Surprise! The newsletter is dropping a few days early this week. Consider it a little Christmas present from me (to those who celebrate).
This dish is a really nice way of using lots of leftover bits you are likely to have kicking around the fridge in Betwixmas, and I give you a list of optional extras too.
This is the final newsletter of 2024! Thank you so much for all your support this year, it truly means the world to me. The community you’ve helped me create in this newsletter has become one of my favourite parts of my work, and watching it grow over the last 12 months is immensely humbling. I feel really lucky that you all help me to do this for a living - I am so grateful to you.
I look forward to bringing you many more recipes in 2025! Lots of love to you all.
Sophie x
The Recipe
Leftover Ham and Leek Lasagne
If ham is also your favourite part of Christmas, then this one is for you. Pork in lasagne is always welcome to me (sausages! Pancetta! Hiya!), so it didn’t feel like too much of a stretch to extend the invitation to the British classic of boiled ham. The saltiness is a dream with sweet softened leeks, and a creamy sauce spiked with herbs and warming spices.
Of course, you might be too filled with mince pies to make it to the shops for ingredients, so there are some things you can substitute out, and extra bits you can add in for more flavour.
It’s really quick to throw together, and can very happily sit in the fridge for a day before cooking once assembled (you could even wrap it in clingfilm and freeze it for up to 3 months - to cook from frozen, just add another 10 mins to the cooking time).
Optional extras/swaps:
You can swap out some of the ham for the same weight of any other leftover cooked meat - turkey, chicken or goose would be especially nice I think, as would any crumbled stuffing/chopped pigs in blankets.
1 tbsp woody herbs - chopped rosemary, thyme or even sage is great cooked in the butter for 30 seconds, before adding your flour.
Up to 150ml leftover gravy would be great here! You don’t want to add too much, so that the moisture content doesn’t get too high
Up to 100g of leftover cheese - something blue or sharp would be really lovely here (maybe 50g stilton + 50g cheddar).
If you only have parsley or tarragon, feel free to to just use one (you’ll just need to add a little more)
If you didn’t have cream, you could swap it out for some creme fraiche or mascarpone.
Serves 4