‘Completely different’ Christmas leftovers recipe is ‘so delicious’

A man has shared an easy, one dish recipe that utilises Christmas leftovers in a “completely different way” while still being “so delicious”. The festivities are over for another year, with all the prep work, effort and planning done and dusted.

For many people though, the festive spirit is still thriving, with Christmas food and treats firmly on the menu. Russell Clamp, who posts on social media under the name “Eat Like An Adult”, has built an extensive following after consistently sharing “cooking tips and techniques” and recipes for “mostly healthy eaters”.

In one popular video posted on TikTok, he shared a recipe for “Upside Down Christmas Leftovers Tarts”, which utilises leftover festive favourites like parsnips, pigs-in-blankets, or any other Christmas dinner staple you happen to still have in your kitchen.

Speaking directly to the camera, he began: “Do something completely different with your Christmas leftovers this year – I give you, the Upside Down Christmas Leftovers Tarts.

“These things are so delicious and done in one pan.”

In the caption accompanying his video tutorial of how to whip them up, Russell penned: “These are seriously good! I’m saying these are better than Christmas leftovers sandwiches and leftovers curry combined.

“I need to find a way to eat these all year round because once a year isn’t going to be enough.”

His particular take on the recipe is made with 500g puff pastry, a small handful of plain flour, your choice of Christmas leftovers, one tablespoon of olive oil and one egg, whisked.

He advises preheating the oven to “200°C/390°F” and then dusting your chopping/prep board, rolling pin and pastry with plain flour.

After that, he said: “Roll out your pastry so it’s 2mm to 3mm thick and fits to your roasting tray. Save any offcuts to reroll for later use.”

Then, cut the pastry into six individual pieces and place them back in your tray to ensure you’ve got the correct sizing.

Russell continued: “Cut down any chunky items in your leftovers stash. I usually cut sausages in half lengthways. Parsnips and definitely potatoes need cutting down too.”

The next step is to line your tray with baking parchment paper and wipe the olive oil over it, before arranging the leftovers on top.

He said: “If you’ve got bread sauce, put a little of that in the middle of each piece of pastry. Top the leftovers with the pastry.”

After that, simply score the pastry and brush the beaten egg over the top then pop it in the oven to bake for 20 to 30 minutes, “until the pastry is golden brown”.

Russell concluded: “Remove from the oven, take out the tarts on the sheet from the tray and score between each one.

“Turn them over, top with some warmed cranberry sauce, Maldon salt, black pepper and parmesan.”

In the comments section, fellow food lovers were eager to share their thoughts. One person said: “Thank you for this – soooo good.”

Another commented: “Looks amazing – one I will try next year as at friend’s this year.” Someone else joked: “What is this ‘leftovers’ you speak of?!”