Starters, canapes and leftovers for Christmas

Okay, there are only just a few days left till Christmas, and chances are your to-do list is longer than these dark winter nights. But at least when it comes to entertaining, I’ve a few recipes up my sleeve to help reduce any niggling worries about guests going hungry this festive season. This week it’s all about starters and canapés and dare I say it? Leftovers.

First, let’s talk starters: my starter this week is perfect for the big day. It’s a salmon tartare gently spiced with fennel and cumin seeds and fresh with citrus and ginger. A bit like posh smoked salmon, it’s light but still has body and, with its garnish of glistening pomegranate seeds and green coriander, it looks pretty Christmassy too.

These smoked mackerel croquettes come pretty close to ideal fodder with a glass of anything. You can prepare them in advance and then fry them up at the last minute.

I also tried a cheat’s way of doing them and that was putting them on a baking tray with a generous slick of oil dredged over them and then shaken a bit so they get a bit of an even coating of oil. It was all a bit slapdash, but they did crisp up.

However, frying and then giving them a warming blast in an oven worked out the best. The crisp panko coating gives way to a smoky, soft interior and the blackberry ‘jam’ that goes with them is sweet and sour at its best. Even better, a few of these little fellas together make a great starter.

Before you know it, Christmas is done and dusted and chances are that while your pockets are empty, your fridges – and maybe your, um, waistlines – are busting at the seams. What on earth do you do with all those leftovers?

Every household has its favourite way of dealing with leftovers: ham and mustard sandwiches; Christmas pudding fried in butter and served with, yes, brandy butter; or maybe even a turkey curry.

Every year I try and come up with something a bit different, just for the hell of it, to see how the family reacts to something new. I mean, just how many ways can you use up leftover turkey and ham?

So first up is a Christmas twist on an old favourite of mine: croque monsieur. Slices of sourdough are buttered and then used to contain a filling of Gruyère béchamel, turkey and cranberry sauce.

The second dish, (un)imaginatively called Christmas quiche, is just that – a quiche with a Christmas theme, this time with leftover cheese and ham playing a starring role, offset nicely by diced pear and a few leeks sweated to sweetness.

Baked in a shortcrust case made with butter, this is deeply satisfying. Both are simple and quick to make – and super tasty. And both are, shall we say, not exactly light on calories. But dammit, it’s still Christmas, isn’t it? Nothing wrong with a bit of richness, that’s what I say.

All food cooked and styled by Domini Kemp and Gillian Fallon