Ham and Parsley Terrine

This is a great dish to serve as part of a cold buffet, or to take to feed a crowd on a picnic.

Serves 6-8

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 ham hocks, 1kg each, boiled and shredded with stock reserved

3½ leaves gelatine, soaked in cold water

125g gherkins, chopped

75g capers, chopped

75 shallots, chopped

1 large bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Measure 600ml strained stock, reheat and dissolve the gelatine in this. Mix the ham, gherkins, capers and shallots together. Line the inside of a ½ litre terrine dish with cling film. Cover the bottom with a generous layer of chopped parley, then alternate the layers of ham and parsley until it has all been used up. Gently pour on the stock with the gelatine until the dish is full – making sure you leave enough room for the aspic – if the meat is too tightly packed meat the terrine falls apart when cut the next day. Leave overnight in the fridge to set.

The next day, invert the terrine, remove the cling film, cut and serve with a salad. 

 

Gammon Stuffed Mushrooms

Having some cut-offs of gammon from yesterday's brunch, and a couple of flat mushrooms in the fridge, I came up with this idea.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

1 cup chopped gammon

2 large flat mushrooms

2 tsp bouillon powder

2 eggs

a pinch of dried tarragon

a pinch of celery salt

2 tomatoes

a pinch dried basil

a few drops balsamic vinegar

Simmer the mushrooms in plenty of water with the bouillon powder added. In a poaching pan, add the eggs with the celery and tarragon. Poach until done to your liking. Halve the tomatoes and top with the basil and a the vinegar. Grill for a few minutes. Sauté the chopped gammon in Fry Light until cooked.

Place the mushroom on two plates, top with the gammon and then the eggs. Serve with the grilled tomatoes. 

 

Breakfast Tian

A tian is a layered dish, usually using food presentation rings. This is just a different way of serving the usual breakfast ingredients. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 potatoes

a little salt and pepper

100g minced pork

½ tsp chilli flakes

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sage

¼ tsp white pepper

a little milk

2 gammon steaks

2 tomatoes

a few mushrooms

2 eggs

tin of baked beans to serve

Peel the potatoes and grate them using the finest part of your grates. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can and mix with the salt and pepper. Using a food ring, make two circular shapes, spray with Fry Light and bake in the oven at 200°C until cooked through and browned and crispy on top.

In a food processor, combine the pork, spices and a little milk from your allowance (or water), ca 1-2 tablespoons. Using the same food rings, shape into circular patties and bake in the oven at 200°C until cooked through.

Using the food rings as cutters, shape the gammon steaks into round disks (save the cut-offs for use in something else) and grill for a few minutes each side until cooked through.

De-seed the tomatoes and chop finely. Heat some Fry Light in a pan and gently cook the tomatoes for a couple of minutes until heated through but not too soft.

Finely chop the mushrooms and cook in Fry Light until cooked to your liking.

Fry the eggs with the food rings to create perfectly round eggs.

Assemble the tian with the potato hash in the bottom, then the gammon, sausage patties, the mushrooms and tomatoes, and finally the egg on top. Serve with the baked beans. 

 

Mustard Glazed Gammon

Serves 3

1½ syns on Extra Easy

500g gammon joint, all visible fat removed

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 tbsp demerera sugar

1 large sweet potato

3 carrots, peeled

3 parsnips, peeled

2 leeks, peeled

1 red onion, peeled

200g baby new potatoes

250ml sugar free appleade

Cut all the vegetables into same sized chunks and place in the bottom of a large oven dish. Poor in the appleade and spray the top of the vegetables with Fry Light. Place the gammon on top of the vegetables and spread the meat with mustard, then sprinkle the sugar on top. Bake in the oven at 200°C for an hour until the meat is cooked through. Slice the gammon and serve with the vegetables. 

 

Sweetcorn and Bacon Rösti Tray Bake

This has got to be one of the easiest recipes I have posted on this blog to date. If you like, you can get all the ingredients ready the night before and just add egg in the morning before baking.

Serves 3-4

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 large potatoes, peeled and grated

1 large leek, sliced and sautéed until soft

1 cup cooked sweetcorn

4 eggs, whisked

1 gammon steak, cooked and diced

Tomatoes to serve

Mix all the ingredients together and press down in an oven tray. Bake at 210°C for 20 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned. Serve with griddled tomatoes. 

 

Cheese and Bacon Muffins

 

This is my first attempt at savoury muffins, and I have to say I was very apprehensive at first. They are not really muffins in the true sense of the word of course, as there is no flour in the recipe, the consistency was more like soufflés. They were very moist and soft – maybe they would firm up if they were allowed to cool? Who knows, we scoffed them all while still warm. Use a strong cheese such as parmesan to maximise the flavour - mustard powder helps to bring out the flavour of cheese while adding no extra calories or syns.  

 

Makes

¼ Syn on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the cheese and oats as your Healthy Extra A and B, half this recipe will be ¼ syn.

35g rolled oats

170g fat free natural yogurt

60g parmesan cheese, finely grated

¼ tsp salt

2 tsps mustard powder

1 gammon steak, cooked and chopped

1 large leek

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

Soak the oats in yogurt and 1 tbsp water overnight. Thinly slice the leek and sauté in Fry Light until soft. Separate the eggs, and whisk the whites until soft peaks form. Mix the egg yolks with the oats, baking powder, salt, mustard powder, leeks, gammon bits and cheese. Fold in the whites gently, making sure it is all mixed well. Spoon into individual muffin tins and bake at 190°C for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. 

 

I did get rather carries away taking photos of the muffins. 

 

Gammon and Mustard Fusili

Serves 3

2 Syns on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the milk as part of your Healthy Extra A

225 g fusili

2 gammon steaks, grilled and chopped

200g mixed baby tomatoes, halved

2 onions, chopped

100g green beans, cooked and chopped 

100g rocket 

2-3 tsp dried mustard

1 pkt Coleman's white sauce

Fry the onion in Fry Light until soft. Meanwhile cook the pasta in plenty of salted water for 10 minutes or so until al dente. Make the white sauce according to packet instructions. Mix in the mustard with the white sauce to taste.

Stir the tomatoes into the onion with the beans, gammon, rocket and pasta. Cook on a low heat until the tomatoes and rocket start to wilt ever so slightly, about one or two minutes. Stir in the white sauce and serve. 

 

Cauliflower Cheese Topped Gammon Steaks

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra easy*

* Providing you use the cheese as your Healthy Extra A

2 gammon steaks

½ cauliflower

90g reduced fat Cheddar cheese, grated

Break the cauliflower into florets and boil for 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, grill the gammon steaks for 5-7 minutes each side. 

 

Place the gammon steaks on baking sheets to take the overflow of cheese, and top with the cauliflower florets. I found the easiest way of doing this was to cut the stems off them to give each floret a flat bottom. (Now I have lots of bits of leftover cauliflower to use up another time....) Top with the cheese and grill until the cheese bubbles and has turned nicely brown. 

 

Boston Baked Beans

I love Boston baked beans, and this is the best recipe I have made to date. Even my dad said he enjoyed it, which is really quite rare!

This version is baked in the slow cooker and the meat will be very well done, falling apart at the touch. If you prefer your meat firmer, just add it half way through the cooking time.

Serves 4-6

13 syns for the whole casserole on Extra Easy

250g dried haricot beans

½ tsp ground cloves

2 onions

1 bay leaf

6 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp molasses sugar

2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar

250ml stock

small gammon joint

salt and pepper

Soak the beans for at least eight hours, preferably overnight. Drain, rinse and place half the beans in the bottom of the slow cooker dish. Cut each onion in eight segments and place on top of the beans. Remove all fat from the gammon and cut in one inch cubes; place in the pot with the beans and onions. Top with the remaining beans.

I a separate bowl, mix together the sugars, bay leaf, mustard, tomato purée and stock. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the beans and meat, adding more water if necessary to almost cover the beans. Turn on the slow cooker to high and cook for 5-6 hours. Serve with potatoes and vegetables of your choice. 

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