Turkey and mushroom stroganoff

This dish is nowhere near as difficult as it looks and is sure to impress your guests. It has plenty of superfree, especially as I served it with carrots, sugar snap peas and baby sweetcorn. 

 Lots of superfree

Serves 4

Syn free on extra easy

500g turkey breast, cubed

200g mushrooms, sliced

3 leeks, sliced

200g fat free fromage frais

1-2 tbsp bouillon powder

½ tsp mustard

1-2 tbsp sweetener

dash of Worcestershire sauce

500g wholewheat tagliatelli

Sauté the turkey, mushrooms and leeks in Fry Light until the vegetables are soft and the turkey cooked through. Turn the heat right down and add fromage frais, bouillon powder, mustard, sweetener and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir until heated through, but make sure it doesn't boil at it will curdle. You may want to add some water to get the right consistency.

Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelli as per packet instructions, and drain. Grease a doughnut-shaped baking tin and stuff the pasta in the ring. Place a flat serving dish over the top and put the whole thing in an oven on very low for a few minutes to firm it up a bit. It is best to have a dish that is quite a bit larger than the size of the ring as the content will spill over the edge when you cut into it if the plate is too small (as I found out). When you are ready to serve, turn the plate upside down and ease the tagliatelli out of the ring. Spoon the stroganoff into the centre and serve with vegetables or a salad. 

 

Hoi Sin Turkey with Noodles

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

300g lean turkey meat, diced

2 onions, sliced

150g baby sweetcorn, halved lengthways

4 baby courgettes, quartered

150g noodles, cooked

4 tbsp hoi sin sauce

4 tbsp soy sauce

Stir fry the turkey and onions in Fry Light for ca five minutes, then add the sweetcorn and courgettes. Continue cooking until the turkey is cooked through and the vegetables are done to your liking. Add the hoi sin and soy sauce, and the noodles and cook, stirring, until everything is well mixed and heated through.

Jerk Turkey with Coconut Mango Salad

I cut a couple of chillies from my Bulgarian Carrot plant today to create this dish. For the jerk marinade I left the seeds in and for the salad took them out. On a hotness scale of 1-10, we both agreed the dish scored a 5-6 with an afterburn of up to 8.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 turkey steaks

For the marinade:

2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 chilli, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

a few stems of fresh thyme

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp sweetener

For the salad:
2 mangoes, chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

small handful fresh coriander, chopped

2 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped

handful of rocket leaves

1 tub Müllerlight coconut and vanilla yogurt

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade and whizz though food processor, liquidiser or spice grinder until it resembles a smooth paste. Spread on both sides of the turkey steaks and leave in a cool place to marinade for several hours. Grill for 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through, which will depend on the thickness of the steaks.

Mix together all the ingredients for the salad. Divide the salad between two plates and top with the jerk turkey steaks. 

 

Breakfast Slop

 

Husband was adamant he did not want slop for breakfast, stating that 'he'd get better food in prison'. Not that he meant it, or indeed knows what prison food is like. 

 

The dish was a combination of several leftovers – the Sloppy Toms turkey mix, the chilli sautéed tomatoes, some roasted vegetables and roasted potatoes, all topped with a fried egg. A great syn free start to the day! 

 

Sloppy Toms

Sloppy Toms is like Sloppy Joes but with turkey – minced meat in a sauce served in (or rather draped over) a bun. You can of course vary the herbs and spices to suit your taste. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy*

*Providing you use the bun as your Healthy Extra B

250g lean minced turkey

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

a few mushrooms, chopped

200ml passata

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp dried sage

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp bouillon powder

2 x 60g wholemeal rolls

Sauté the turkey, onion and celery until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the celery is soft. Add the passata, herbs and bouillon powder.

Divide the rolls in two and toast. Place the bottom halves on two plates and spoon over the mince. Top with the upper half of the rolls.

Serve with Slimming World chips and grilled tomatoes. I sautéed my tomatoes in a pan with some chilli flakes for an extra kick. 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash with Teriyaki Turkey

You can either use shop bought teriyaki sauce at 1½ syns per tablespoon, or make your own syn free version.

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

250g turkey mince

1 butternut squash

2 small onions

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Chinese cooking wine

½ tsp sweetener

Cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Spray the cut sides with Fry Light and bake the squash for 30-40 minutes at 210°C.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion. Sauté the onion with the turkey until the onion is soft and the meat browned. Add the other ingredients and stir well. Serve with the squash. 

 

Mexican Rubbed Turkey Steak with Roasted Tomato Salsa

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 turkey steaks

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chilli flakes

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

zest of ½ lemon

4 large tomatoes

6-8 shallots, peeled and halved

2 twigs rosemary

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 dried chilli

1 tsp sweetener

Mix together the cumin, chilli flakes, garlic, oregano, paprika and lemon zest. Use to rub on the turkey steaks. Leave for a couple of hours for the flavours to infuse.

Quarter the tomatoes and place in a shallow oven proof dish with the shallots. Spray with Fry Light and bake at 160°C for about an hour until the tomatoes are beginning to dry. Leave to cool, then chop the tomatoes and shallots roughly. Remove the leaves from the woody stems of the rosemary, chop and add to the tomato and shallot mixture, with the lemon juice and zest.Rehydrate the dried chilli in boiling water for ten minutes, then chop finely. Add to the salsa. Stir in the sweetener and leave in the fridge to chill for at least an hour before serving.

Fry the turkey steaks for 5-7 minutes each side until cooked through. Serve with the salsa. 

 

Turkey Laap

Also spelt lapr ot larb, the national dish of Laos has as many variations of the recipe as there are of stews in the UK. Every chef has their favourite, and this is mine. I really like the combination of sweet, sour, hot and salty, and love the fresh taste of the crunchy lettuce. You can of course use lettuce of your choice, but a crunchy one is best. Laap can be made with turkey, beef, pork chicken or even fish, but for this one I have chosen to use turkey. Be careful when you chose turkey mince though, as it isn't always easy to spot the difference between breast and leg mince, the latter being much higher in fat content. 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

400g lean turkey mince

2 onions

2 romaine lettuce hearts

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp sweetener

1 red chilli, chopped

chopped coriander

Shred the lettuce hearts and place on two plates

Spray a frying pan with Fry Light.

Finely dice the onions.

Sauté the onions with the turkey mince, breaking the meat up as you go along. 

 

Fry for a few minutes until the meat is slightly browned and the onion soft.

Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sweetener and chilli. Stir well to combine.

Add the chopped coriander and serve on top of the lettuce.

Enjoy! 

Turkey and Noodle Stir Fry

I have to say I was surprised at how the nice, bright orange pepper turned rather yellow when cooked. Humph! 

 

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

2 turkey steaks, thinly sliced

1 orange pepper, thinly sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

½pkt baby sweetcorn, chopped in half and sliced lengthways

½ pkt beansprouts

2 blocks dried egg noodles, cooked

½ pkt spinach

2 sticks lemongrass, finely chopped

knob of ginger, minced

light soy sauce

1-2 chillies, chopped

sweetener to taste

Heat a little Fry Light in a large pan and sauté the turkey and onions over a high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the pepper and sweetcorn. Stir for a minute and add the ginger and lemongrass, soy sauce and sweetener. Stir well. Add the cooked noodles, spinach and beansprouts and cook until the spinach and beansprouts have wilted slightly. 

 

Turkey saltimbocca

I love the flavour combination of the turkey, the saltiness of the Parma ham and the earthy, slightly bitter taste of sage.

Serves 2

1 syn on Extra easy

2 thin turkey steaks

4 slices of Parma ham, all visible fat removed

a few sage leaves

Flatten the turkey steaks and place a couple of sage leaves on each steak. Wrap the steak in the Parma Ham and place in an ovenproof dish. Bake at 220°C for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with potatoes and vegetables of choice. 

Also in Lidl yesterday (I can see I shall have to shop there more often, as I came back with some interesting foodstuffs) they had white asparagus. I have never cooked them myself, and I think the last time I had them was back in the late 60s or early 70 when still living at home, and I can remember not liking the texture much. Probably because my parents used to overcook all vegetables...

Turkey Saltimbocca Skewers

Turkey fillets flattened and rolled up with red pepper pesto, sage leaves and Parma Ham, then cut into short pieces and skewered. I served mine on jewelled amaranth, and as I was eating it suddenly panicked about the syn value of amaranth. I always assumed it was syn free, and checking it afterwards I was right. Phew! Amaranth is a grain that was popular with the Aztecs and ancient Mexicans, and is regaining popularity as a healthy alternative to rice or couscous. I simmered mine in some stock with chopped red and green peppers and baby sweetcorn.

The plates were a gift from a very good friend in Texas, and the skewers I brought back from  Burkina Faso. 

Turkey Saltimbocca Skewers

Serves 2

Syn Free on Extra Easy

300g turkey fillets

½ red pepper

50g tomato purée

bunch sage leaves

4-5 slices Parma Ham (same amount as the number of turkey fillets)

Flatten the turkey fillets as much as you can, either by using a kitchen mallet or a rolling pin, covering the meat with cling film to stop it splitting. Liquidise the half a red pepper and mix with the tomato purée, then spread on each of the flattened turkey fillets. Place the sage leaves on top and then the ham. Roll up from the long side and cut each roll into slices around one inch thick. Thread the slices on to skewers, ensuring that the ends of the rolls are secured well. Grill on a high heat for 10-15 minutes, until the turkey is cooked. Serve with accompaniments of your choice.

WARNING: if using metal skewers, they will be hot. I know, I am sporting two nice little blisters as I write this. 

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