Garlic Mushrooms

A nice little side dish, excellent served with a steak; or you could just have them on toast for a light lunch. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

150g mushrooms

1 bulb garlic

1-2 tsp bouillon powder

Cut the papery top off the garlic bulb, exposing the cloves inside. Spray with a little Fry Light and wrap in kitchen foil. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 200°C. With a blunt knife, remove the cloves, which should now be very soft. Place in a small bowl and mix well with a little water to make a smooth paste.

Sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes in Fry Light, then add the garlic purée, a little water and the bouillon powder. Continue cooking for a few minutes, then drain and serve.

Beef Jerky

Until yesterday I didn't know the difference between beef jerky and biltong, but it seems it's all in the vinegar. And as I didn't use any, that makes this beef jerky.

Making your own jerky in a dehydrator makes it syn free unlike the bought variety. You also know exactly what went in it – no preservatives or artificial flavourings. 

 

This is what you need:

A thick rump steak

soy sauce

Worcestershire sauce

chilli flakes

You can of course use other flavourings, such as paprika, herbs, coriander etc.

Put the steak in the freezer for at least an hour to firm up. Using a mandolin on its finest setting, cut the beef in very thin slivers. Use the other ingredients to marinate the meat for at least an hour. Place on one or more trays in the dehydrator and 'cook' for several hours at 50°C. Mine took nearly eight hours, but it will all depend on how thin and wet your meat is. It should be fairly stiff and quite chewy. 

 

Kale Crisps

Experiment number two with the dehydrator. This is as easy as it comes and the result was very good, and of course really healthy. 

 

Syn Free on Extra Easy

Take a packet of curly kale and spread the pieces out on one or more of the trays in the dehydrator. Pray with some Fry Light and sprinkle with salt. Set the thermostat to 50°C and leave for several hours until crisp. 

 

Prawns Wrapped in Parma Ham

Although I have synned the ham as per guide lines, I also removed all the fat, so I expect most of the syns have been removed.

Serve with soy sauce (syn free) and sweet chilli sauce (1 syn per tbsp) for dipping.

The syn value of this dish depends on the number of slices of Parma ham you use, which again depends on the size and number of prawns.

* ½ syn per slice

250g uncooked king or tiger prawns

5-8 slices Parma ham*

Remove the fat from the ham and cut each slice into four pieces. Wrap around the prawns and place on a greased baking sheets. Repeat with the remainder of the prawns.

Bake for a few minutes until the prawns have turned opaque. Serve with the dipping sauces. This dish would make a nice starter for a dinner party, or as part of a finger buffet as I did. 

 

Potato Pancakes with Smoked Salmon

This would be easily as nice for breakfast as it would be for a starter. I served it as part of a finger buffet. 

 

Makes 12-14

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 medium sized potatoes, peeled

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp celery salt

salt and pepper to taste

2 small tub fromage frais

125g smoked salmon

Peel and finely grate the potatoes. Squeeze out some of the liquid using your hands before mixing it with the cumin seeds, celery, salt and pepper.

Heat a little Fry Light in a frying pan until hot, then drop the potato mix in the pan using two spoons, a spoonful at a time. Smooth out and push down, making each patty as circular as possible, about two inches in diameter. Cook for a few minutes on each side until cooked through and nicely browned. 

 

Place the pancakes on a plate and top each with a sliver of smoked salmon, a teaspoon of fromage frais and a twig of dill. 

 

 

Scotch eggs

Makes 4

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the bread as your healthy extra B

1 pkt Joe's sausagemeat

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp orgeano

1 tsp sage

1 tsp sweetener

4 eggs

1-2 small slices wholemeal bread

Boil the eggs for ten minutes, run under cold water and remove the shell. Mix the sausage meat with the cumin, ginger, salt, oregano, sage and sweetener. Mix well. Blitz the bread in a food processor until fine crumbs, then dry fry in a pan over medium heat until dried out but not browned. 

 

Coat the eggs with the sausagemeat. I find the easiest way of doing this is by first diving the meat in four, then making a slightly oval patty with each of them. Holding the patty in your hand, place the egg on top and cup your hand around it. Then gently draw and stretch the sausagemeat until it complete covers the egg. 

 

Roll in the dried breadcrumbs and bake at 220°C for 15-20 minutes until the sausagemeat is cooked through. 

 

Serve as part of a finger food buffet (as I am doing on Sunday for the football), or with a salad. Great for taking on picnics or in the lunch box too. 

 

Roasted Garlic and caramelised Onion Dip

This low fat, syn free dip is delicious with carrot batons and celery sticks; or you could use it as a filling for jacket potatoes. By adding some water or lemon juice to it, you could turn it into a salad dressing; or it would be nice tossed with some hot pasta or vegetables – but don't let it boil as it will curdle.

Syn free on Extra Easy

3 onions, finely chopped

1 whole bulb of garlic

1 tub of quark

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of salt or to taste

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp sweetener or to taste

Sauté the onions in a little Fry Light over a low heat until caramelised, probably about 20 minutes or so. Don't let them become too brown.

Cut the papery top off the garlic bulb to reveal the cloves and spray with Fry Light. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 220°C, until the garlic cloves are nice and soft. Scoop the soft centres out by squeezing with your fingers, using a knife or small spoon to remove any stubborn bits.

Place the soft garlic mass and half the onions in a liquidiser with a little water (ca 1 tbsp) and blitz until smooth. Mix into the quark with the spices and the rest of the onion. Stir well, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 

 

Spicy Chick Pea Snacks

If you fancy something to nibble of an evening but don't want to use your syns, this is a very good alternative. You can vary the spices according to what takes your fancy.

Syn free on Extra Easy*

* Providing you use the olive oil as your Healthy Extra B

1 tin chick peas

½ tbsp olive oil

1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp salt

Drain and rinse the chick peas. Mix well with the olive oil in a bowl and add the salt and spices. Stir to ensure the peas are well coated. Bake in a single layer on a baking sheet at 200°C for 30-40 minutes until crisp. You need to stir them and rearrange them on the baking sheet several times during cooking, as the outside ones will brown quicker then those in the middle. It is really a bit of a trial and error thing on the timing, keep testing them until they are crisp, and keep an eye on them so they don't burn. I think they're worth it though.