8 hours Ago By Yotam Ottolenghi
W ith the Christmas menu largely planned, we can now all admit that the thing we really love about the festivities is the time after the day itself. Expectations return to planet normal and most of us revert to cooking much as we do for the rest of the year: a fridge raid here, a stir-fry there, home-cooked meals served up to friends and family who are more than happy just to be fed. So this is a time when cooking with food that has already been cooked feels like the biggest win of all.
With most of the work pretty much done, it’s often just a case of assembly, stirring and reheating. Entertaining the easy way. This addictive spring onion sauce is a twist on the garlic sauce found at every Mauritian table whenever a stir-fry appears.
It’s usually liberally spooned over fried rice and noodles, but the test kitchen has been especially loving it on fried eggs. Seeing as the recipe has been devised with Boxing Day in mind, you may well not have any leftover rice in the fridge (which works best here), so feel free to use a couple of packets of microwave rice, which you can use straight from the pack. Prep 10 min Cook 15 min Serves 4 140g spring onions , trimmed, 60g finely chopped, the rest thinly cut at an angle 2 green chillies , stalks, pith and seeds discarded, flesh finely chopped 1 tsp caster sugar 60ml lime juice (ie from 2 limes) 2 large garlic cloves , peeled and crushed Fine sea salt 60ml olive oil 3 anchovy fillets 100g ham hock , or leftover ham or turkey, finely shredded 600g cooked jasmine or basmati rice (or packet microwave rice) 3 tbsp kecap manis , or 2 tbsp honey mixed with 1 tbsp soy sauce 200-300g leftover roast vegetables 30g fresh coriander , roughly chopped 4 eggs First make the sauce.
Put the finely chopped spring onions in a bowl with the chillies, sugar, lime juice and garlic, add a teaspoon of salt and 60ml cold water, then stir well to combine and set aside. Now for the stir-fry. Put a tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat, add the anchovy fillets and cook for 30 seconds, breaking them down with a spoon.
Add the ham, stir to break up any clumps, then cook for four to five minutes, until crisp. Tip into a bowl. Turn up the heat under the pan to high and add another tablespoon of oil and the rice.
Stir well, then cook for a minute, shaking the pan occasionally, until it softens. Drizzle in the kecap manis, stir gently, then leave to cook undisturbed for two minutes, until the bottom of the rice starts to crisp up. Shake the pan or gently stir to bringthe crisp bits underneath to the top, then carry on cooking until more rice crisps up (depending on your preference of crispiness, cook the rice for less or more time).
Repeat one more time, then stir in the vegetables and the remaining spring onions. Cook for a minute, just to warm the vegetables through, then stir in the coriander and three-quarters of the reserved crisp ham. Put the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat.
Once it’s hot, crack in the eggs and cook for one and a half minutes, until crisp underneath. Use a slotted spoon or fish slice to transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.Serve the rice topped with the eggs and the remaining ham and with the sauce on the side.
It’s a few days after Christmas. Leftover turkey has been stuffed into sandwiches, roast potatoes have been fried up with eggs and what’s left is often loads of roast veg and the remains of the festive cheeseboard. Parsnips, carrots, crackers and cheese: that may sound like the beginning of a witch’s spell, but it’s actually a magical combination of flavours, and an excellent way to use up those leftover scraps.
Substitute depending on what you have around – some pesky bits of roast squash, say, brie or gruyere, Mini Cheddars or cream crackers? Anything goes. Serve with a salad Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr Serves 6-8 1kg leftover roast root vegetables (such as parsnips, carrots, swede, etc) 250g leftover cheese , grated or crumbled – a mixture of cheddar and stilton works especially well here 200g ready-cooked chestnuts , roughly chopped 10g sage leaves , finely sliced 500ml vegetable stock 100ml double cream 150g creme fraiche 1 tsp ground mace , or ground nutmeg Fine sea salt For the crumble 150g crackers – we used Ritz 100g unsalted butter , diced and softened 10g thyme , leaves picked Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Put the vegetables, cheese, three-quarters of the chestnuts and the sage in a 28cm circular casserole and toss to combine.
Put a small saucepan on a medium heat, then add the stock, cream, creme fraiche, mace and a half-teaspoon of salt, and whisk to combine. Heat gently for about eight minutes, only until the mix is bubbling very gently, then pour it over the vegetables in the casserole. Transfer the casserole to the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the crumble. Use your hands to crush the crackers into small pieces, then mix these in a bowl with the remaining chestnuts, butter and thyme. Turn up the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 61⁄2, and take out the casserole.
Sprinkle the crumble on top of the vegetables, then return the pot to the oven for 15 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown on top. Remove, leave to rest for 15 minutes, then serve with a crisp salad..
