Carrot and Ginger Cupcakes

Another variation on my favourite – and immensely popular – butternut squash muffins. These are dangerously moreish, but at just half a syn (less in fact) each, you can really enjoy a couple without feeling guilty. They don't last very well in the fridge or a cake tin; but they freeze well – I have placed mine in containers with six cakes (without the icing) to take out for as and when we want a little treat, without going overboard.

Makes 36

½ syn each*

* providing you use the oats as your Healthy Extra b and cheese as your Healthy Extra A. Nine cakes constitutes one HexB and HexA.

140g porridge oats

2 tubs fat free thick plain Greek yogurt

100g sultanas

2 tsp baking powder

8 eggs, separated

2-3 tbsps mixed spice

½ – 1 cup of sweetener to taste

1 can sugar free ginger beer

3-4 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

a knob of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

300g cream cheese

sweetener to taste

a few drops of rum essence

First of all, in a small bow, place the sultanas and pour over enough ginger beer to cover. Leave to infuse and swell. Next put the oats in a large bowl and mix in the yogurt and the rest of the ginger beer. If you are using a thinner, runnier yogurt, cut down on the amount of liquid you use.

Leave these mixtures to soak for at least a couple of hours, ideally overnight. Boil the carrots with the ginger and leave to cool. Whizz in a food processor until smooth.

In a large bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg yolks and add the sweetener, mixed spice and baking powder. (Don't do as I did – thinking that I might forget to add the baking powder – I wasn't following a recipe, I was making it up as I went along – I measured it out when I thought of it earlier and just put it on top of the oat mixture for stirring in later. Wrong! By the time I came to stir it in, the baking powder had drawn the moisture from the oat mix and was one hard, white cake. Oops. I managed to break it up by whisking it in with the egg whites, but it was certainly a learning point!)

Stir the egg yolks and carrot mix into the oat mixture, add the sultanas and gently fold in the egg whites, making sure everything is mixed in well. Spoon into well greased muffin cases. I find I like to keep stirring the mixture while I am putting it into the little muffin cases, as the sultanas tend to sink to the bottom fairly quickly.

Bake in the oven at 180°C for 20-30 minutes, until they are cooked through. They should be springy, not fluffy when you touch them gently with your finger, and a skewer inserted should come out clean.

For the icing, mix together the cream cheese, sweetener and rum essence and spread on top of the cakes.

Enjoy!

Spiced Beef Satés

I was lucky enough to find a packet of thin sirloin steaks in Tesco, which were perfect for this dish. You need a reasonably good cut of meat, but it doesn't matter if you cook it in strips as I did, or cubes. If you haven't got tamarind powder, you can use lemon juice instead.

Serves 3

550g sirloin

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tso cumin seeds

1 tsp tamarind powder

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp sweetener

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

If you are using the thin slices, cut the beef in one inch width and the length of the steaks. You basically want long, thin strips of meat to thread on to skewers. Alternatively, cut the meat in 1 inch³ cubes.

Dry fry the spices until they are fragrant and beginning to brown, then grind them to a course powder. Put the onion, tamarind powder, sweetener, soy sauce a 3 tablespoons of water in a food processor and blend well. Mix with the spices and place in a bowl with the beef. Toss well together and leave for at least an hour to marinade.

Thread the meat strips on skewers in a concertina fashion and grill until cooked through, basting with the marinade as it cooks.

Indonesian satés are usually served with a peanut sauce, but I served mine with Sambal Kecap (spicy onion dip), Sambal Kol Kembang (spiced cauliflower), lettuce and potatoes (as my dad doesn't like rice). 

 

Creamy Coconut Keema Pilau

I boiled up too many mixed vegetables yesterday when cooking up dozens (46 to be exact) dishes for my dad's freezer, so I had to think of something to do with overcooked veggies (my dad doesn't believe in al dente!). I used the frozen mixed vegetables that come in 1cm large cubes or so for this. 

 

Serves 2

½ syn on Extra Easy

300g extra lean minced beef

2 cups cooked finely chopped mixed vegetables

1 cup rice

2 tsp bouillon powder

2 tubs Müllerlight Greek yogurt with coconut and vanilla

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp chilli flakes

2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

Boil the rice in the stock for 10 minutes. Meanwhile sauté the meat in Fry Light until browned and cooked through. Mix together the yogurts and the spices. When cooked, drain the rice and mix into the meat along with the vegetables. Stir well and simmer until everything is heated through. Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool for a minute or so before adding the yogurt mix. Stir well and serve. 

 

Couscous Sarda Pudding

This dish is best known cooked with fregola, but as I was unable to locate fregola, I used giant couscous instead, as it is very similar (fregola is a small pasta grain from Italy)

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the milk from your Healthy Extra A allowance

1 cup giant couscous

3 cups skimmed milk

sweetener to taste

½ tsp saffron powder

½ stick of cinnamon

2 whole star anise

5 whole cardamoms

Gently simmer the couscous in the milk with all the other ingredients for around ten minutes until the couscous is soft but still retains some bite. I would recommend stirring almost constantly to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove the whole spices before serving. Sprinkle over a little cinnamon and enjoy!

Spätzle with Spiced Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces

150g spätzle

½ red pepper

½ green pepper

½ yellow pepper

½ red onion

1 small leek

1 tbsp fresh sage leaves

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

2 tsp bouillon powder

1 tsp celery powder

1 tso dried sage

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp paprika

Coriander leaves to serve (optional)

Cook the spätzle for 15 minutes or according to the packet instruction. Meanwhile, roast the vegetables. Chop the peppers, onion and leek in equal sized pieces, about 2cm². Place in an oven dish with the rosemary, sage and bouillon powder. Stir well to coat, then bake for 20-30 minutes according to how well you like your vegetables done.

Place all the spices in a spice grinder or food processor and grind to fine powder. Put the chicken in a large bowl and add the spice mix, stirring well to coat all over. Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer on a grill plate, and grill for ten minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and beginning to brown.

Mix the spätzle with the roasted vegetables and top with the chicken pieces. Serve with coriander leaves if using.

Spiced Marmite Chicken

I love Marmite and thought I'd give it a go as a coating for grilled chicken. I saw a recipe for something similar, but decided to create my own spice mix. You can add all sorts of different spices to this as you please, but as we were having my dad over tonight, it couldn't be anything spicy. 

 

Serves 4

Syn Free on Extra Easy

4 chicken breasts

2 tbsp Marmite

½ tsp celery salt

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion seeds

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp white pepper

½ tsp dry mustard powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp bouillon powder

Coat the chicken breasts with the Marmite. The easiest way of doing this with your hands in a large bowl, rubbing it in. You will get very mucky, but it ensures a much more even coating than if you try to do it with a knife or spoon.

Mix together all the spices . Place the now-coated chicken breasts side by side on a plate and sprinkle the spice mix over, using your hands again to pat them down to ensure they stick to the chicken. Turn the chicken breasts over and repeat on the other side. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 220°C until the meat is cooked through. The spices and Marmite give it a nice crunchy coating and seems to help keep the meat moist and tender. 

 

Serve with vegetables of your choice – we had celeriac chips, cabbage and leeks in white sauce.