1 stalk lemongrass 
5 kaffir lime leaves
3 inch knob galangal (sliced) 6 Thai or regular chillies£ 2 shallots 6 dried shiitake 1 pack of Hon Shimeji or straw mushrooms or button mushrooms 1 can full-fat coconut milk 
1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar £ 3 tbsp fish sauce £ 3 tbsp lime juice

Method
Pour the stock in a vessel; add bruised and roughly chopped lemongrass and galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chillies and sliced shallots. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Strain the stock. To it, add the dried shiitake, and the straw, button or Hon Shimeji mushrooms. Let that simmer till the shiitake is hydrated and the Hon Shimeji mushrooms are cooked. Tip in the coconut milk and other ingredients. It should have the sweetness of the milk and sugar, spice of chillies and sharpness of fish sauce. Throw in the shredded turkey/chicken and cook for 10 minutes. Serve hot topped with crispy, fried onions, chopped scallions, cilantro sprigs and chilli oil.

Chef Dane Fernandes, executive chef, The St Regis Mumbai

Smoked turkey barquettes with cranberry caviar
Using leftover turkey chunks

Ingredients
For pastry dough:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour £ 10 tbsp cold unsalted butter (cut into half-inch cubes) £ 1/2 tsp salt
3 to 5 tbsp ice water

For filling:
1/4 cup red onion (diced) £ 2 tsp lemon juice
3-1/2 oz leftover smoked turkey chunks £ 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
1 tsp lemon zest £ 1/4 tsp black pepper £ Cranberry caviar/dill leaves for garnish

Method
For the dough, blend the flour, butter and salt or pulse until most of the mixture resembles coarse meal with small butter lumps. Drizzle three tbsp ice water and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful of the mixture; if it doesn’t hold together, add the remaining ice water, half a tbsp at a time and stir until just incorporated. Then, test again. Place the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into four portions. With the heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion. Gather the dough together with a pastry scraper and divide into two pieces; flatten each piece into a four-inch square. Chill the squares, and put in plastic wrap until firm.

For the barquette shells, keep the remaining dough chilled; roll out one piece on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch square. Arrange 12 barquette moulds close together and drape the rolled-out dough over the moulds. Roll a rolling pin over the moulds to cut the dough, and then lightly press them into the moulds. Prick each shell several times with a fork and chill all shells in a shallow baking pan until firm for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Arrange the barquette moulds together in a shallow pan and cover with parchment. Put pie weights on top of the parchment and bake until the edges of the shells are pale golden in about 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, and bake shells until golden. Cool the shells; then remove from the moulds and cool completely.

Stir together onion, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the smoked turkey, butter, zest and pepper. Fill each barquette shell with a scant tsp of turkey mixture and top with 1/4 tsp of cranberry caviar.

Chef Parimal Sawant, Tiara at Meluha The Fern Hotel

Caramel and peanut balls
Using leftover biscuits/cookies and toffees

Ingredients
150 g leftover biscuits
100 g unsalted roasted peanuts £ 135 g chewy toffees 
1/2 cup cream 1/3 cup dark spirit 200 g white chocolate (chopped) 100 g dark chocolate (chopped) 1-1/2 tbsp sunflower oil

Method
Finely pulse the biscuits and peanuts. Whisk the toffees, cream, spirit and 1/2 tsp salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for three minutes or until reduced slightly. Stir in the white chocolate. Transfer the mixture to a bowl; combine with a cup of the biscuit mixture. Let it stand for two hours or until it’s at room temperature. Line a baking tray with baking paper. With wet hands, take a tbsp of the mixture and place on the tray. Chill for 30 minutes. With wet hands, roll the caramel pieces into balls. Let them chill on the tray for 30 minutes. Melt dark chocolate and oil in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Place remaining biscuit mixture on a tray. Using two forks, dip the balls into the melted dark chocolate, and roll-coat with the 
biscuit mixture.

Chef Ghulam Rabbani, head chef, 1522 Bar and Kitchen

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