The madness of the festive season coupled with generosity of spirit often leads to over-catering, resulting in large amounts of leftover meats. Here are a few ideas for giving them a new lease of life.

Ham

• Ham stores well (for up to 10 days) provided you take a little care. Keep it in a cloth bag (or even an old pillowcase kept only for that use) in the fridge. Soak the bag in a mix of 1 litre water to 2 tablespoons white vinegar then squeeze out the excess liquid, leaving the bag damp. Repeat the process every few days. If your ham comes with its skin on, keep it and use it as a cover for the ham before placing in the bag.

• If you bought your ham bone-in, use the bone to make stock then freeze it or use to make a ham and pea risotto. Make a risotto base with the ham stock then stir through some cubed ham and frozen peas at the end of cooking. Finish with parmesan, butter and shredded mint leaves.

• Make the most of ham’s natural affinity with eggs. Add shredded ham to an omelette or frittata; make eggs Benedict by topping English muffins with slices of ham, soft-poached eggs and hollandaise; or make a hash with cubes of ham, cooked potatoes, finely chopped gherkins, capers, flat-leafed parsley and Kaitaia Fire (or another hot sauce), topped with a soft-poached egg.

• Use ham in salads – try it with blanched green beans and roasted red capsicum dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil. Or for a light lunch, pod, peel and warm some broad beans in a little olive oil with sliced garlic. Add small cubes of ham and heat through. Sprinkle with sherry vinegar then add some pitted black olives and chopped parsley or mint. Serve on bruschetta.

• For a fresh take on ham and pineapple, dress grilled fresh pineapple slices with sliced red chillies, lime juice and shredded mint then serve with ham.

Turkey

• Keep the turkey bones and make a stock. Freeze it for later use or, if it’s a cooler day, make a turkey pot pie. Fry onions and garlic in a little butter, add some flour and cook fora few minutes then add enough stock to make a lightly thickened sauce. Add diced or shredded turkey and blanched seasonal vegetables. Put in a baking dish, top with puff pastry and bake until golden and bubbling.

• For a sandwich, combine thinly sliced turkey with tamarillo chutney and crisp cos lettuce. Or make a wrap with shredded turkey tossed with a tomato salsa and shredded iceberg lettuce.

• For a turkey salad, add shredded turkey to a salsa verde (thin it with some olive oil) then toss through some warmed lentils, cannelloni or borlotti beans with a little rocket.

• Make a turkey tabouleh by combining shredded meat with soaked and drained bulghur wheat, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, parsley and mint. Dress with a mix of lemon, garlic and olive oil.

Chilled soba noodle salad with turkey
Serves 4

2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon caster sugar
3⁄4 cup soy sauce
270g packet soba noodles
4cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
300g-400g shredded turkey

Combine the mirin and sugar in a small saucepan then heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Add the soy sauce and cook until just about boiling. Remove from the heat and cool.

Cook the noodles in boiling water, following the packet directions. Drain and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the noodles with your hands to remove excess starch. Drain well.

Add the ginger to the dressing then toss through the noodles. Add the carrot, spring onions, sesame seeds and turkey and toss to combine.