Recipe: Maldon Salt’s Christmas Leftovers Sandwich

With food waste costing the hospitality and foodservice sector an estimated £3.2bn every year, any steps that sites can take to reduce this burden can make a huge difference.

What’s more, with the festive season drawing ever closer – a period during which waste is notoriously high – recipes and solutions which offer chefs and caterers ways to keep food waste to a minimum can give profits a real boost.

Maldon Salt’s Loaded Leftover Toastie, which packs turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, brie and cranberry sauce between two hunks of sourdough – elevated with a pinch of Maldon Chilli Sea Salt, Dijon mustard, cornichons and gravy for French-dip style dunking – is a sandwich sure to impress diners as much in the lead up to the big day, as it will in the aftermath. During ‘Twixmas’ – the famously blurred days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve – it’s a fantastic recipe to add to the menu specials board, catering to those who may not want to see another full roast dinner, but are still craving classic festive flavours.

By capitalising on the demand for Christmas flavours by using up leftovers in an simple yet elevated way, chefs and caterers will not only reduce costly food waste but can also take advantage of the growing trend for ‘simple gourmet’. This trend, which has emerged in response to the cost-of-living crisis and consumers wanting real value for money, is all about trusted menu favourites, prepared with the utmost care and cooked to perfection.

Maldon Salt’s Loaded Leftover Toastie

Ingredients:
2 slices of sourdough bread
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
70g leftover turkey meat
Pinch of Maldon Chilli Sea Salt
Black pepper
Leftover stuffing / pigs in blankets
50g sliced brie
1 tbsp cranberry sauce
Knob of butter
Cornichon and cocktail stick
Warm gravy for dipping, optional

Method

Start by assembling your toasted sandwich. Take each slice of sourdough bread and spread the outside of each with mayonnaise. Then fill by spreading a tsp of Dijon mustard, followed by the leftover turkey meat – this is a good point to season the toastie with a pinch of Maldon Chilli Sea Salt and some black pepper. Top this with the sliced up leftover stuffing and pigs in blankets. Then top with slices of brie. Finally finish with a generous amount of cranberry sauce then sandwich the top slice of bread on top.

Place a heavy bottomed pan on a medium heat and add the knob of butter. When melted add your sandwich, then use a heavy weight to press it down. Allow this to cook on one side for approximately 3 – 5 minutes before lifting the weight and carefully flipping the sandwich. The other side should be golden and crisp on the bottom. Add the weight back on and cook the other side for the same time.

As soon as the toastie is done, remove it from the pan and cut in half. The cheese should be oozy, and you can serve it with a cornichon and cocktail stick in the top. It is delicious served with warm leftover gravy for dunking.

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