Image source: Lifestyle Food
This is not a regular post. But then Boxing Day is not a regular day. It’s the day after Christmas where (in Australia), depending on your idea of entertainment, you are likely to be either watching the cricket, attending the sales, lazing on the beach or watching old movies on the couch.
Whatever you are doing; you will no doubt find yourself with a whole lot of leftover food. If you can manage to bypass the pudding, cakes, biscuits, chocolates and pavlova as your first choice for a meal, there is probably a great hulking leg of ham hiding in a bag in the fridge.
While there’s nothing wrong with simply carving off slices to enjoy without adornment, I thought a few (low effort) ideas might be appreciated to create a more substantial meal. Remember to store your ham properly to give it the longest life possible. Do this by taking either a calico ham bag or a cotton pillow case (clean!) and soaking it breifly in a mixture of 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts cold water. Wring it out, place the ham inside, tie it up with a rubber band and place on a plate in the fridge. This will keep your ham from drying out or going slimy. Wash the bag every 2-3 days and repeat the water-vinegar dunking before replacing the ham within for storage. Hopefully with the ideas given below, you will only be storing you ham for about a week.
Favourite uses for leftover ham in our house are;
- The classic ham, cheese and tomato sandwich (with any mustard, chutney or relish you may have received as a gift)
- A croque monsieur for breakfast
- Pasta Alfredo (can also be served cold as a pasta salad)
- Crustless quiche lorraine (make in a silicon cake pan for easy serving)
- Fried eggs and ham (for breakfast)
- Basic fried rice
Like most people, we will be relaxing over the next fortnight or so and enjoying the company of family and friends. We hope this list gives you some ideas for easy holiday foods and that you are having an equally enjoyable holiday season.
A Tale of Two Kitchens 