Whole roast turkey is the Go-To Christmas dish in the UK. Even though I gather most Brits don’t care for turkey all that much. They certainly don’t seem to eat a lot of it any other time of the year.
So not surprisingly, Boxing Day is the Go-To day for a “traditional” Turkey-Leftover-Curry. Colonial connections and all that jazz.
I’ve not been posting Christmas turkey recipes, as there are a gazillion magazines, TV cooks and Bigger Bloggers out there doing a much better job at that than I ever could. To be honest, I have no particular fondness for, nor personal history or emotional connection with, roasts nor the Christmas turkey.
When I first arrived in England 27 years ago, I was quite taken aback to discover the rigidity of “one shall enjoy a roast on Sundays” and “one shall have a turkey on Christmas day”. And it shall be lunch (not dinner) and it shall be served with overcooked carrots and parsnips (if you’re lucky) and sprouts, a vegetable most Brits abhor, but happily tuck into at Christmas because “it shall be so”.
There shall be pigs in blankets (tiny chipolatas wrapped in bacon), roast potatoes and gravy too. Gravy, I since learned, is the English word for sauce if used in connection with a roast or sausages in particular. And if I am to use the word “jus” for meat juices, or “sauce” for a thicker version, which are simply the words I have grown up with, I am being “fancy”. “just say gravy like the rest of us.”
What most amazed me, was that stuffing is not actually stuffed into the bird, but served on the side.
A friend of mine re-opened the age-old debate on Facebook the other day, as to whether or not Yorkshire puddings were OK to be served with Christmas Lunch. It appears opinions remain divided on that topic.
My personal opinion is simple: if you don’t care for something any other day of the year, then why eat it at Christmas, just because “that’s how it’s done”. If the whole fanfare of it all fills you with dread rather than festive cheer, throw off the shackles and cook whatever you like.
But if you truly love turkey and sprouts and all the trimmings, with or without Yorkshires, or if that traditional Christmas lunch brings back warm memories of childhood and happy times with friends and family, if it just won’t feel like Christmas without it, then by all means go for it and enjoy!
Whatever you cook, it’s your Christmas, no one else’s.
Just like my Christmas is mine. So please don’t expect me to cook you a traditional turkey lunch when you come to my house on Christmas day, as there are so many other wonderful dishes I’d much rather share with you.
I did roast a whole turkey for Christmas once though. It was a James Martin recipe, which, to my own amazement, turned out picture-perfect and tasted delicious.
I decided there and then I would never cook a whole turkey ever again, as I knew this was beginners luck and I would never be able to recreate it as magnificent as that.
May also have something to do with the fact my free range responsibly farmed bronze turkey was delivered with the head and neck on. I found myself attacking it for what appeared hours with every sharp implement I could find (including the chunky Chinese cleaver).
My guests were seemingly unaware in the lounge (which is partially-open-plan to my kitchen-diner), enjoying the Dr. Who Christmas Special, with me casually shouting “no, no, I’m fine, I’ll be out in a minute”, thinking “just please don’t come in here to “keep me company” please please pretty please… “
By then the turkey should have been happily roasting away in the oven for some time already. And I had to go for a wardrobe change before dinner, as I had perspired a little too much in the sheer panic of it all.
Too much information. I know.
Suffice to say dinner was served rather late that night. Yeah, there is that too: I am used to Christmas dinner, not the very British Christmas lunch, as I am quite partial to an extended luxurious Christmas brunch.
Especially if we’d been to midnight mass and warmed up with hot chocolate and “banket staaf” or filled “speculaas” till 2am on Christmas Eve.
O, and I only have a 50 cm wide little larder fridge. So had to remove my treasured wines from the (60 cm…) wine fridge in the guest room and pack it out with freezer blocks to keep the turkey fresh in there until needed.
As I said: never again. I have my priorities.
Or so I thought. I found myself unexpectedly in charge of the turkey, the roast potatoes and the sprouts at friends this Christmas.
So somehow managed to produce this more impromptu turkey number two. A Phil Vickery special this time, combining steaming with roasting. Minus the stuffing and wine in the original recipe, adding extra herbs to the broth, and my friend filled the cavity with tangerine segments instead.
Created a rather fetching dish of roast sprouts with garlic, bacon and grapes too.
What was extra-special this Christmas, was that it was a true joint kitchen effort, where everyone contributed something to the glorious edible feasts, either on Christmas eve or Christmas day.
As usual though, the massive turkey could have fed the 5000, whereas there were a mere merry 5 of us. Roll on the traditional turkey leftover tikka masala on boxing day.
I love a good leftover curry any time of the year in my quest against food waste. So I’ve made this Tikka Masala version quite a few times, just not necessarily with turkey on Boxing Day.
Tikka Masala is one of the most popular curries in the UK. But it’s not authentically Indian by any stretch of the imagination. It is claimed to have been invented in Glasgow in 1971.
But it does incorporate some basic Indian curry principles, like the triumvirate of onion, ginger and garlic as the basis for a meat curry and the three key spices of turmeric, chilli and garam masala. The curry is blended to achieve a creamy consistency.
Plain basmati rice, naan or chapatis on the side will do. But I’m serving it with a spiced pilau-style rice dish this time.
THE RECIPES
Leftover Tikka Masala (serves 4 – GF LC RSF)
This is a mild curry with only a little chilli for warmth rather than heat.
If you’d like to turn this into a “tandoori tikka masala”, just cube the leftover meat the night before and marinade in yoghurt mixed with a tandoori paste such as Patak. Drain off any excess marinade the next day before using. If using raw meat, grill before using the marinated meat.
Scale up or down as needed, depending on how many guests are overstaying their welcome.
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped or finely sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
A good thumb of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or rapeseed oil
Good pinch of chilli powder, for background warmth not heat
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp quality garam masala spice mix
2 generous tbsp yoghurt or crème fraiche (low fat or full fat, you choose. I used my first ever home-made yoghurt, which separated a bit on the drizzle garnish, but tasted good)
2 generous tbsp tomato paste or a tin of chopped tomatoes, juice drained off (I usually do a drained off tin plus a good dollop of puree)
100 ml water or leftover stock
Cooked turkey, chicken, duck, goose or venison, cut into cubes or shredded, a generous handful pp
Finely chopped coriander (optional)
Toasted almond slivers (optional)
Some yoghurt or crème fraiche to serve (optional)
Method
Melt the ghee or oil over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Fry for 5 mins.
Add the spices and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
Add the tomato puree or tomatoes and cook for another minute or 2.
Blend in a food processor, blender or with a hand blender. Return to the pan over medium heat.
Add the cooked meat and yoghurt or crème fraiche. Cook for 5 mins to heat through.
You can make this with fresh meat too, in which case cook it for 20 mins once added, or until cooked through.
Sprinkle with flaked toasted almonds and add a drizzle of yoghurt or crème fraiche and some finely chopped coriander if using.
Serve with naan, chappati’s or rice
Turmeric Spiced Rice (serves 4 – GF DF V Vg RSF)
You can fry off a finely chopped onion in ghee before adding the spices back into the casserole, but I usually leave onion and ghee out if these are already in the dish I am serving it with.
Ingredients
1 mug rice, thoroughly rinsed (basmati, long grain, brown or GABA. I used a mixture of brown rice and quinoa)
2 mugs water (possibly 2 ½ if using brown or GABA rice – see packet instructions)
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 whole cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 cinnamon stick or a few pieces of cassia bark
4 cardamom pods
½ tsp turmeric
a few bay leaves or curry leaves
S&P
Method
Add the whole spices except the mustard seeds and cinnamon to a dry pan set over medium heat on the hob. Cook until the spices start to “pop”. Transfer the spices to a board or pestle and mortar and lightly bruise them. Return to the pan.
Add the turmeric, cinnamon stick, rice, bay or curry leaves and water. Stir. Bring the heat up to medium-high and bring to the boil.
Then turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 mins or so according to the packet instructions. Brown or GABA rice will need longer.
Check. If the rice is dry, but not yet cooked and catching on the bottom of the pan, add a little more water, stir, re-cover and turn the heat to low. Cook for another 5-10 mins, or until cooked.
If the rice is nearly cooked but a little damp, turn the heat off and cover the pan with a kitchen towel and then cover with the lid. This will allow any excess moisture to escape while the rice finishes cooking and stays nice and warm.
Remove the cinnamon and fluff the rice up with a fork before serving.
