Going cold turkey!

Rick Stein, James Martin and more share how they most love to use up leftover Christmas food

- By LAUREN TAYLOR

AFTER the lead-up to Christmas and the family-filled chaos of the day itself, Boxing Day can feel like a welcome relief of proper rest, more festive films and, most importantly, making your way through the ample leftovers of food.

Chefs, even if they have the day off, are still likely to be cooking on Christmas Day for their families, so a low-effort Boxing Day is in order.

From turkey and potatoes to Brussels sprouts and gravy, here’s what top chefs and cookery writers like to create with festive leftovers.

RICK STEIN

“We tend to have a walk on Boxing Day, quite a long walk, over Bodmin Moor and find a pub somewhere, have a couple of pints and go home and just have a late afternoon, early evening dinner. Quite a few other people come around and then we sort of collapse and watch TV,” says Rick Stein.

“Boxing Day for me is leftover turkey, leftover ham, baked potatoes with lots of butter, winter salad, cabbage salad with sort of beetroot in it, celery, nuts, apple, cabbage and some mayo, sort of slightly coleslaw thing, and lots and lots of condiments; chutneys and pickles, and so when I get, like, I don’t know, 10 jars of stuff out of the fridge and the cupboard to serve with it. You have it cold except the baked potatoes.

“That's almost as enjoyable as Christmas lunch or dinner,” says the 78-year-old, who also enjoys making bubble and squeak cakes - “which I find delicious” - or a Mexican taco. “You use the turkey, chop it and reheat it, then put various Mexican flavours like coriander, raw onion, tomato, chilli, smoky pepper, chipotle, maybe some cream, then you make a fresh slow-cooked taco with it.”

Rick Stein's Christmas: Recipes, Memories & Stories for the Festive Season (BBC Books, £28) is available now.

DONAL SKEHAN

“We're all about the leftovers,” says Donal Skehan. “We have St Stephen’s Day in Ireland - it's very much the same vibe. It’s the hangover after Christmas.