From dippy eggs to chilli chocolate bark, save cash by turning your leftovers into a beautiful feast

LUCKY enough to have leftover grub from your Christmas Day feast?

With money tighter than ever this year, making the most of our festive nosh is essential.

Luckily, Ian Bursnall, the roofer-turned-cook who found fame on Jamie Oliver’s Great Cookbook Challenge, has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to make some tasty and creative dishes with your leftover scoff.

Here, he shares six recipes with Kirsty Spence from his new cookbook, The Skint Cook, that will make your mouth water.

PIMPED-UP PIGS IN BLANKETS WITH ONION GRAVY

Serves: 4

YOU NEED:

• 8 Cumberland sausages
• 16 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 2 tbsp cranberry sauce
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1½ tsp plain flour
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

To serve:

• Bubble and squeak (see recipe bottom right)
• 2 handfuls watercress

METHOD: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Take your sausages and wrap each one in 2 bacon rashers, then put to one side. Now mix the cranberry sauce, mustard and vinegar together in a small bowl.

Mix well, then microwave on Low for 30 secs to loosen. This is your glaze for the sausages.

Place the bacon-wrapped sausages on a baking tray or in a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 10 mins. Take out of the oven and start basting with the glaze.

Return to the oven and repeat the process every 8-10 mins to build up a nice glaze (this should take around 30-40 mins in total).

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over a medium-low heat.

Add the onion and sugar, with a good pinch each of salt and pepper, and cook the onion down to a nice golden sticky consistency, stirring from time to time, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the flour, then gradually add the stock, a little at a time, and keep stirring.

Now add the Worcestershire sauce, then reduce down to a nice sauce-like consistency, stirring occasionally, about 5-8 mins.

Take the sausages out of the oven. Pile the bubble and squeak on to plates. Place two sausages per person on top of the bubble and squeak. Spoon over the onion gravy.

Place a handful of watercress to the side of each plate and enjoy!

DIPPY EGGS WITH STILTON SOLDIERS

Serves 2

YOU NEED:

• 4 slices bread
• Butter, for the toast (optional)
• 220g stilton, sliced or crumbled
• 4 medium eggs

METHOD: Preheat the grill to high. Toast the bread, then place on a baking tray. Butter the toast, if you like.

Cover the toast with stilton (use as much or as little as you want), then place under the hot grill and grill until bubbling and golden. Put to one side to cool a little and firm up.

Meanwhile, put your eggs into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Place over a high heat. As soon as the eggs have come to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and set a timer for 3 mins.

In the meantime, cut your stilton toast into soldiers and place on the plates. When 3 mins is up, drain the eggs and run cold water over them for 10 secs.

Now put the eggs into egg cups. Take off the top of the eggs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Start dipping.

POTATO AND LEEK SOUP WITH GARLIC CROUTONS

Serves 4-6

YOU NEED:

• 600g leeks, washed and chopped
• 30g unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 700g potatoes, peeled and washed
• 700ml vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 200ml double cream
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard

For the garlic croutons:

• 200g baguette
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 50g mature cheddar, grated (optional)

METHOD: Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

First, make the soup. Place the leeks in a saucepan with the butter and cook over a low heat until the leeks start to soften, about 5 mins.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Stir and place the lid on. Bring to a simmer, then cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 mins.

Once cooked, put the soup to one side to cool, remove the bay leaf, then blitz with a stick blender to the consistency you like. Stir in the cream and mustard and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Now make the garlic croutons. Cut your baguette into bite-sized pieces and put into a bowl.

Put the butter, oil and garlic with some salt and pepper into a saucepan over a low heat.

Melt the butter, then cook the garlic for 1 min. Pour the garlic butter over the bread pieces, tossing them to coat well. Add the cheese, if using, and toss together.

Spread the bread pieces out on the lined baking tray, then bake in the oven for around 10 mins until golden and crispy, turning once or twice, but do keep an eye on them.

Remove from the oven and set aside while you gently reheat the soup in a saucepan.

Serve the hot soup in bowls and serve the croutons in a separate bowl so people can help themselves.

THE AFTERBURN – CHILLI CHOCOLATE BARK

Serves: 6-8

YOU NEED:

• 300g milk chocolate
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 150g white chocolate
• 100g crispy M&Ms
• 1tbsp chopped roasted hazelnuts
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Hundreds-and-thousands sprinkles, to decorate

METHOD: Line a 26cm x 20cm baking tray with greaseproof paper. Put some water in a saucepan over a low heat.

Place a heatproof bowl on the top, making sure it’s not touching the water underneath (this is a bain-marie).

Now break up the milk chocolate and place in the bowl. Leave until melted, stirring occasionally. Once melted, add the chilli flakes and stir. Spread the milk chocolate all over the lined baking tray.

Now break the white chocolate into pieces and put into a separate heatproof bowl.

Melt in the microwave on low in 30-sec bursts, stirring after each burst, until fully melted (as there are no cocoa solids in white chocolate, it melts better in a microwave).

Once melted, blob the white chocolate all over the milk chocolate then, with a cocktail stick or skewer, make fancy swirls.

Add the M&Ms and dot them about over the surface, then sprinkle the nuts, salt and sprinkles all over.

Refrigerate for 2 hours or more to firm up. Once it is firm, break the bark up into pieces.

GOOEY GRENADES – YORKIES

Serves 3-4 (makes 9)

YOU NEED:

• 150g plain flour
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 200ml milk
• 4 medium eggs, beaten
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Vegetable oil, for the tin
• 400g can thick custard
• 3 tbsp hazelnut chocolate spread
• 3 tbsp raspberry jam
• Handful toffee popcorn, chopped, or 1 tbsp chopped roasted hazelnuts

METHOD: Make your Yorkie batter a couple of hours before cooking to let it rest. In a large bowl, combine the flour, thyme and a good pinch each of salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, add the milk, eggs and garlic and give them a good mix. Now slowly add the wet mix to the flour mix, stirring all the time until nice and smooth. Don’t over-mix – a few lumps is fine.

Cover and put to one side at room temperature for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge, if possible (bring it to room temperature before using)

Preheat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. When it is time to cook, add a little vegetable oil to nine cups of a Yorkshire pudding tin (add just enough oil to cover the bottom of each).

Place in the oven at full whack to heat up for 10 mins until smoking. Take the tin out, give the batter a quick stir then pour some batter into each cup, to come about a third of the way up.

Return to the oven, then reduce the oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and cook the Yorkies for around 15-20 mins.

Do not open the oven door. When the Yorkies are golden and risen, open the oven door for 5 secs, then shut it.

Turn off the oven and leave the Yorkies in there for 15 mins, then take them out and let them cool in the tin for 30 mins.

Once cooled, place the Yorkies on a large plate, then pipe or spoon the custard into the dip in the middle.

Put the hazelnut chocolate spread in a bowl and microwave on medium-low for 30 secs to loosen it, then drizzle over the Yorkies.

Do the same with the jam. Sprinkle the popcorn or chopped nuts all over the Yorkies, then chill in the fridge for about an hour to firm before serving.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK TOPPED WITH POACHED EGGS

Serves 2-3

YOU NEED:

• 400g potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 tsp salt
• 200g white cabbage
• 200g Brussels sprouts
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra if needed
• ½ tbsp unsalted butter
• 2-3 eggs

METHOD: Rinse the potato chunks under cold running water. Place in a saucepan, cover with water, add the salt and bring to the boil. Cook until just tender, about 15-20 mins. Drain and let them steam dry. Put to one side.

Meanwhile, chop up the cabbage and cut the Brussels in half, then put both into a saucepan.

Cover with water and bring to the boil then cook until just tender with still a bit of a bite, about 8-10 mins. Drain. Let the veg steam dry.

Mix the potatoes with the cabbage and Brussels. Try to keep it chunky. Season to taste with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.

Melt together the oil and butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Put the bubble and squeak mixture in.

Don’t be tempted to keep moving it around as you want to build up crispy bits.

Once the bottom starts to colour, you can stir. Repeat several times until the mixture is really crispy. You may need to add a little more oil. Check again for seasoning.

Poach the eggs. Spoon the bubble and squeak on to the serving plates. Serve with a poached egg on top, seasoned.