Spicy Sausage and Cauliflower Pasta

I used the leftover spicy cauliflower from a couple of says ago from this, but below is the instructions on how you would make it from scratch. 

 

Serves 2

½ syn for the entire dish

½ cauliflower

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 fresh red chilli, seeded

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tub Müllerlight coconut and vanilla yogurt

1 tsp sweetener

1 tsp tamarind powder

3 cooked Joe's sausages, sliced

150g cooked pasta

2 tbsp Greek Basil, Chopped

Trim the stalk from the cauliflower and break into tiny florets. Cook in plenty of salted water for a few minutes until tender. Grind the onion, garlic, chilli and turmeric together in a food processor to form a smooth paste. Stir in yogurt, sweetener, salt and tamarind powder. Add the cauliflower, sausage, pasta and basil. Gently heat in a saucepan without boiling. 

 

Sambal Kol Kembang

This Indonesian spiced cauliflower dish can be served as an accompaniment to meat dishes, or as a vegetarian dish in its own right. I have amended it to suit the Slimming World plan by substituting coconut yogurt for the coconut cream and sweetener for the sugar. 

 

Serves 4

½ syn for the entire dish

1 cauliflower

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 fresh red chilli, seeded

½ tsp ground turmeric

1 tub Müllerlight coconut and vanilla yogurt

1 tsp sweetener

1 tsp tamarind powder

Trim the stalk from the cauliflower and break into tiny florets. Cook in plenty of salted water for a few minutes until tender. Grind the onion, garlic, chilli and turmeric together in a food processor to form a smooth paste. Stir in yogurt, sweetener, salt and tamarind powder. Add the cauliflower and gently heat in a saucepan without boiling. 

 

Cauliflower Soup

My mum used to often make cauliflower soup when I was a kid, and I have always loved it. She would thicken it through the roux method of course, but trying to keep it syn free, this is not an option for me. My mum also used to buy a glass jar of baby food containing miniature meatballs which she would add to the soup. I have been known to chop up some chipolatas into it, a very good combination, but today I didn't have any so the soup was naked. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

½ large cauliflower

1 litre water

1 tbsp bouillon powder

2 egg yolks

Cut the cauliflower into florets, and boil in the water with bouillon powder added until very soft. Using a potato masher, squash the cauliflower until roughly mashed. Take off the heat and allow to cool ever so slightly. Give the egg yolks a little whisk with a fork and add to the soup while stirring continuously and vigorously. Serve immediately. 

 

Spicy Mince and Beans

This is comfort food at its very best, combining two of my favourite foods: minced beef and baked beans. I was running late and popped in the supermarket to grab a few things to cook a quick and easy dinner before a night out with the girls, and came up with this. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

250g extra lean minced beef

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tin baked beans

250ml passata

1 tsp harissa paste

1 pkt ready chopped root vegetables (carrot, swede and potato)

1 tsp bouillon powder

150g runner beans, trimmed

¼ cauliflower, cut into florets

Fry the meat and onions until the meat is browned and the onions soft. Add the baked beans, passata and harissa paste and stir until heated through.

Meanwhile boil the root veg and mash with the bouillon powder. Cook the cauliflower and runner beans to your liking, and serve with the mince. 

 

Ham, Egg and Mustard Veggies

Inspired by the piccalilli my mother in law always used to serve with ham, I created a mustard sauce to go with the vegetables for this dish. 

 

Serves 3

2 Syns on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the milk as your healthy Extra A

3 slices lean cooked ham

4-5 potatoes

3 eggs

½ cauliflower

1 leek

4-5 shallots

1 pkt Coleman's White sauce

300ml skimmed milk

1-2 tbsp mustard powder

1 tsp bouillon powder

pinch of sweetener

½ tsp turmeric

Peel and slice the leeks. Peel the shallots and quarter. Break the cauliflower into small florets. Sauté the leeks in Fry Light until soft. Boil the shallots and cauliflower until done to your liking. I did mine separately as I wanted the shallots cooked for longer than the cauliflower, which I like to still have a bite to it.

Cut the potatoes in wedges and place on a baking sheet. Spray with Fry Light and bake at 230°C for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned.

Make the white sauce according to the instructions on the packet. Add mustard, bouillon powder and sweetener to taste, and turmeric for some colour. Add the vegetables and heat through.

Fry the egg in Fry Light for a few minutes.

Place the ham on three plates, top with the fried egg and serve with the wedges and mustard vegetables. 

 

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.