Six ways to use up surplus chocolate, meat and vegetables from Easter according to top chefs

In many households, Easter Sunday means a lot of food on the table, which can often lead to the refrigerator being full of leftovers on Easter Monday.

While some people like to eat the same meal two days in a row, others may want to experiment with using their leftovers in different ways.

Top chefs have revealed their recipes for creating unique meals from surplus Easter ingredients, including baked potatoes, chocolate and meat.

Whether you’re looking for new lunch ideas or want an easy dinner to feed your family, these creations may inspire you to try something new…

Leftover potatoes: Batata Harra

Matt Webster, the director of herb and spice company Seasoned Pioneers, suggests this quirky recipe if you’re inspired by flavors from the Mediterranean.

Transform leftover potatoes into a delicious, spicy Lebanese dish, Batata Harra, by adding them to the skillet with a few extra ingredients.

This delicious little side dish goes well with any Middle Eastern cuisine, but is also perfect as a little treat on its own.

The vegetable dish originating from Lebanon consists of potatoes, red pepper, coriander, chili and garlic all fried together in olive oil.

It can be served plain or in pita bread.

All you have to do is lightly fry some garlic, paprika and harissa spice mix. Stir for a minute, then add the remaining fried potatoes and stir until evenly coated.

Add fresh coriander leaves, salt and pepper and mix.

Before serving, add a dash of crushed Sumac berries and lemon juice.

What you have left goes very well with other Mediterranean snacks such as hummus, tabbouleh salad or even falafel.

Leftover chocolate: DIY Easter ice cream

Candice Bannister, the owner of Candy’s Cupcakes bakery in Machester, has an eye for sweet treats.

While the sun is shining, many will enjoy their first ice cream of the year.

Candice recommends combining any leftover chocolate treats you may have from Easter treats (if you have any lying around) with a tub of vanilla ice cream.

To combine the two, Candice recommends taking the ice cream out of the freezer for a while so it can soften.

Once it is soft enough, throw in your broken or ground Easter chocolate and mix everything well.

Put it back in the freezer and you will be left with a very special ice cream that will last for months.

Ice cream is believed to last up to four months in the freezer, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the frozen dessert.

Leftover chocolate: morning pastries

Candice also recommended making morning pastries.

Breakfast pastries always feel like a decadent treat — and what better time to treat yourself than on a holiday?

The chef shared her recipe for a delicious chocolate dough that you can make with your leftover Easter sweets.

All you have to do is grab some ready-made pastries and crush your favorite Easter chocolate, if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers.

This works whether you have Creme Eggs, Mini Eggs, Malteser Bunnies or any other chocolate you like.

Add it to the center of the dough, fold it around the chocolate and cut it into squares or circles.

Then brush the top of the dough with beaten egg.

Put it in the air fryer at 160 degrees for 10 minutes and you will get the perfect puff pastry and a sticky interior.

Leftover chocolate: hot Easter chocolate

Another sweet suggestion from Candice is hot chocolate. This may be a comfort drink that you associate with winter, but according to the star baker, the drink still has a place in spring.

Another quick recipe if you have leftover Easter hot chocolate on hand – and it only requires two ingredients.

To make your own homemade hot chocolate, break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a saucepan.

Once melted, mix it with warm milk to create a deliciously decadent hot chocolate.

For some extra decadence, add some whipped cream and top with crushed mini eggs.

This is a perfect trick if you find that your kids have been struggling to polish off their Easter eggs over the long weekend.

And it’s a great way to recreate the luxury product at home, as consumers increasingly look for top-quality hot chocolate.

Leftover meat: Gravy baguettes

Matt also suggested whipping up some of these quick and easy baguettes with your leftover roast – whatever you chose the day before.

However, he recommended adding an extra dimension to your baguette: by adding some liquid and salt to the gravy.

Adding this element to the dish also uses up the booze you didn’t drink the day before – and often the gravy can go to waste.

Matt recommends wrapping your gravy baguettes with all the elements of your roast dinner that are left behind, including meat and potatoes.

Get some bake at home baguettes and follow the instructions on the package, he says.

Then fill them with whatever scraps you have left.

Once you’ve done this, you can drizzle some gravy over it and dig in, but you might want to have a napkin handy…

Leftover meat: Paella Paella

In a slightly different take on using up leftover meat, Matt also suggested adding some saffron and paprika to reheat a paella.

Having leftover meat can be overwhelming because there are so many recipes to choose from.

But something like paella is perfect because you can just throw together everything you have in your cupboard and call it a day.

To start, mix the saffron and wine and let it sit.

Then stir-fry the onion until soft, add the paella spice mix, rice, pepper, beans, saffron and wine and simmer until all the wine has been absorbed.

Add the tomatoes and half the stock and simmer for 10 minutes, being careful not to stir.

Place all remaining ingredients, including remaining meat, over the rice, cover and simmer, adding stock if necessary but still not stirring, until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Let it sit covered for five minutes and then serve.