Sweet Potato & Butterbean Tikka Masala

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Oh yum, this was absolutely delish! Another great low calorie option from Pinch of Nom

I don’t know why I don’t have butter beans more often, a meaty & creamy texture and filling too. This is a great healthier option curry for the weekend or mid week.

 

Serves 4

Low cal cooking spray

1 onion, diced

1 red chilli, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ginger

2 tsp tomato puree

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 medium sweet potatoes, diced

250ml vegetable stock

1 x 400g tin tomatoes

Salt & pepper

1 x 400g Butter Beans

100g Baby Spinach

For the Spice Mix:

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp gram masala

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cinnamon

 

  1. Spray a large pan with oil, add the chopped onion and chilli and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spice mix and continue to cook for another minute.
  2. Add the tomato puree and lemon juice and mix
  3. Using a food processor or stick blender, blitz the onion mix to a smooth paste and return to the pan. Add the sweet potato and stir until coated.
  4. Add the stock and chopped tomatoes and season. Stir, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
  5. Drain the butter beans and add to the pan along with the spinach, stir through and cook for about 3 minutes until beans are heated through and spinach has wilted.
  6. Serve and enjoy! I served with some rice and some chopped fresh coriander.

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Jambalaya

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This was a little dish I tried from Pinch of Nom’s Latest Cookbook. It was super tasty and low in Kcal’s too at just 398 per portion.

 

Serves 4

Low cal cooking spray

300g diced chicken

2 red peppers, diced

1 onion, diced

2 celery sticks, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp cajun seasoning (1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsps garlic powder, 2 tsps paprika, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp oregano dried, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1 x 400g tin tomatoes

200g long grain rice

400ml chicken stock

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

3 low fat sausages (I sliced them after they were cooked)

 

  1. Spray a large dish with oil, add the chicken and cook over medium heat to brown.
  2. Then add in the onion, peppers and celery, cook for a few minutes
  3. Add in the garlic, cajun spice, paprika and oregano, stir and cook for a few minutes.
  4. Add the rice, chopped tomatoes, stock & worcestershire sauce. Place the sausages in and bring to the boil then reduce to a low heat and cook covered for about 30 minutes.
  5. Serve, Yum!

This is a great dish that you can batch cook with and freeze.

Harissa Spice Veggie Tray Bake

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Oh yummy…….I had some left over Harissa Paste and some veggies in the fridge, and yes, you guessed it……Harissa Tray Bake it was.    I have to say this was super tasty and also super healthy…..I even got my boyfriend to eat veggies, which believe me is no mean feat….lol!

Great as a main dish or a side dish. I decided a main dish and served with some of my homemade Chapati’s

 

Serves 2 (main dishes)

1 large sweet potato – cut into small chunks

1 large red onion – cut into wedges

2 Carrots – cut into small chunks

1 x red & 1 x yellow pepper – sliced thickly

1 Cauliflower – cut into small florets

2 Parsnips – cut into small chunks

4-5 asparagus

1 x 400g tin chickpeas

1 x 200g tin tomatoes

2 large heaped tbsps of Rose Harissa Paste

1 tbsp oil

Coriander

Salt & pepper to season

 

  1. Place all vegetables into a food bag or bowl, then add the harissa paste and mix thoroughly to coat all the veggies. (this can be stored in fridge for later if need be)
  2. Preheat oven to 200 deg and oil a baking tray.
  3. Empty the vegetables (except asparagus) from the bag onto the baking tray and make sure they are spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
  4. Now add the chickpeas and the asparagus to the tray and bake for a further 15 minutes or until evenly browned all over.
  5. In a microwave bowl add the chopped tin tomatoes with salt & pepper to season and warm thought for about 1-2 minutes.
  6. Pour tomato sauce into a serving dish, empty the vegetables from the baking tray into the serving dish and mix through.
  7. Serve with some sprinkled coriander. Yummy!

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Spicy Sausage & Bean Stew

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Sundays are all about Stews……good home cooked food. Sundays are my chillout day and also my home comforts day, so there’s nothing better than a tasty Stew. This one was full of flavour, very spicy and full of protein too. I served it with some homemade crusty baguettes.

 

Serves 2

6 Sausages (to your own taste. I used Black pepper Beef sausages) you could use low fat sausages to make it even healthier.

1 Cal cooking Spray

1 red romano pepper (the long pointy ones), deseeded and cut into 1cm strips

1 clove garlic crushed

1 tbsp hot chilli powder – less if you don’t like it too spicy

1 tbsp hot smoked paprika

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

300g passata

100ml chicken stock

200g cannellini beans, drained

200g red kidney beans, drained

6 spring onions, finely chopped

chopped parsley to garnish.

 

  1. Spray a non stick fry pan and heat on a medium heat.
  2. Gently fry the spring onions, pepper and garlic then add 3 tbsp water and cover. Cook on a simmer for about 5 minutes until soft.
  3. Meanwhile, gently brown sausages in a fry pan with spray oil.
  4. Once browned, remove and cut into 3 diagonally.
  5. Add chilli powder, paprika and worcester sauce into the pepper mix and stir, then add the passata, chicken stock, sausages and beans,  bring up to a boil, then simmer for about 10-15 minutes uncovered.
  6. Serve in a soup bowl and garnish with parsley. Serve with some fresh crusty bread. Yummy!

 

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Crunchy Peanut Butter Chicken

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If your anything like me……I Love peanut butter, so when I saw this recipe being executed on TV I just had to try it. I have adjusted the ingredients slightly to suit our tastes and I have to admit it’s bloody lovely!   This will soon be a staple recipe in my household I think.

You can serve it with some rice for a dinner, or even just on a toasted open baguette (which we done) or even as a filling in a wrap for lunch, its very versatile.

 

Makes enough for 4 people

For the Chicken Thighs and marinade:-

500g chicken thighs cut into strips

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp cornflour

1 tbsp peanut oil

For the Sauce:-

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (good quality one)

80g peanut butter – crunchy

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp sichuan peppercorns – toasted and ground (you can use rainbow peppercorns too)

2 tbsp peanut oil

2 red chillies – chopped finely or 2 tsp dried chillies

4 spring onions – finely chopped

2 garlic cloves – crushed

1 inch root ginger, finely chopped

 

  1. For the marinade for chicken thighs – Mix the soy sauce, peanut oil and cornflour in a bowl, add the chicken and ensure coated evenly, allow to stand at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour.
  2. Meanwhile for the sauce, combine together balsamic vinegar, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil and peppercorns until smooth. 20170720_205056
  3. Heat a wok or large fry pan over a medium to high heat, add the peanut oil to heat through until pan is coated, then add in the chillies, ginger and garlic cook for about 1 minute.
  4. Add in the marinated chicken and cook until chicken is browned all over. Add in the spring onions and the sauce mixture coating all the chicken pieces, cook for a further 2 minutes.     20170720_205102
  5. Serve with your choice of accompaniment.

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Spicy Guacamole

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                      guaca

Nothing like homemade Guacamole. Here is my classic recipe that never fails to impress.

 

2 tbsp finely chopped white onion

1 tbsp fresh chopped red chilli

1/2 tsp salt (Kosher)

Handful of chopped parsley

1 large avocado

1 lime

 

  1. Finely chop the onion, very finely
  2. Add the salt, parsley and chilli and mix
  3. Mash up the avocado lightly so you still have some chunky bits and add to the mixture
  4. Cut the Lime in half and squeeze the juice into the mixture. Mix together and serve. Yum!

 

Empanadas with Soffritto Filling

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So Rio 2016 is upon us, to help celebrate I decided to try my hand at a Brazilian themed dinner. I was so pleased with my results, so tasty! Here you are, my recipes:-

Empanadas are little pockets of leftovers, I filled mine with Soffritto, Mince and Black beans filling.

Traditional Empanada dough is made a bit like an unsweetened tart crust: flour, salt (and any other seasonings), and butter are mixed to combine, then eggs and water are added until the dough comes together. However, I cheated for quickness and used shop bought ready rolled shortcrust pastry.

For the Soffritto:-

1 carrot

3 celery sticks

1 large white onion

1 tbsp olive oil

  1. Chop all the ingredients into very fine pieces (cubes).
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, cook until translucent and slightly browned. Then add in the carrot and celery, reduce to a low heat and cook for approx 1 hour until its all browned. The flavour that comes from the vegetables is amazing and almost caramelised like.
  3. At this stage you can eat it on its own or add any other meats or flavourings.

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For my filling for the Empanada’s I added to the Soffritto mix:-

200g Browned mince

200g Black beans

2 tbsp Chopped Chilli

1 tsp salt & pepper to season

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When the filling is ready, you are now ready to make your Empanadas

  1. Roll out your pasty into circular shapes, I used a 4″ pastry cutter.
  2. Take a dessert spoonful of the filling and put onto pastry
  3. Wet you finger and wet the edges of the pastry, fold over the pastry into a half moon shape and seal with your finger or a fork.
  4. Place on a greaseproof paper baking tray and brush with either milk or egg wash.
  5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 deg for 25 minutes.

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Also check out my Brazilian Cheesy Bread here:- https://atomic-temporary-46532287.wpcomstaging.com/2016/08/06/brazilian-cheesy-bread/

 

 

 

Mid week Spicy Superfood Seafood Stir Fry

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I picked up some amazing Kalettes from my local Food assembly in Glasgow this week, they were kindly supplied by Donald from Rhone Cottage, (http://www.rhonecottage.co.uk/) they grow their own seasonal produce using only sustainable practises and no artificial fertilisers are used.

I decided to try and stir fry them with some seafood, and the flavour was amazing. Kalettes are a bit like a brussel sprout and Kale in one, also classed as a superfood. Below are the Kalettes.

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He also kindly gave me the Kalette Top to try and the leaves are very nice, flavoursome and hold their texture. Here is the Kalette Top.

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150g – 200g each Portion of Prawns, Mussels and squid

Slice of smoked Salmon – chopped

60g Red rice – cooked as per packet

Chilli – chopped finely

Parsley – finely chopped

Soy sauce

Handful of Kalettes

6 Kalette Leaves – cut in half

 

  1. Warm through seafood mix for few minutes.
  2. Add in the Kalettes and leaves with chilli and sprinkle with soy sauce. Cook for approx 2-3 mins.
  3. Once rice is cooked through add into mix and stir through.
  4. Top with smoked salmon and parsley.

Serve. Yummy!

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Superfood Chickpea & Mexican Tortilla Soup

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Well I was Opting for a Spicy Weekend this weekend………………….(naughty…naughty!)……..and this polishes off my Sunday. Delicious and filling Soup with a bit of spice!

Serves 2

1 Sweet Potato

1 tsp ground coriander

4 spring onions

1 red chilli

1 tsp olive oil

Handful of tortilla chips (I used Doritos with a hint of lime)

15g fresh coriander

400g ripe tomatoes

2 gloves of garlic

1 can chickpeas (400g)

Feta cheese for garnish (optional)

 

  1. Preheat oven to 200 deg. Wash and peel sweet potato, cut into 1cm cubes.
  2. Season potatoes with salt, pepper and ground coriander, drizzle with oil and bake for 30 mins.
  3. Meanwhile, chop the spring onions finely, slice the chilli and coriander, add to a pan with little oil and fry for about 2 mins.
  4. Crush into the pan the garlic, cut tomatoes into quarters then add in to pot.
  5. Tip in the chickpeas with juices and top up with 500ml of boiling water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 mins.
  6. After 20 mins, remove from heat and mash up the tomatoes. Add in the sweet potato and crush in the tortillas, mix through, season well and serve. Garnish with fresh coriander and feta if chosen. YUMMY!!!

Lentil Dhal and Masala Potato Curry

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I cheated a bit with the dahl and bought ready cooked lentils, if using from scratch it can take 2-3 hours of cooking.

Serves 2

For the Lentil Dahl

1 x packet of Green lentils (250g)

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1 tsp ginger

1tsp garlic

1tsp olive oil

1 tbsp chilli

200g chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp Tamarind paste (or you could use Kasoori methi)

 

  1. Pour oil into a pan and heat, add in ginger, garlic and cook for 1 min.
  2. Add in the butter and let melt, add in the tamarind paste and chilli and mix through, then add in the lentils and chopped tomatoes. Mix through and heat for 4-5 mins. Ready to serve.

 

For the Masala Potato Curry

300 salad potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

200 g chopped tomatoes

1 red chilli chopped

1tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp cumin

1 medium onion chopped

2 tbsp fresh coriander for garnish

 

  1. Wash and chop potatoes into 2cm cubes.
  2. heat oil in a pan, add in cumin. coriander and onion, cook for 5 mins.
  3. Add in the chilli and potatoes and season with salt and pepper
  4. Add 200ml of water, cover and cook for 8 mins
  5. add the chopped tomatoes and cook uncovered for 7 mins or until tender
  6. Ready to serve, then garnish with fresh coriander

If you don’t like it too spicy, use 1/2 chilli and 1tsp cumin instead.

 

Serve both with some Chapati….YUMMY!

Spiced Chicken Couscous

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I’m always looking for a healthy option without compromise on taste, this is so tasty and at only 260 calories per serving with 4g fat…..you wanna try this!  Leaves a bit of room for my glass of prosecco…lol!

Serves 2

2 tbsp Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil

2 Chicken Breasts

1 tsp Coriander

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Garlic Powder or 1 garlic clove

1 onion chopped

80g couscous

150ml Hot Chicken Stock

120g Chick Peas

80g frozen Peas

 

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add chicken, coriander, paprika, cumin and onion and fry for 10 mins to lightly brown.

2. Add garlic, chickpeas, couscous, chicken stock and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook on simmer (Low Heat)  for 20 mins until the chicken is tender and the liquid absorbed.

3. Add peas then cook for 5 mins more.

 

Spice Lentil Soup

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This is a yummy, spicy lentil soup that pleases your palate and your tummy!

 

Serves 4 – per serving: 142 calories, 4.1g fat or which 2.1g sat. fat, Carbs 18.3g, Protein 5.7g

100g Red Lentils

100g Green Lentils

1/2 tsp olive oil or spray oil

1 onion

3 tsp. ground coriander

3 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. chilli flakes

4 carrots

1.5 litres chicken stock

 

1. Wash and drain lentils

2. Chop onion and saute for 5 mins in oil then add in the spices and stir for a further few mins.

3. Add in the carrots, lentils and stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 mins.

4. Once cooked, blend with a mixture to a smooth texture.  Serve with some fresh parsley or a spoonful of yoghurt (optional)

Spicy Chicken and Rice

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Spicy Chicken & Rice

This is my go to one pot chicken meal. So easy and delicious.

A really good dish that the whole family will enjoy. If you don’t like spice, not to worry just take out the chilli.

SPICY CHICKEN AND RICE

Serves 2

2 x Chicken Breasts – cubed

100 g Long Grain and Wild Grain Rice (or rice of your choice)

1 Onion – chopped into wedges

Peppers of your choice – sliced/diced

2 Salad Tomatoes

1 Tsp Paprika

1 Green/Red Chilli – chopped finely

300ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock

1 Tbsp Mixed Herbs

Splash of Tabasco Sauce

1. Brown of chicken, onion and peppers in little frying oil and then set aside.

2. Meanwhile make a few cuts down the tomatoes and let sit in boiling water to help release the skin later.

3. Put rice, paprika and chillies into pan and fry for about 1 minute or until rice is coated in oil.

4. Pour stock into pan of rice and bring to boil, then simmer for about 10 mins.

5. After 10 mins, remove the skin from the tomatoes and chop.

6.  Add back to the pan, chicken, onion, peppers, tomatoes and mixed herbs then stir and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until the juice has reduced and thickened.

7. About 2-3 minutes before ready add the the few drops of tabasco sauce.

8. Serve.

Spicy Chicken & Rice