Christmas leftovers risotto
Posted: December 17, 2024 Updated: December 17, 2024
Have you ever stopped to consider how perfect risotto is for Christmas leftovers? Me either, that is until my mother hosted a second Christmas dinner in the middle of January 2023.
It all came about thanks to my mother’s bargain hunting. She found a fresh five kilogram turkey on sale for just five dollars.
A turkey that size would usually cost about $60! She stored it in our freezer while we were away in Finland (amazing for gluten free by the way).
Related content
- Gluten free Christmas treats, chocolates and lollies
- Christmas foods that are gluten free – like shortbreads, panettone and puddings.
A second Christmas feast
While we’d already done Christmas a few weeks prior we’d been celebrating it in Finland which is vastly different to Australia. In terms of food, activities and of course the weather 🥶.
It was an absolute joy to have a perfectly cooked Christmas turkey but even with ten of us sitting with to dinner there was still so much leftover.
Especially the turkey 😅.
Cue the Christmas leftovers
We were the first to leave so we didn’t take anything with us. The next day however my mother popped by with the turkey (minus a leg my uncle took) and a slab of ham.
I’d already planned a risotto
I was able to say this to my dad when he scoffed at us getting the Christmas leftovers. I knew risotto would be the perfect choice. Why? Because you can make the base risotto and add in cooked items right at the end.
There’s no stress about things being cooked or needing multiple pots and pans.
Preparation of Christmas leftovers
Some prep for this recipe isn’t included as everyone’s Christmas leftovers looks different. For me it was a turkey carcass that I spent twenty minutes stripping. For the record I got 800 grams of meat (that’s over 1.5 lb!). Well worth the effort.
But the leftovers you have might be sliced breast or a big ol’ leg. It’s very individual. Or it might be turkey roll, even easier to work with.
To prepare the meat / protein (you could even use a nut loaf) you want it all to be in bite size pieces. Remember, there’s no knife with a risotto. For the turkey I had it shredded and for the ham I diced it.
Christmas leftovers risotto can be anything
This is really just a guide, but here’s some examples of how I’d use other Christmas leftovers in this risotto.
Roasted sprouts, cut to quarters and stirred through at the end. Or, if there’s only a few reheat them in the oven (or air fryer!) until crispy. Then add them to the top of the risotto when serving.
Carrots, roughly diced, put in towards the end.
Roast pumpkin I would roughly mash with a fork and stir through before any other ingredients go in. You’ll end up with a lovely orange flecked risotto!
Cauliflower cheese, this is a tricky one… I think get it hot in the microwave, smush it up and put it through at the end. This would actually be a good way to sneak in vegetables for kids as the colour will be so close to the risotto. Plus, it’s more cheese!
Gravy! This you can definitely use. Basically, get your gravy and boil the kettle. Add your hot water to the gravy until it gets to the volume of stock you need for this recipe. A cup of leftover gravy would easily dilute to replace three cups of stock.
That leaves us with roast potatoes which I’m not going to give you advice on. Why? Who would have leftover roast potatoes?! Even if you do, I highly recommend putting them back in the oven to crisp up and eat. Don’t put them in this risotto.
Finishing your risotto
Parmesan cheese is often added to a risotto towards the end and used again as a garnish. But what if you’ve got leftover cheese from your Christmas starters? Well, use those instead!
Sharp cheeses will obviously go well as a replacement for parmesan, but there’s no reason you couldn’t add a creamy brie.
I actually used a non-dairy alternative to parmesan, salt cured egg yolk.
Christmas Leftovers Risotto
Equipment
- 1 Large frying pan
- 1 Wooden spoon
- Set of scales optional
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 Ladle
Ingredients
- 240 g risotto rice or 1 cup
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3 cups stock
- 8 mushrooms approx 1.5 cups sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 400 g cooked turkey meat, shredded
- 100 g ham, diced
- 50 g parmesan optional
- fresh herbs (parsley, basil) to garnish
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat your stock in a small saucepan so it is ready to use in the recipe.3 cups stock
- In a frying pan saute mushrooms in your choice of oil or butter until just cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.8 mushrooms, olive oil
- Add olive oil to the pan on a medium heat. Add garlic for one minute, stirring continuously. Add the rice and stir well to coat with oil.2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped, olive oil, 240 g risotto rice
- Add the white wine and cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally or until absorbed.1/2 cup white wine
- Adding 1/2 a cup of stock at a time, stir the rice gently and allow it to absorb. Repeat this for 15 – 20 minutes until the rice is almost cooked.
- Add the turkey meat and stir it through.400 g cooked turkey meat, shredded
- Add the peas and mushrooms to the pan. Any liquid from the mushrooms can also go in.1 cup frozen peas
- Add the diced ham to the pan. If using parmesan sprinkle this evenly over the pan and stir to mix through.50 g parmesan, 100 g ham, diced
- Garnish with fresh herbs, extra parmesan or salt cured egg.fresh herbs (parsley, basil)
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