I don’t know about you, but we always err on the side of generosity when it comes to the veg we serve on Christmas Day, or just at Sunday lunch. Often we have leftovers and the traditional solution in our house is to make them all into bubble and squeak.
Usually that just means chucking the mixture into a pan and frying it slowly, a bit like a corned beef hash. But if you’d like to make it a bit more presentable, you might want to try making it into a sliceable cake.
It’s very good with cold cuts, sausages or chops, or just with a fried egg on top.
It’s a bit pointless giving quantities as it depends on how much you have left over (and, ahem, I forgot to weigh my mixture) but it should always include potato and some sort of greens. After that you can ski off piste (within reason).
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Grease and line the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
Choose ingredients from the following:
Roast potatoes, whizzed to rough crumbs in a food processor, or mashed potato
Roast carrots and parsnips, cut into large dice
Cooked cabbage or sprouts, roughly shredded
Celeriac puree, a small amount
Crumbled crispy bacon, chopped ham or a handful of chopped cooked chestnuts
1 onion, chopped and fried until soft and golden
Plus:
1 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, to bind
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated cheese and butter to top
In a large bowl, mix together a combination of potatoes, other root vegetables, and sprouts or cabbage, stir through the flour and season well. Bind with a beaten egg and pack tightly into the cake tin, pressing the mixture well down.
Scatter with grated cheese, dot with butter and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top has browned and the cake is hot all the way through.
Cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin before removing to a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.
Looks delicious Linda. We do a similar thing here too in the Aga. Sometimes add a few Moroccan spices in as well, which jazzes it up a bit!
Yum, that sounds good! Thanks, Mike, hope you’re having a good Christmas. Lx
Yes lovely thank you. V relaxing! x
Looks good. We only appear to have a mountain of red cabbage left. Plus a few sprouts which, sad to say, although home-grown, taste of b***** all. Hope you had a lovely Christmas.
Yes, we did, thanks, though could do without the stinking head cold. Hope you had a fab Christmas. Happy New Year in advance. xx
Sounds delicious Linda, I’ll have to do this I always have loads of veg left after a Sunday roast! And I have been known to cook veg purposely for bubble and squeak! And as someone else mentioned it’s nice with a few added spices!! Yum!!
Thanks, Deb, me too! Love the idea of spicing it up as well. Lx
I love Bubble and Squeak! This sounds fantastic. We didn’t have any veg left over after Christmas dinner since my sister made a HUGE feast for Mum’s housemates but once I get settled and can start cooking again this will definitely be on my list of goodies.
I have been known to cook the veg specially for bubble! Thanks, Karen, hope you had a great Christmas. My best to your mom. Lx
What a good idea to make it into a cake. I normally just mash it all up and fry it gently, then serve with an egg on top and a good dollop of HP Sauce of course.
Sometimes we really push the boat out and have slices of corned beef on the side!
Hope you are feeling brighter.
Ooh, you daredevil, you! Thanks, Penny, no doubt the cold will run its course soon (probably through the entire family). Linda x
“Bubble and squeak” is a cake? Never would have thought to go this route, Linda, but it sure does sound good! It reminds me of the frittati that I used to make for Mom and Zia. I’d pretty much clear the fridge of leftovers and put everything in a frypan with several beaten eggs instead of the flour you use. I’ll definitely come back to this the next time I’ve got the veg. Thanks for the inspiration!
Darn it, now I want a whole load of extra leftovers just so I can make a frittata! It’s odd, they’re one of my regular standbys but it’s never occurred to me to put bubble and squeak ingredients into one. Funny how you can get hidebound by your own traditions. Thanks, John, I’ll try that next time.