Boxing Day

The following recipe is perfect – it can be made ahead and takes only 20 minutes when you want to serve. Note to self – it's the best time to use your dual purpose frying pan, since you can choose – cook on the hob or pop into a pre-heated oven on 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

This dish, in its original form is Tarragon Chicken and made with fresh chicken fillet. I can only tell you that everywhere I've served it the result has been the same - “is there any more?”

Here's the adapted version to use your cooked turkey.

Tarragon Turkey

Bunch of spring onions, finely diced

1 tsp dried tarragon

Fresh tarragon – chopped – approximately 2 tbsp

160ml Vermouth or white wine

Half tsp of sea salt flakes or quarter tsp of pouring salt

120ml double cream

Salt and white pepper

cooked turkey meat – enough to feed four people

Drop of rapeseed oil and a knob butter to seal. (You could use a flavoured oil i.e. garlic or tarragon if you wish)

Heat oil and butter, add the onions, then dried tarragon and mashed garlic paste and stock if you are using them **see below. Add the vermouth, let it bubble up, season with salt, cover and set aside. When ready to serve, bring the liquid to the boil, add cream and fresh tarragon, then white pepper and add the cooked turkey meat.

**You can vary your sauce by adding roasted garlic paste, mashed into concentrated chicken stock. I've tried adding this element and it's great - obviously you have to like garlic. 1 Knorr chicken stock pot melted in 250ml of hot water and 2 tsps garlic paste, mashed together.

Serve with bubble & squeak. Everyone has their own interpretation – if you want any help check out all the variations mentioned in “Mishmash or Hash, II and III” or “Spicy Spuds – the leftovers” if you'd prefer a spice hit and no sprouts!

For the cook, who, by now, is feeling distinctly fragile, nay exhausted, it's just the job.

Its beauty is its simplicity!

A post script :

If you are a Christmas Cake lover, try a small piece with a chunk of mature cheddar cheese – for us it's an extension of a Northern custom – Lancashire to be precise – of eating tea cakes with Lancashire Tasty cheese – buttered tea cakes and thin slices of cheese – don't knock it until you've tried it and you could even toast the tea cakes if you like a dribble of butter down your chin with the cheese!

Another post script :

This week I caught part of James Martin's afternoon programme Home Comforts at Christmas – he was talking about Boxing Day and, blow me down with a feather, he made a version of Tartiflette – I'd just like it on record that my post was written well before his programme – I wouldn't want you to think I'd “borrowed” the idea from him!