Jamaican Pepperpot Stew

Jamaican Pepperpot Stew

This recipe is from Olive magazine Feb 2016.

Serves 4

600g braising steak cut into small pieces
2 small onions, chopped
walnut sized piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 scotch bonnet chill, deseeded and finely chopped
½ tsp dried thyme
8 allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick
800ml beef stock
400g can coconut milk
300g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-3cm chunks
250g spinach washed and chopped

Heat a large casserole and fry the beef until browned. Add the onion and cook until soft then add the ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the thyme, allspice berries, cinnamon, stock and coconut milk.  Bring to the boil and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.  Cover and cook for 1½ hours.

Add the sweet potato and cook uncovered until tender, about 20 minutes.  Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve in bowls.


My notes:  For Slimming World this is 4 syns per serving for the coconut milk if you use low fat coconut milk.

Slow cooker Korean beef and rice pot

Slow cooker Korean beef and rice pot

A nice easy recipe from Simply Nigella.

Serves 6

500g minced beef
200g short grain brown rice
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp gochujang paste
4 tbsp soy sauce
300g beansprouts

Put the beef and rice into the slow cooker.

Add the tin of tomatoes, fill the empty can with cold water and add that to the slow cooker, add the gochujang paste and soy sauce and mix all together.

Put on the lid and cook for 4 hours on low by which time the beef will be tender and the rice will have absorbed the liquid.  The mixture willbe thick and sticky.

Put the beansprouts into a large bowl.  Pour over boiling water to cover them. Let them stand for 1 minute then drain and stir into the beef and sticky rice. Put the lid back on for 5 minutes then serve.

My notes:

For Slimming World the Gochuhang paste works out at 9 syns for the whole recipe. You could use tomato puree and fresh chillis for free. Use 5% fat mince.

I reckon jasmine rice would work with this if you couldn't get short grain brown ( I got it at Holland and Barratt)

Warm Spiced Cauliflower and Chick Pea Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

Warm Spiced Cauliflower and Chick Pea Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

This from Nigella Lawson's book Simply Nigella



Serves 2

1 small head cauliflower
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 400g can chickpeas drained (or 250g home cooked chickpeas)
1-2 tbsp harissa to taste
4 small ripe vine tomatoes (approx 150g)
1 tsp sea salt flakes
3-4 tbsp pomegranate seeds
large bunch (100g) flat leaf parsley

Preheat your oven to 220ºC/Gas 7.

Trim the cauliflower and divide into small florets.  Put the oil into a large bowl, add the cinnamon and cumin seeds. Stir to mix then tip in the prepared cauliflower and toss to coat.

Pour into and oven tray and place in the oven for 15 minutes.  Add the chickpeas to the bowl you used for the cauliflower, add the harissa and toss to coat.  Quarter the tomatoes and add to the bowl, stir to mix.

When the cauliflower has been in the oven for 15 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and top in the chickpea mix. Toss gently to combine and return to the oven for 15 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the salt, add half the pomegranate seeds and toss once more.  Divide the salad into 2 bowls, add the parsley to the bowls without chopping, toss to mix and sprinkle with the remaining pomegranate seeds.

Lovely served cold the next day for lunch.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Another kind of made up meal.

Fry onion and garlic then add chicken breasts cut into chunks, cook until lightly browned.  Sprinkle the lot with cajun spice mix (as much or as little as you like) and then add whatever veg you want to add.  It was the back end of the week when I made this so I ended up with the old staples of frozen peas and sweetcorn and a bit of frozen spinach!  I also chopped a carrot small and cooked that with the pasta.

Cook the pasta and when it's cooked, drain and add to the pan with the chicken and veg.  Season, remove from the heat and stir in a couple of tablespoons of fromage frais ( You can use quark or Philadelphia here, your choice).

Nice hot or cold.

You could use any spice mix you wanted here eg peri peri or even curry powder.

Curry Loaf

Curry Loaf

Another classic Slimming World recipe.

Makes around 6 decent slices.

1 packet of syn free savoury rice.  Any flavour
1 tin of baked beans in tomato sauce
1 tbsp of curry powder, use more or less to your taste
3 eggs, beaten

Cook the rice as per the packet instructions and make sure all water is absorbed.

Mix the curry powder, beans, eggs and cooked rice.

Place into a 2lb loaf tin (or can be placed into muffin tins) and bake at 180ºC/Gas 4 for 25-30 minutes or until fully cooked through, careful not to overcook as it can become crumbly. Cook for less time if you use muffin tins.

Nice as a snack or served with salad for a meal.

Diet Cola Chicken

Diet Cola Chicken

This is a classic Slimming World recipe. The sauce is similar to a barbecue sauce.

Serves 4

low cal cooking spray
1 onion finely chopped,
1 each red, green and yellow pepper, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp tomato puree
8 tbsp passata 
1 tbsp dark soy sauce 
1 tsp mixed herbs
330ml diet cola
200ml chicken stock
200g sugar snaps

Spray large pan with low cal spray and place over high heat.

Add chicken, peppers and onions and stir fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add the cola, stock, passata, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and herbs.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the sugar snaps and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

Slimming World note: FREE

My notes.  I think I would add the veg, particularly the peppers later in the cooking in order to keep some texture to them if I made this again.  i didn't use the sugar snaps so served this with some green beans, cooked separately.

If the sauce is a bit thin for your liking, boil rapidly until it reduces and becomes thicker.

You could use this sauce in many ways, I reckon it would be good with meatballs baked in it.