Cooking with Leftovers: 4 Easy After-Party Recipes

Try making a flavourful soup by using your leftover roast chicken bones and meat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf, celery, saffron, basil stems, salt and peppercorns and bring to a slow boil. Simmer for 1-2 hours before straining the soup from the solids. Shred up any excess chicken meat from the chicken bones and add it back into the soup, while throwing in leafy green vegetables such as kale, potatoes and bell peppers for texture and a mild, spicy kick.

Here’s a sandwich you can put together immediately after your party and store in your refrigerator, letting the flavours blend and seep in overnight. Carve a hole in the middle of a rustic sourdough loaf, spread it with some potato salad and a bit of pesto, before layering it with leftover ham and salami. Alternate your deli meats with layers of tomatoes, red peppers and aged cheese. Generously grind black pepper in-between each layer, and drizzle a little olive oil over when you have finished assembling the sandwich. Wrap it tightly with grease-proof paper before refrigerating it. Simply heat the sandwich up the next day.

For something warm and hearty, make a baked pasta with extra sausages you have on hand. Combine sausage meat, breadcrumbs and thyme in a bowl and shape them into small balls. Heat oil in a pan and cook the sausage balls until nicely browned. Add tomato puree and tomato paste, letting the sauce simmer gently for 20 minutes with its lid covered. Pour in the heated sauce into a tray of cooked pasta, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and insert mozzarella cubes into the top of the pasta. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the dish is bubbling and crusty.

Do you know that you can bake a delicious sponge cake with leftover root vegetables such as carrots, pumpkins and butternut squash? Simply mix sultanas and zest and juice from an orange, then microwave them for 2 minutes. Next, combine flour, castor sugar, mixed spice, ginger, baking soda and pinch of salt into a large bowl. Melt some butter before mixing with eggs and sultana mixture. Tip mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon. Add in the grated root vegetables into the tin. Bake for about 35-40 minutes and let the cake cool. Sift icing sugar into a bowl and stir in remaining orange zest and juice to make a runny icing. Drizzle it all over the cake for a delectable, citrusy treat.