Leftover Christmas Dinner Bubble and Squeak Recipe

Never have leftovers go to waste again! These bubble and squeak cakes are absolutely perfect for using up leftovers from your Christmas dinner. You can make these with pretty much anything you like (or have left) and mould them into whatever portion size you want!

Bubble and squeak is a traditional British dish. I was historically eaten for breakfast the day after a large meal, but is also commonly eaten for lunch or dinner too.

This really is more of a concept than a strict recipe. The only two ingredients that are non-negotiable are potato and cabbage… and, to be honest, you could drop the cabbage in place of sprouts or kale or something similar.

Ingredients

600 g potatoes, peeled weight, cut into chunks

200 g leftover roast potatoes, roughly chopped

10 g butter

125 g leftover pancetta wrapped sprouts, halved, omit the pancetta to make this a vegetarian version

125 g leftover cooked cabbage

150 g leftover roasted root veg, roughly chopped

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing

Method

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160˚C fan/gas mark 4. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes, until soft and tender. Drain well, return to the pan, then add the leftover roast potatoes and butter. Season well then roughly mash together.

Step 2

Add the remaining veg, and combine everything together. Season well.

Step 3

Lightly oil 12 muffin-tin cups and fill each with the bubble and squeak mixture. Lightly brush each with a little oil and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Step 4

To serve (optional): while the bubble and squeaks are baking, cook the sausages and keep them warm. Poach the eggs in a large pan of boiling water. Wilt the spinach in a large pan then leave to drain in a sieve set over a bowl to get rid of excess water. Fry the tomatoes until golden and serve with the bubble and squeak, sausages and spinach.

Robyn Salter