The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight (12 page)

200g cooked and peeled king prawns, thawed

freshly ground black pepper

freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Topping

4 long, thin diagonal slices of ciabatta bread (each about 20g)

2 tbsp light mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

15g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

289 calories per portion (without ciabatta)366 calories per portion (with ciabatta)

Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or wide, heavy-based saucepan and gently fry the onion and celery for 8 minutes until well softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Don’t let the garlic burn or it will give your stew a bitter flavour. If the onion starts to stick, add a splash of cold water to the pan. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into rough 2cm chunks. Deseed the pepper and cut that into chunks too.

Stir the ground coriander, saffron and bay leaves into the casserole and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over the wine and let it all bubble for a few seconds before adding the yellow pepper, potatoes, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, water, stock cube and sugar. Season with the ½ teaspoon of salt and plenty of ground black pepper.

Bring the stew to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are softened but not breaking apart. Trim the green beans, cut them in half and add them to the pan, then return to a simmer. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the skin from the fish fillets and cut the fish into rough 2.5cm chunks. Drop the fish pieces on top of the bubbling liquid and cover the pan with a lid. Poach the fish over a medium heat for 3 minutes or until it is almost cooked. Remove the lid and very gently stir in the prawns, trying not to break up the fish too much. Cover again and simmer for 2 minutes more or until the fish is opaque and the prawns are hot. Don’t let the prawns overcook.

While the fish is simmering, toast or griddle the ciabatta bread and mix the mayonnaise with the garlic. Ladle the stew into warmed deep plates or bowls. Scatter with roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley. Spread the hot toast with the garlic mayonnaise and place on top of each bowl or serve on the side. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve.

PAPRIKA CHICKEN

This is a low-cal version of a popular Romanian dish called paprikash, which we both love. By making a few little changes, like skinning the chicken, we can still enjoy this excellent feast while on a diet. Just brilliant.

SERVES 6

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 medium onions, halved and finely sliced

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp smoked paprika (or plain paprika if you prefer)

400g can of chopped tomatoes

400ml chicken stock (fresh or made with 1 stock cube)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

3 large peppers, red, yellow and green

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp cold water

6 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche

freshly ground black pepper

282 calories per portion

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan or casserole dish and fry the onions over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes until softened and lightly coloured, stirring regularly. Put the chicken on a board and cut away any visible fat. Cut each thigh in half, season with ground black pepper and add to the pan.

Cook the chicken with the onions for 4–5 minutes until lightly coloured on each side. Stir in the garlic and paprika and cook for 1 minute more. Tip the tomatoes into the pan, pour over the chicken stock and add the bay leaves and mixed herbs. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover the pan loosely with a lid and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the vegetables are cooking, cut the peppers in half and deseed. Cut them into chunky pieces, each about 3cm. Add the peppers to the chicken and cook everything for another 25–35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender.

Mix the cornflour and water together to make a smooth paste and stir this into the pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the sauce is thickened, stirring constantly.

Serve the paprika chicken topped with a little half-fat crème fraiche. Lovely with a small portion of rice or some mashed potatoes.

OLD-FASHIONED CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE STEW

The cider and bacon add a touch of sweetness and extra flavour to the chicken and veg, making this a lovely supper dish. Keep it low-fat by removing the skin from the chicken legs before cooking and using as little oil as possible for browning the meat and vegetables.

SERVES 4

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tsp dried thyme

4 chicken leg quarters

2 tbsp sunflower oil

4 rashers of rindless smoked back bacon, cut into 1cm-wide strips

2 medium onions, chopped

2 celery sticks, thinly sliced

150g small chestnut mushrooms, wiped and sliced or quartered if large

500ml bottle of dry cider

300ml chicken stock, made with 1 chicken stock cube

2 bay leaves

400g Chantenay or other small fat carrots, trimmed and peeled

2 slender leeks, trimmed and cut into 2cm slices

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

435 calories per portion

Mix the flour and thyme with a good pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper in a large strong freezer bag. Strip the skin off the chicken legs and put them on a board. Break the joint of each leg by bending it in the opposite direction. You may hear a small crack. Cut each leg quarter in half with a sturdy knife to give 8 chicken portions. Using a good set of kitchen scissors, trim off any visible fat.

Put the chicken portions in the freezer bag, a few at a time, and shake well until they are evenly coated in the flour. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and fry the chicken, a few pieces at a time, until golden brown all over. As they are browned, transfer the chicken pieces to a large flameproof casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.

Put the bacon, onions and celery in the pan used for browning the chicken and fry for 4–5 minutes over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring often. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes more, then tip everything into the casserole dish with the chicken pieces. Sprinkle in any flour remaining in the freezer bag and stir well.

Pour about half the cider into the frying pan and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to lift any sediment from the bottom. Simmer for a few seconds, then pour into the casserole. Add the rest of the cider and the stock, then stir in the carrots and bay leaves and bring to a simmer on the hob.

Cover with a lid and cook in the centre of the oven for 1 hour, then remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the leeks. Pop the dish back into the oven for a further 30–40 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickened. Serve with some green beans or spring greens.

OUR SPECIAL CASSOULET

Cassoulet is a hearty dish but with a few little tweaks we’ve reduced the calorie count while keeping the big flavours. Choose really meaty sausages and gammon, take the skin off the chicken and use a very small amount of oil – it all helps. We kept a rugby team happy with this!

SERVES 6

½ tsp sunflower oil

6 good-quality herby sausages, at least 85% meat

4 celery sticks

3 medium carrots

2 medium onions, halved and sliced

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 450g)

2 fat garlic cloves, crushed

200g piece of smoked lean gammon, trimmed and cut into 2cm cubes

2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes

150ml red wine (or water)

300ml cold water

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 bay leaf

4–5 bushy sprigs of fresh thyme

400g can of cannellini beans in water, drained and rinsed

400g can of butter beans in water, drained and rinsed

freshly ground black pepper

Garnish

handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley

finely grated zest of ½ well-scrubbed large orange

464 calories per portion

Brush a large non-stick frying pan with the sunflower oil, using the tip of a pastry brush. Add the sausages to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, turning every now and then until nicely browned on all sides. Meanwhile, trim the celery and peel the carrots and cut them into diagonal slices about 1.5 centimetres thick.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Add the onions to the frying pan and cook with the sausages for 6–8 minutes, stirring regularly until softened and lightly browned.

Trim the chicken thighs of any visible fat – we find a good pair of kitchen scissors does the job well – then cut them in half. Add the garlic and chicken pieces to the pan with the sausages and onions and cook for 3–4 minutes, turning the chicken twice until coloured all over. Transfer everything to a large flameproof casserole dish.

Stir in the gammon, celery, carrots, tomatoes, red wine and water, then sprinkle over the caster sugar and chilli flakes. Stir in the bay leaf and thyme and season with lots of ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 45 minutes.

Take the casserole out of the oven and stir in all the beans. Cover with the lid again and put the dish back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Just before the cassoulet is ready, prepare the garnish. Chop the parsley roughly and toss with the orange zest in a serving dish. Serve large portions of the cassoulet in deep plates or wide bowls with a good sprinkling of the zesty parsley garnish on each one.