Liven Up Those Leftovers

I hope that you had the most amazing Christmas Day dinner yesterday…but what are you going to do with any leftovers?

 

I believe the secret in using up leftovers is in making them so very different from their original dish. Present in a different fashion with a strikingly alternative flavour and no-one would believe a food is coming back to the table for an encore!

 

This is one such dish, using leftover turkey or perhaps chicken but zipped up with the crunch of salad ingredients and the zing of mint and chilli to tickle the tastebuds.

 

The dish would be typically served with a sprinkling of natural roasted peanuts but, as a bariatric eater, I tend to leave them out for myself because they do double the calories and increase the fat content appreciably. Add or not, it’s your choice, but they have not been included in the nutritional profile at the end of the recipe.

 

VIETNAMESE TURKEY SALAD WITH A MNT AND CHILLI DRESSING

 

Ingredients

Metric/US

200g/7 oz package crunchy style salad

1/2 small white cabbage, finely shredded

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 small carrot, grated

300g/10 oz cooked skinless and boneless turkey, shredded

1 large red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

3-4 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce

2 limes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method

1.  Place the crunchy salad, cabbage, onion and carrot in a serving bowl. Scatter over the cooked shredded turkey.

2.  Place the chilli and mint in a small bowl. Add the sesame oil, fish sauce and juice of 1 of the limes. Mix and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3.  Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to mix. Scatter over any peanuts if used (see above). Serve with the remaining lime cut into wedges.

 

SERVES 4 (as a starter or accompaniment)

WLS PORTION: 1/2-3/4

 

CALORIES:  165

PROTEIN:  18.7g

CARBOHYDRATE:  11.9g

FAT:  5.5g

Image courtesy of Waitrose