Friday 27 February 2015

Barbacoa Beef Wraps



This dish is so easy to make, you just throw it all in the slow cooker and wait!! I have used romaine lettuce leaves instead of wraps, which makes it less synful and you get a lot more super free. You can top the meat with anything you like, i only used coriander, chilli and yogurt, but you could use peppers, refined beans, cheese, salsa, avocado, but remember to syn the things that aren't free!!
The whole dish is 2 syns, but it served 4/6.



Ingredients

3lb braising steak cut into 2 inch chunks
4 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 tbsp chipotle paste 2 syns
juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp cider vinegar
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves
200ml beef stock

Method

In a blender blitz the onion and garlic until smooth with a tbsp of water.
Mix all the ingredients together then put into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
When the meat is cook shred it in the slow cooker and let it cook for 10 more minutes so it absorbs the juices. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon so it is not too wet in the wrap.



Wednesday 25 February 2015

Mushroom and Green Bean Bhaji



This a lovely side dish that goes with any curry, especially my Chittinad Chicken Curry or grilled chicken or fish, even a nice steak.
Perfect for vegetarians as a main dish too. Syn free on extra easy and full of super free, Great for an SP day too.



Ingredients

1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
salt to taste
1 tbsp tomato puree
8oz mushrooms quartered
8oz green beans chopped into 3

Method

Blitz the onion and garlic until smooth, mix together all the spices.
In a large pan sprayed with frylight, fry the onion mixture for 2 minutes over a low heat so as not to burn, then mix in the spices, salt and tomato puree. Have a cup of water ready. Add a tbsp of water to the mixture and keep stirring so the spices don't stick to the pan, keep doing this for about 5 minutes, you should end up with a sauce. Add the mushrooms and green beans, simmer until they are cooked through about 10 minutes, keep adding water if needed and stirring occasionally.




Chettinad Chicken Curry


I love this curry!! It has fast become my favourite one to make and of course eat....
You can make it as spicy as you like, by adding more chillies. It has desiccated coconut in it, but that is optional if you don't want the syns.



Ingredients

3 garlic cloves peeled
2 inches ginger peeled
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs with all fat removed quartered
1 tsp turmeric
1 onion chopped
2 red chillies sliced
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp desiccated coconut toasted optional 9 syns
2 cinnamon sticks
400ml vegetable stock

Spice Mix

fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds 2 tsp of each.
1 long dried chilli
1 star anise

Method

Blitz the garlic and ginger with a tsp water until smooth, then mix with the turmeric and massage into the chicken, leave to marinade for at least an hour, if possible over night.
Toast all the whole spices in a pan until aromatic, then grind.
In a pan sprayed with frylight, fry the onion and red chilli seasoned with salt until soft, add the chicken, tomato purée, cinnamon sticks, coconut if using and spices, fry for 2 minutes, pour in the stock and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

I served it with rice and Mushroom and Green Bean Bhaji.



Monday 23 February 2015

Thai Style Chicken with Lettuce Wraps


What a lovely meal, as you can see from the picture it is full of super free!! It would be great to serve at a party as people just help themselves. Instead of using synful wraps you use healthy and crisp lettuce leaves. The sauce finishes the wrap perfectly with a zing of sour, a touch of sweet and a slight kick of spicy!! and at 2.5 syns for the whole dish of sauce/marinade, you can practically say it's syn free as you only need about a tsp on each wrap.

So quick and easy to make apart from the marinading.




Sauce/Marinade Ingredients

3 tbsp rice vinegar
¼ tsp sweetener
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chilli sauce   ½ syn per tbsp
¼ cup light soy sauce
2 tsps of freshly grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil   2 syns

Rest of Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, pounded till ½inch thick
About 8 romaine or iceburg lettuce leaves

You can use any vegetables you like, i used.

peppers
spring onions
radishes
coriander leaves
bean-sprouts
Chinese lettuce
red chilli

Method

Mix together all the marinade ingredients, set aside half the sauce and marinade the chicken with the other half for at least an hour, over night if possible.

Heat a griddle pan until it is smoking, then add the chicken to the pan cooking for about 3 minutes on each side, let it rest for 10 minutes then slice into thin slices.

Prepare all your vegetables and serve.