Jamie's Fantastic Fish Pie

Jamie's Fantastic Fish Pie

Jamie Oliver recipe from his book "The return of the Naked Chef"


It is indulgent with cream and cheese, so not the best recipe for dieters, but it is delicious. 

Serves 4-6

5 large potatoes, peeled and diced inot 2½cm/1" squares
salt and pepper
2 large eggs
200g fresh spinach
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
oil
600 ml double cream
200g cheddar cheese, grated
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp English mustard
100g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
500g haddock or cod, skin removed, pin boned and cut into large chunks


Preheat the oven Gas 8/230ºC

Put the potatoes into salted boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook for 2 minutes.

Carefully add the eggs to the pan and cook for a further 8 minutes until hard boiled and the potatoes are cooked. 

At the same time, steam the spinach in a colonder above the pan.  This will only take a minute.  Once done, remove from the colander and gently squeeze to remove any excess moisture.

Now drain the potatoes. Remove the eggs and peel and quarter them.  Set aside.

In a separate pan, slowly fry the onion and carrot in a little oil for about 5 minutes, then add the double cream and bring just to the boil then remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese, lemon juice, mustard and parsley.

Put the spinach, fish and eggs into a suitable ovenproof dish, mix gently and pour over the sauce.

The cooked potatoes should be drained and mashed with a little oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread on top of the fish.

Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are golden.

Kale and Chorizo Stew

Kale and Chorizo Stew

A tasty one pot meal using spicy chorizo, from the Morrisons supermarket magazine.  Very tasty.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
150g diced chorizo
200g shredded kale
½ litre stock
1 x 420g butterbeans, drained and rinsed
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp paprika
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and chorizo for a few minutes until the onion has softened.

Toss in the remaining ingredients and season to taste.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the squash and kale are tender.

Chicken and Tomato Stew with Orzo

Chicken and Tomato Stew with Orzo

This is my version of a recipe in Rick Stein's From Venice to Istanbul.

He uses a whole chicken jointed into pieces but I took the easy option to use skinless and boneless chicken thighs. 

It fits nicely with Slimming World if you use spray oil or no oil at all like I did and count syns for any cheese you add to your plate at the end. 

Serves 6

Olive oil or spray oil

12 Chicken thighs, skinned and boned chopped into big chunks

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped

100ml red wine (5 syns)

1 litre chicken stock (might need slightly less so don’t add altogether)

500ml passata

7cm cinnamon stick

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper

300g orzo pasta

Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole over medium heat.  Add the chicken and brown them. Reduce the heat and add the onion, garlic and red pepper and cook for about 5 mins.  Add the wine, half the chicken stock, passata, cinnamon stick, oregano, salt and pepper. 

Bring to the boil them reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 20-25 mins.

Add the orzo and stir.  Let the stew simmer  for another 10-15 minutes until the orzo is soft and the sauce reduced. Add more stock if necessary. (This is why I didn’t add all the stock as I wanted my sauce quite thick).

Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan, remembering to count the syns for this.

Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake

This is a good storecupboard dish, I pretty much made it up as I went along, using stuff in the cupboard and fridge.

For 3 servings 

4 syns per serving if using the cheese as ½ HEA (7syns if not)

180g pasta
green beans
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes,
2 tbsp tomato puree
mixed herbs
smoked paprika
crushed chillies
1 tin sweetcorn
1 green pepper (or any colour) chopped
2 tins tuna
300ml Nu Me creme fraiche (low fat)(2.4g fat per 100ml)  12 syns
45g grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 200ºC Gas 6

Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, adding in the green beans to cook at the same time. Cook until just tender.

Put the onionm garlic, tomatoes, puree, herbs, paprika, chillies and green pepper into a pan and bring to the boil.  Simmer gently until the veg are softening and season to taste.  Add the sweetcorn.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the pan.  Pour the tomato sauce into the pasta pan and add the tuna and creme fraiche.  Mix carefully and tip into a casserole dish.

Sprinkle with cheese, cover with foil and cook for 10-15 minutes until the bake is heated through and bubbling.  Remove the foil and cook another 5 minutes.

All In One Spicy Pork and Rice

All In One Spicy Pork and Rice

A recipe from the Hairy Dieters Eat for Life book.

For Slimming World 10 syns the lot.

Serves 4

2 tsp oil (4syns)
1 medium onion, sliced into thin wedges
500 g pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices
50 g chorizo sausage cut into 5mm slices (6syns)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced
100 g green beans, cut into short lengths
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
150 g easy cook long grain rice
750 ml chicken stock made with 1 stock cube
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large non-stick, deep frying or saute pan.  Fry the onion wedges for 3 mins over medium heat, until softened and lightly browned.

Season the pork and add it to the pan.  Fry for 2 mins until lightly browned. Add the chorizo, garlic, peppers and beans and cook for 2 mins.  Sprinkle with the spices, add the rice and pour over the stock.

Bring to the boil the reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 mins, stirring regularly until the liquid has absorbed and the rice and pork are lovely and tender.

I only used 1 tsp oil and it was fine, so the whole lot was 8 syns.

Thai seared beef and vegetable stir fry

Thai seared beef and vegetable stir fry

This recipe comes from the July 2016 Slimming World magazine.  Very quick to make and very tasty. Add some noodles or rice if you like.

Low cal cooking spray
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
2 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp grated garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped lemon grass, outer leaves removed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
500g lean minced beef (5% fat or less)
650 g mixed stir fry veg
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Spray a wok with low cal spray and place over high heat.  Stir fry the onion garlic,ginger, lemongrass, chilli and mince for 3-4 minutes until the mince is browned.

Add the stir fry veg and stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until just cooked through.  Add the oyster and fish sauces, stir to mix for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add the lime zest and juice, stir to mix then serve, garnished with the coriander.

Lamb Tikka Masala with Golden Rice

Lamb Tikka Masala with Golden Rice

Another delicious recipe from Slimming World March/April 2016.

Serves 4

Syn free

low cal cooking spray
600 g lamb leg steaks, all visible fat removed, cubed
2-3 tsp peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 red chilli, deseeded if you want a milder curry
2 onions, 1 cut into chunks and 1 finely chopped
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
400 g can chopped tomatoes
200 g frozen peas
200 g bag spinach
juice of ½ lemon
100 g fat free Greek style yogurt

For the golden rice
300 g dried basmati rice
2 carrots peeled and grated

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and place over high heat.  Brown the lamb all over then transfer to a plate and set aside.

Put the ginger, garlic, red chilli, onion chunks, tomato puree, garam masala, paprika, turmeric and 1 tsp cumin seeds into a food processor and whizz into a paste.

Spray a pan with low cal spray and place over high heat.  Fry the chopped onion for a few minutes then stir in the paste and cook for 5 minutes.  Tip in the tomatoes and 200 ml water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  

Boil the rice, remaining turmeric and the grated carrots until the rice is tender.  Drain well.

Add the lamb to the curry sauce and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until the lamb is cooked through.

Boil the peas, spinach, remaining cumin seeds and lemon juice in a separate pan for 2-3 minutes then drain.

Remove the curry from the heat and stir in the yogurt.  Serve with the rice, spinach and peas.