As the festive dust settles and the reality of a fridge full of Christmas leftovers sets in, many households across the UK face the annual challenge of what to do with the remaining turkey. The cycle of sandwiches and cold cuts can only last so long before culinary inspiration is desperately needed.
A Celebrity Chef Solution to the Leftover Dilemma
Thankfully, help is at hand from one of Britain's best-loved chefs. Jamie Oliver has shared his ideal recipe for using up leftover turkey, offering a hearty and comforting stew that takes just over an hour to prepare. This dish, featured in his Christmas Cookbook, provides a delicious departure from the predictable curry and breathes new life into post-Christmas dining.
The chef describes the creation as a "super-easy, old-school dish" that uses leftover poultry brilliantly. He explains the inspiration came from a hybrid of British dumplings and American-style biscuits often used to top stews.
How to Create Jamie's Hearty Turkey Stew
The recipe, designed to serve a family, cleverly incorporates other likely Christmas leftovers like stuffing. It begins with creating a flavour base for the stew by softening onions, celery, and a bundle of fresh herbs including rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.
English mustard and plain flour are then combined to create a roux, before 1.5 litres of organic vegetable stock is added to form a thick, savoury sauce. The broken-up leftover stuffing and roughly 500g of cooked turkey meat are stirred in, with the herb sprigs removed before seasoning.
The Homemade Dumpling Topping
The crowning glory of this dish is the homemade dumplings, which are a meal in themselves. They start with frying diced smoked streaky bacon and thinly sliced leeks until soft and sweet.
A simple dough is made from self-raising flour, maize flour or polenta, cold butter, buttermilk, and an egg. The cooked bacon and leeks are folded into the mixture before it is rolled out and cut into rounds. These dumplings are brushed with egg and placed on top of the stew before the whole dish goes into the oven.
The casserole is baked at 200°C (400°F or gas mark 6) for 25 to 30 minutes, until the dumplings are perfectly risen and golden and the stew is bubbling invitingly.
Beyond the Christmas Curry
This recipe arrives as a welcome alternative for those seeking to move beyond the standard leftover turkey curry. Online communities, like Reddit, have long been a hub for sharing creative ideas, with suggestions ranging from tacos and pies to wholesome salads.
Jamie Oliver's stew, however, taps directly into the desire for warm, comforting food during the post-Christmas lull. It provides a structured, chef-approved method to reduce food waste and enjoy a completely new meal from the remnants of the festive feast.
The full, detailed recipe, including precise measurements and step-by-step instructions, is available on Jamie Oliver's official website. It offers a practical and delicious end to the Christmas culinary marathon, ensuring that the last of the turkey is anything but boring.
