The bubble and squeak recipe everyone needs to make today

By Ella Walker . Published 2020-12-26

It’s the ultimate way to use up those Christmas dinner leftovers.

At the time, you think you’ll never need to eat again – but come Boxing Day, all those cold roasties, abandoned slivers of red cabbage and mountains of shredded Brussels sprouts suddenly look pretty appetising again.Everyone has their own bubble and squeak recipe (essentially a variation on – chuck everything in a dish or pan), but here’s ours…

Ingredients:

(Makes one large bubble and squeak, or six patties)1tbsp goose fat or butter4 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped (or handful of leftover cold ham, if you have it, shredded)1 onion, finely sliced300g leftover cooked veg, shredded (Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, peas and corn, roast carrots etc.)400g cold leftover mashed potato (or a mixture of mash and parsnips)25g cheddar

Method:

Melt your fat in a pan and fry the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside for now.
Tip the onion into the pan with the leftover bacon fat, and fry gently until soft and translucent (around 10 minutes) – don’t rush them, you want the almost caramelised. Set aside.
Put all the cold cooked veggies in the pan and stir fry until golden. Now mix the veggies, bacon and onion, and mashed potato (and parsnip) in a large bowl until well combined, along with the cheese.
At this point, you can mush the lot back in the frying pan and fry, on both sides, until you have one huge golden disk that can be sliced into wedges, or make six individual patties.
Serve with a fried egg or a crisp green salad.