St. Stephen's Day Dinner Recipe

ham and turkey wellington dish

Enjoy this traditional Irish recipe from Chef Martin O'Donnell, from The Twelve Hotel in Galway

ham turkey wellington dish wellington dish ingredients image .

A dish made from your Christmas dinner leftovers!

Full Ingredients List:

- Leftover Ham
- Leftover Turkey
- Leftover Stuffing
- 1 Egg
- Puff Pastry
- Flour

How to Make:
(serves about 4 people)
Pre-Heat Oven to 375 degrees F

- Slice a few pieces of turkey, not too thick (if not already sliced)
- Slice a few pieces of ham, not to thick (if not already sliced)
- Roll out the puff pastry (about 1/2 cm thick) on a lightly floured table or board
- Lay your ham slices in the center of the puff pastry
- Take your stuffing and cover it all over the ham
- Then take top the stuffing with broken up bits of the turkey slices
- Beat an egg and brush along the corners and edges of the puff pastry
- Grab the puff pastry from one side and pull it to the center of the meat then pull the other side of the pastry to the center, and enclose
- Once the pastry is wrapped, crimp the short edges with a fork or crumple and roll inward (toward the meat) so that any excess stays enclosed
- Make sure the pastry is in a tight, log/cylinder shape, then eggwash (brush) the whole top part of the wellington
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until it's a lovely golden color and piping hot in the middle

Pair with:

- side of brussel sprouts
- or mashed potatoes
+ mulled wine

celticmke st stephens day image 1

Learn more about The Twelve Hotel and shop products from Galway, here!

What is St. Stephen's Day / Wren Day?

St. Stephen's Day is a public holiday in many countries that has its origins from early Christianity, where people celebrated the life of Saint Stephen -- a Christian deacon in Jerusalem who was known for his acts of charity. The feast day took place the day after Christmas, on December 26. Most celebrations today have little connection to the saint, but many traditions stem from

In Ireland, St. Stephen's Day is also known as Wren Day. It was tradition that, early in the morning, groups of boys would hunt for a wren; It was then tied to the top of a pole or holly bush, which was decorated with ribbons or colored paper. The boys would carry the pole from house to house while wearing straw masks and dressed in old clothes, asking for money in exchange for a wren feather. A wren feather was though to bring a household good luck. Some stories say the kids would take the money and use it to host a dance for their entire village. The custom of hunting a wren has mostly disappeared, but there has been a revival in folks celebrating the day.

There are different stories about the origins of Wren Day in relation to St. Stephen but we found this bit of information from the Irish Culture and Customs website:
"One is that St. Stephen, hiding from his enemies in a bush, was betrayed by a chattering wren. From that point on, the wren, like St. Stephen, should be hunted down and stoned to death. The pursuit and capture of the wren is also related to the pagan custom of sacrificing a sacred symbol at year's end. In contrast to the legends of the wren as betrayer, the wren was also revered in Ireland as the "king of all birds." An Irish folk tale tells of a contest held among birds to see which could fly the highest and should be given the title. The eagle soared higher than any other bird, but lost the contest when a clever wren hid on the back of the eagle, then flew off and soared higher in the sky."

Learn even more here: https://irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/StStephens.html