DH's family are from Sicily. We spend ALOT of time eating or thinking about Italian food. Although I give it a good shot apparently no-one comes close to his Nonna's pasta dishes. Probably because I'm always looking for ways to reduce the fat or cut the calories to make it less sinful.
In Sicily we eat Italian sausage with crusty bread and salad dressed in olive oil & lemon juice. The sausage is usually just pure pork, salt & pepper, sometimes flavoured with chilli or fennel. But that is pretty much it. You can pick up good Italian sausages in your local Italian deli and they are really worth trying as the flavour is unique. Sadly pork sausages are just something I cannot indulge in mid-week when trying to stick to my WeightWatchers plan.
Until now I have yet to find a decent Italian sausage in a supermarket. I am absolutely delighted to have recently found a gem at my local Waitrose deli counter. It is not only deliciously tasty with it's fennel flavouring, but is made with 43% veal so is much lower in fat! Hurrah! A sausage I can finally enjoy (ahem). Unfortunately I have yet to lay my hands on any nutritional info, so I have approximated the ProPoint values based on the % of pork and veal that make up the sausage.
Onto the recipe. This is one that I have taken from the fabulous BBC Good Food Mag. I usually can't resit meddling with a recipe, but I've got to say I pretty much followed this one. After reading the reviews, I upped the sausage content to 300g (x3 of the Waitrose Italian sausage) and increased the stock (I used chicken stock) to 500ml. Instead of serving with crusty bread or mash potato, I added 60g of orzo pasta to cook through with the meatballs to really fill out the meal, negating the need, or the temptation to demolish a whole ciabatta as a side. Ok so maybe I did meddle more than I thought!
You can get the original BBC Good Food recipe by clicking here but my version is also detailed below.
You'll need for 2:
- Half a large red onion, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- Salt & Pepper
- 3 Waitrose Italian sausages (300g)
- 1 tin of borlotti beans, drained
- 1 tin of cherry tomatoes in juice
- 500ml chicken or veg stock
- 100g green beans, halved
- 60g orzo pasta
- Parmesan to serve
What to do:
Heat a non-stick frying pan or stir frying pan. Remove the casing from the sausages and break them up into small meatballs. I got 6 out of each sausage. Spray with oil and fry on a high heat to brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion, garlic, fennel seeds and chilli to the pan. Turn the heat down to slowly cook the onions. Add some salt to help bring out some of the moisture. When soft add the tinned cherry tomatoes and stock. Allow to bubble away for a few minutes.
Add the borlotti beans and the green beans. I prepared everything in advance to this stage and when the meatballs were cool I put them in the fridge until needed. If you do this just cover up the sauce and bring it back up to a boil when required.
Next add the orzo and a little more stock if need be, but 500ml should be about right. Add the meatballs and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 - 15 minutes on a low heat so you do not reduce the sauce down to nothing. When the orzo is cooked through, taste and season accordingly, then serve up with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13 including parmesan, 12 without parmesan
I have a problem with cooked tomato skin. I just cannot bear it. It ruins the eating experience of a tomato, getting stuck to one side of your mouth spoiling the delicious flesh part. Raw tomatoes are less of an issue for me, but cooked ones simply must have their skins removed. This poses a problem when cooking with cherry tomatoes as de-skinning is time consuming.
My husband has, on occasion, blanched, cooled and de-skinned, by hand, 1kg of the wonderful datterini tomato (a delicious grape like tomato). This has taken him several hours. How nice that he may have the time to do this on a Saturday afternoon with a glass of wine in hand, but for me, a busy Stay At Home Mum (sorta) I need to find a much quicker way of losing the little blighters as spitting them out onto my plate is hardly good table etiquette.
This dish has been in my repertoire for a couple of years. The tomato sauce can be used in a variety of ways but I love combining it with some king prawns, freshly griddled and tossed in at the end. Try it with diced roasted aubergine or black olives and capers. Oh and don't forget; Italians NEVER serve parmesan cheese with any kind of fish/seafood pasta, but hey if you like it on your prawns, who am I to stop you?!
You'll need for 2:
- 350g cherry tomatoes, or a couple of small punnets
- 1-2 garlic cloves, bashed
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Good pinch of chilli flakes or a fresh chili finely chopped
- 150 - 175g raw king prawns
- Glug of white wine
- Handful of fresh parsley
- 200g linguine or spaghetti
What to do:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion. Add the garlic and turn the heat right down so you slowly cook the onions and garlics until soft without browning them. This will take a few minutes.
Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and add these to the pan with some seasoning. Turn the heat up to get some heat back in the pan and when the tomatoes start sizzling turn it back down. Add a pinch of chilli flakes or the fresh chilli and allow to cook gently for 10 minutes or so. Now for the tomato skin removal. Turn the heat off and using 2 teaspoons, gently tease the skin away from the flesh. You can of course completely avoid this step but I personally feel you get a much purer taste if you spend a few minutes doing this. If the skins don't come away easily then let them cook for a little longer and try again. I often prepare the sauce up to this stage in advance
Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions in salted water. Once drained, reserve some of the cooking liquor.
Once all the skins are removed, turn the heat up a little and add the wine allowing it to bubble away for a couple of minutes. Add the drained pasta and some of the cooking liquor to the tomato mix and toss thoroughly. Stir through the parsley
Meanwhile heat a griddle or frying pan. Spray the prawns with olive oil and season. Cook in the pan turning once for a couple of minutes on each side until the prawns are completely pink.
Toss the prawns through the pasta and serve up!
WeightWatchers PropPoints Per Serving: 12
Oooh I love a good Thai! It's my preference over a Chinese meal any day. Thai food has a wonderful fragrant aroma and the combination of sweet, sour, hot and salty is just sublime. It's also a great one to prepare in advance and can be re-heated very successfully.- 200g chicken breast cut into chunks or 200g raw king prawns
- 1 tsp groundnut oil or any flavourless oil (not olive oil)
- 2 heaped tsp of Thai green curry paste
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- A few kaffir limes, crushed
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
- Handful fresh coriander, chopped
- A few spring onions, sliced
- Approx 90g fine green beans
- Approx 90g of mangetout or sugarsnap peas
- Half a 400g tin of reduced fat coconut milk
- 150g dried brown basmati rice
What to do:
It's pretty straight forward; heat the oil in a wok or a non-stick frying pan. Seal the chicken pieces until golden, turning to sear on all sides. Grate in the ginger and garlic. Add the vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice and stir thoroughly. Add the coconut milk and turn heat down to a simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies still have a slight crunch to them. If you find the sauce is reducing too much, cover the pan so the moisture stays in the pan. It shouldn't take long to cook, perhaps 10-15 minutes. Quicker than a takeaway
Stir in the freshly chopped coriander and spring onions, just before serving with the cooked basmati rice.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13
I've been a bit unwell recently, stomach bug, generally run-down, tired from running around after 2 boys, blah blah blah. What do we crave when we are like this? CARBS! Nothing else will do. So for me it's been, pasta, toast, sandwiches, more toast, potatoes, more toast. Oh and some good mature cheddar too.
My homemade potato wedges have been knocking around for years and are always a welcome accompaniment to my homemade burgers or fish. But my new favourite comfort food accompaniment is chips. I have found a simple way to cook the perfect oven baked chip with minimum fat. It's not rocket science, you just need to follow some very simple instructions!
You'll need for 2 as a side dish:
- 500g baking potato, peeled
- 1 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil
- Table salt
- Pepper if you fancy
What to do:
- Pre-heat your oven to a hot setting - 220 fan is ideal
- Slice your potato lengthways into 1cm slices
- Then cut them into 1cm-ish size chips
- Place them in a saucepan with COLD salted water and bring to the boil. You can cover the pan to help it reach boiling quicker.
- Meanwhile place your best non-stick roasting tray in the oven to pre-heat
- Once the potatoes have reached boiling, simmer for just 2-3 minutes
- Drain and leave to steam dry for a couple of minutes. Let the saucepan dry and place the tsp of oil into the pan
- Tip the chips into the pan, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and toss everything carefully
- Open the oven and keeping the hot tray in the oven (as best as possible!) tip the coated chips into the tray. They should sizzle slightly. Ensure they are nicely spaced out.
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes turning after 10 minutes and then checking on them every 4-5 minutes until they are crisp and golden brown.
Serve up with your chosen main and lashings of mayo and ketchup!!! Guaranteed comfort food!
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 6
Tray baking is so easy. You chuck everything in a nice roasting dish and let the oven do it's work. It's also easy to stick to the same old chicken,veg and potatoes so I thought I would try something a little bit different. I've had some haddock in the freezer for a few weeks now and I was thinking of how I could cook it differently instead of my usual herby breadcrumbed way. So with the desire to tray bake with something other than chicken I came up with this dish!
I've mentioned my fondness for chorizo and just figured this would add another dimension to the dish too. All in all we were really pleased with this and I will definitely continue to experiment with tray bakes!!
Oooh I almost forgot. The day I cooked this, I asked my mum to pick me up a bag of new potatoes as she was on her way over to me, anyway she turned up with charlotte potatoes. This was not met with an over enthusiastic thank-you, but I had no choice but to use them. I cannot tell you how pleased I was with them!! They are my new favourite potato and work really well when baked, without par-boiling. The skins go lovely and crisp and the inside soft and fluffy. Yum.
What you'll need for 2:
- 2 x 120g haddock fillets or other white fish, cut into half
- 400g charlotte potatoes, halved or quartered if large
- 65g chorizo sausage, sliced
- Courgette, sliced
- Red onion, cut into wedges
- Roasted red peppers from a jar, roughly chopped
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- Seasoning
What to do:
Put everything except the fish into the roasting dish, season well and drizzle over the olive oil. Using your hands, rub the oil and seasoning into the vegetables and potatoes really well. You can add whatever vegetables you like really; butternut squash, aubergine, tomatoes.
Roast for a good 30 minutes on a high-ish oven (190) tossing occasionally. When you think that's almost ready, move the mix to the edges and add the fish fillets to the middle of the dish. Season and spray lightly with olive oil. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the fish so check it after 3-4 minutes.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 11
My love for a chicken balti started some 16 years ago whilst I was at university in Birmingham. Monday or Tuesday night was partaay night! Drinks in our uni flat, followed by student night at The Dome which invariably ended up in one of Birmingham's many curry houses. My usual, was a chicken balti and naan bread and I am quite ashamed to admit that this is still my curry of choice when eating out 16 years later!
I'm not great with too much chili so this mild to medium curry is perfect for me and I'd much happier go for the sweetness of tomatoes in a balti over a creamy korma any day. This bodes well when you are trying to Eat Healthy But Tasty as cooking a creamy curry with all that coconut cream is simply out of the question. I'd hate to even try to work out the ProPoints on a korma or a chicken tikka masala.
You'll need for 2:
- 1 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil
- 385g chicken breast, cut into large chunks
- Half an onion, finely diced
- Red pepper, chopped
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 2 tsp Pataks Balti curry paste
- 1 fat garlic clove, grated or minced
- 1 thumb piece ginger, grated or minced
- Half a lemon
- Seasoning
- 1 tsp soft brown sugar
- 140g dried brown basmati rice
- 1 tbsp fat free natural yogurt
- Handful fresh coriander
What to do:
 |
| Spices cooking out |
In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and fry until soft. Add the curry paste a cup of water. Stir to mix in and allow to bubble furiously to cook out the spices. Add chili if you like it medium - hot and grate or crush the ginger and garlic. Give it 3-4 minutes and then add the chicken. Keep stirring to coat the chicken. Add the red pepper and any other vegetable you fancy. You could add cauliflower, spinach, green beans or even tenderstem broccoli.
Next add the juice of half a lemon and some seasoning. Add the tomatoes a little more water so everything is nicely covered. Add the sugar and stir well. Simmer on a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in a tbsp of fat free natural yogurt.
Serve with brown basmati rice and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.
I was fortunate enough to have some of my mother's white bhaji in the fridge tonight so I didn't add any green veg to my balti.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13
Trout is the new salmon and giant couscous is the new couscous in our household! I have long been cooking my salmon with couscous and roasted vegetables and I didn't think it was possible to improve on it, but OMG! We are in food love with this new version!
Trout is a much under-used fish but I just love it's delicate flavour. I prefer it over salmon and if you follow WeightWatchers you will be pleased to know it is slightly better on ProPoints then salmon. So give it a go!!
Until recently, I've only had giant couscous in a pre-bought salad type pot in the supermarket. Since finding it in Waitrose (Merchant Gourmet brand is very good) I've been experimenting with it alot and love it's chewy texture. It's very quick and easy to cook too but just like normal couscous you need to add flavour to it so I cook it in stock.
You'll need for 2:
- 120g giant couscous
- 2 x 120g trout fillets, skin on
- 1 small aubergine, chopped
- 1 courgette. chopped
- Half a punnet chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
- Half a red onion, roughly chopped
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 yellow pepper, chopped
- Seasoning
- Vegetable stock bouillon
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
What to do:
Prepare all the vegetables and place them into your big roasting tray. Season well and sprinkle with the thyme. You can prepare this in advance ready to roast later. When left, the salted vegetables will omit moisture meaning they require less oil so this helps save ProPoints! When ready, roast in a hot oven (200 fan) for a good 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so.
10 minutes before the end cook the couscous in a saucepan with boiling water and vegetable stock or 1tsp of vegetable bouillon and some salt. Cook according to the packet instructions which is about 7-8 minutes. Drain once you have finished cooking.
While the couscous is cooking, heat a frying pan or griddle pan. Lightly spray the skin of the trout fillets with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Place skin side down in the hot pan and leave for 3-4 minutes to brown and crispen. Season the flesh side and then turn over to cook on the other side. Depending on the thickness it should take a total of approximately 8 minutes although I do like mine a little pink inside. If you find it's getting too brown in the frying pan, finish cooking in the oven for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the vegetables from the oven and put the drained couscous into the roasting tray mixing well. Serve the couscous and veg on the plate and top with the trout fillet.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 10
