Bigos - Polish hunter's stew

Bacon, cut into shreds

Half a large jar of sauerkraut

Similar quantity of shredded white cabbage

Half a Mattisons reduced fat smoked sausage, cut into semi-circles

A pork loin cut into 6-8 chunks

2 carrots cut into chunks

1-2 handfuls of dried mushroom, soaked in boiling water

1 packet of Przyprawa Mysliwska (“Hunter’s seasoning,” or “Bigos powder”)

1 large or 2 medium potatoes cut in a small dice

1 TBS tomato puree

2-3 sliced prunes

Fry the bacon in plenty of olive oil until crisp. Mix soaking liquid from mushrooms with tomato puree and the seasoning, and add to the pan with sausage, sauerkraut, carrots and prunes. Boil for 20-30 minutes before adding cabbage.  When the vegetables are cooked, drain, reserving the liquor. Cook pork and mushrooms for 20 minutes in the liquor in a pressure cooker. Remove the meat and mushroom and reduce the liquor in the pressure cooker. Chop the mushrooms finely and add these and the meat to the vegetables. Finally pour the reduced liquor into the pot and warm through to serve.

Fresh herb sauces, condiments and marinades

Any of these should keep in the fridge for 2 weeks, so make big batches. Except salsa verde when made with cubed bread, the ingredients are finely chopped and combined and then allowed to infuse (cold oil) or macerate (warm oil), and they work well as marinades as well as condiments/sauces. Chimichurri and Gremolata are more commonly served with meat and the rest with fish, but there’s nothing wrong with mixing and matching. Salsa verde parsley vinegar (optional: soaked into cubed bread) capers garlic anchovies olive oil optional: some, all or none of mustard, basil, mint, onion Chopped by hand or blended (if cubed bread is used, then must be blended). Gremolata grated lemon zest garlic parsley anchovies some, all or none of mint, rosemary and sage 1 tsp olive oil Chimichurri parsley minced garlic olive oil oregano vinegar chili flakes optional: some, all or none of sweet paprika, cumin, thyme, lemon, bay leaf, diced tomato with red pepper Sauce vierge olive oil lemon juice chopped tomato chopped basil. Optional: crushed coriander seed, chervil, chives, parsley Chermoula Garlic Diced red onion Cumin Paprika Lemon juice Vinegar Olive oil Fresh coriander Parsley Optional: Saffron

Crabcakes with rémoulade

Rémoulade

• “Enough” low sat fat mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion or spring onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Some or all of chopped gherkins, anchovies, and green olives
• Olive oil, to improve ‘mouthfeel’

Mix it up the day before (olive oil to taste) and refrigerate.

Crabcakes

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 tablespoons low sat fat mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 pound of crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
• olive oil for frying

1. To prepare crab cakes, combine first 8 ingredients. Add panko and crab, tossing gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Divide mixture into 8 and form patties approximately 2cm thick. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry crabcakes in batches for approximately 4 minutes per side or until golden.

Hollandaise, Bearnaise, buttery herb sauces for fish

Asda’s “Simmer Sauce Mix – Hollandaise” is fine if you make up following the instructions, using semi-skimmed milk and Flora Cuisine instead of butter, and adding plenty of salt and pepper.

The resultant sauce comes in just under 2g of sat fat per 100g, vs e.g. 7.5g for Maille’s pre-made Hollandaise sauce.

Parsley and/or dill could be added to make a sauce for fish.

Spinach is nice added for, e.g. for fried or poached eggs on toast.

For Béarnaise sauce, add a very small amount of finely diced onion, tarragon and substitute some of the milk for white wine (further reducing the sat fat content e.g. swapping half of the milk for wine will reduce sat fat content to just under 1.5g of sat fat per 100g)

Base for lemon meringue / key lime pie, cheesecake, etc

1½ cups ground almonds
1½ cups plain flour
Optional 1 tsp ground cinnamon/ginger
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup honey (or golden/maple syrup)
½ cup vegetable oil

Separately mix together the wet ingredients and the dry ones. Mix together until forms a slightly crumbly dough that just holds together.

Press dough into the bottom of lightly-oiled springform pan prick with a fork in several places to prevent bubbles from forming.

Bake for about 5 minutes at 190C, or slightly longer (until crust is a light golden brown) if a no-bake topping is to be used (some cheesecakes, for example).

Allow to cool before adding toppings.

Roasted broccoli

Make a dressing with the juice of a lemon, salt, pepper and olive oil. Add torn fresh basil, oregano or thyme (optional).

Break into florets, place on a baking tray and scatter with thinly sliced garlic. Roast at 180°C until broccoli is beginning to brown. Scatter with crushed walnuts and return to hot oven for 2 minutes. Immediately grate a little parmesan over the broccoli. Once the cheese has melted, add broccoli to the dressing and mix well until the dressing has all been absorbed.

Minced pigeon with lettuce leaves

Minced pigeon, or lean minced chicken or pork
1 TBS Hoisin sauce
1 TBS Chili bean sauce
1 TBS Rice wine
1 TBS Soya sauce
2 tsp Cornflour
A few crushed Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
Water chestnuts, quartered
Ginger (if not using Sichuan peppercorns)
Lettuce leaves
Spring onions

Mix first 6 or 7 ingredients and leave to marinade for 20 minutes.

Warm ginger in oil, and add marinaded meat to wok before ginger starts to brown. Stir fry until mince is cooked then add water chest nuts and warm through.

Serve up the dry mince/water chestnut mix with large lettuce leaves and chopped spring onions on the side to include in lettuce wraps.

Canary Burritos

Canary burritos

First, separate your canaries into green and yellow piles, for the green and yellow sauces used to top this dish.

Just kidding. Actually, you should make a tomatillo sauce (green) and buy a jar of old el paso cheese and red pepper dip (yellow), as the name refers to the dishes colours. You’ll also need a tin of refried beans and I’m yet to find a brand that tastes as good as old el paso and some tortillas, where supermarket and other brands are generally pretty good.

A pack of flour or corn tortillas
Tomatillo sauce
1/3 of a jar of old el paso cheese and red pepper dip
2 tins of black beans
2 tins of tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 large onions, one thinly sliced and one finely diced
2 bell peppers, any colour, thinly sliced
1 heaped TBS cumin
2 heaped TBS oregano
Chili sauce or chilli powder/flakes or fresh chilli, finely diced
1 pint of cheap lager
1 tin of sweetcorn, or 2 if the tiny ones

Prepare the drunken beans filling for the green burritos by:

• Fry diced onion until translucent
• Add garlic and fresh chilli (if using) and continue frying until onions begin to caramelise
• Add cumin and fry for a few minutes
• Add strained liquid from tomatoes and continue to fry
• Finely chop (don’t blend) tomatoes and when contents of pan are largely dry, add these and fry vigorously.
• When the tomatoes have broken down a bit, add chilli products (if not using fresh chili), the drained black beans and sweetcorn, the oregano and the lager
• Cook until liquid has reduced and the remaining sauce is thick

Prepare the filling for the yellow burritos by:

• frying the sliced onion and peppers until slightly caramelised and warming refried beans in the microwave.

To finish the dish:
• Alternate drunken bean burritos with refried bean burritos, topping each with tomatillo sauce or cheese dip respectively
• Bake at 180C until the cheese starts to brown

Bhindi do-pyaza

do-pyaza = double the (usual quantity of) onions

1/4 kg fresh tender lady’s finger, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/4 kg onions, finely sliced
1 large tomato, finely chopped
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1″ ginger piece, grated
big pinch turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder (optional)
1/2 tsp kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsp coriander leaves
1 1/4 tbsp oil
1 Wash and dry the okra thoroughly (dry with a kitchen towel). Trim the ends and cut them into one inch pieces.
2 Heat one fourth tbsp of oil in a cooking vessel. Add the sliced okra pieces and stir fry them till they are three-fourth cooked. Constantly stir fry on medium to ensure they don’t burn or stick to the pan. Add salt and turmeric powder and remove.
3 In the same pan, add the remaining oil. Add the cumin seeds and toss for 8-10 seconds. Add the, grated ginger and immediately add the sliced onions and saute till they are transparent yet crisp.
4 Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and saute for 2-3 mts. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook further for another 4-5 mts.
5 Now add the stir fried okra and combine well and cook further uncovered for 12-15 mts. Add kasoori methi, sugar and lemon juice. Combine well and adjust salt. Turn off heat.
6 Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis or rice.

Tandoori chicken or salmon

30g tandoori masala
4 TBS Basic seasoning
250g 0% fat yogurt
2 TBS olive oil
juice of 2 small lemons
1 rounded TSP of tamarind paste mixed with a little boiling water
1TBS reduced salt ketchup

Mix all ingredients above and beat with a whisk, then use as a marinade (overnight) for skinned slashed chicken pieces or salmon fillets/steaks, for barbecuing or baking.

Tandoori masala

For 60g of masala, mix:

Paprika 5 heaped TSP
Ground Chili 2 heaped TSP
Ground Ginger 3 heaped TSP
Pepper ½ heaped TSP
Cumin 2 ½ heaped TSP
Black cardamom, crushed seeds from 3 pods
Garlic powder 1 heaped TSP
Ground Fennel 1 heaped TSP
Cinnamon 1 heaped TSP
Allspice 1 heaped TSP

Pizza

Pizza has been a bit of a conundrum for me. As with most low sat fat versions of dishes, inevitably there must be some compromise on flavours and textures but there are certain factors that make a pizza a pizza and not cheese and tomato on bread, and colour, texture and flavour all play a vital role. The trick is to find a balance and this is a matter of trial and error, and keeping a watchful eye for new products and thinking of innovative ways of using them and making substitutions.

For pizzas without bacon, sausage of various kinds or ham, Dominos pizza made with ‘Delight’ cheese is probably lower in saturated fat that anything you can make yourself, at (for a large margherita) 16g of sat fat for a weight of 1.1kg (8g for a ½ pizza portion or 1.5g/100g). What a shame that there seems no way for regular punters to buy this cheese. If anyone finds one, let me know!

Using 4 slices of Morrisons mozzarella and a jusrol pizza base+sauce, I can get sat fat down to just over 18g of for a weight of 730g (just over 9g for a ½ pizza portion or 2.5g/100g – and then have a salad as well, as this is 1/3 smaller than Dominos large size).

As soon as you want meat on your pizza as well though, Dominos sat fat levels rocket (even with Delight) and you can easily make a lower sat fat version.

Dominos pepperoni passion (with Delight) comes in at nearly 49g of sat fat for a weight of about 1.2kg (24g for a ½ pizza portion or 4.1%) compared to the recipe below which comes in at just under 24g of sat fat for a weight of 810g (just under 12g for a ½ pizza portion or 2.9g/100g – and then have a salad as well). That’s a gram-for-gram saving of 27% and a portion-for-portion saving of 51%, but still not an everyday meal!

~Jusrol pizza base+sauce
~1 84g pack of Deli24 Cheese & Pepperoni snacks (unrolled, with pepperoni cut into 5-6cm squares and cheese chopped into rounds)
~Oregano
~3 slices of Morrisons mozzarella

Adding a good slug of olive oil will increase the numbers a bit, but won’t do you any harm, and the additional ‘oiliness’ fools you into thinking it has come out of the cheese and meat. Feel free to add veg too (for me, it usually thinly sliced peppers, onions, mushrooms, sliced olives, jalapenos or whatever), or anchovies.

Sainsbury be-good-to-yourself bacon has 1g/100g of sat fat, so a pizza with bacon rather than pepperoni would be a healthier option, but sometimes only pepperoni will do!

If I’m doing a mixed pizza (different toppings in different parts), I will often use dabs of vegan pesto as one of my toppings. As this contains no cheese, the sat fats in it are from nuts and/or pine nuts. I’m only really concerned with managing sat fats from animal sources (including dairy) so it is probably no worse for me than vegetable toppings.

NB reduced fat mozzarellas are available, but I’ve not seen these in pre-sliced packs and I really do think that pre-slicing facilitates ‘portion control’ (as you can separate the pack out into groups of 3 or 4 slices, freeze them and defrost as necessary) and that even the limited ‘stringiness’ of Morrisons pre-sliced mozzarella (which is lower fat than e.g. Sainsbury’s, but is not billed as “reduced” or “low” fat) is more conducive to the whole experience of eating a pizza than using a “reduced” or “low” fat version that will be a bit rubbery.

Green chili sauce, in the style of MD (Sri Lankan) Green chili sauce

125g green chili - bought from a mainstream supermarket and labelled as "medium" heat
4 cloves of garlic
juice and pulp of 1 lemon
2 DSP of Basic seasoning
300g cubed and boiled suede, turnip or lo bak (蘿蔔, a.k.a. daikon or mooli)

Blitz the lot. Freeze in an ice cube tray, or (even better, as it has a lid) one of these (see pic) from Boots

Thai green curry

Thai green curry paste, 1 portion
Chicken, skinned, trimmed and slashed thighs or (better but a bit dry for my liking) cubed breast meat
Aubergines, in similar quantity to the chicken – cubed or halved if small, round type
Olive oil
1 cup of Basic Seasoning
Low-salt soya sauce, 2 DSP
Shaoxing rice wine or Mirin, 2 DSP
Soya “single cream”, 100ml
Low-salt chicken stock cube, made up to 1 pint
Lime wedges to garnish

Variations: replace baked aubergine with stir-fried strips of pepper and/or carrot sticks; replace chicken with prawns and/or squid rings (NB seafood should be added at the end of the cooking process, just before eating and take care not to overcook.

Ideally, allow the flavours in this dish to develop by making the curry a day in advance. If you find you have sauce but no meat left over, you can add seafood and/or stir-fried veg for another meal.



Spray a baking tray with oil, then place aubergine on top and spray again so that all sides have a light coating of oil. Bake at 180° C until cut edges start to turn golden.

Fry thai green curry paste in a wok with a little olive oil. When it is just starting to stick, add the meat and brown quickly. The paste may start to burn/stick a little, but don’t worry unduly about this.

Continue to stir fry, adding soya sauce, then Shaoxing rice wine, then stock, bit by bit, to prevent burning. When chicken looks more or less cooked through, add soya “single cream” and cooked aubergines.

Simmer on a low heat for 1 hour or more, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened. Serve with rice and a generous squeeze of lime.

Thai green curry paste

Lemongrass, 3 stalks
4 shallots
4 thin green birdseye chillis
4 cloves of garlic
Galangal, a two inch piece
Ginger, a two inch piece, peeled
25g coriander

Blend all ingredients, adding a little olive oil as necessary to blend well. Store in fridge for a few days or freeze.

Soused herrings

1 pt white wine vinegar
½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
2 tsp mixed peppercorns
20 tsp sugar, in a little boiling water
1 onion, thinly sliced
Dill, finely chopped
8 herring fillets

Bring vinegar, chilli, peppercorns and mustard seeds to the boil, then cool.
When cooled, decant into a sealable jar or Tupperware, and add dill, onion and herrings.

Leave for 3 days before eating, ideally with rye bread.

Basic white sauce

275 ml milk – this can be infused (e.g. with garlic) but must be cold
20 g cornflour


Place the milk in a small pan, add the cornflour and, over a medium heat, bring everything gradually up to simmering point, whisking vigorously and continuously with a balloon whisk until the sauce has thickened to a smooth, rich creaminess. Then add flavourings and allow it to cook very gently for 5 minutes on the lowest possible heat.

If you are concerned that the flavourings may be too delicate and might need “empowering” with a made up low salt stock cube or white wine, thicken the sauce a little more than you usually would and then let it down with the stock (made up with only a little water) or (previously-reduced) white wine

Example flavourings

For fish (or fish pie): dill, pepper, Basic seasoning, lemon juice, reduced white wine

Shepherds Pie

Leftover roast lamb (visible fat removed and diced) or lean lamb mince
Similar quantity of mushrooms (sliced)
8 TBS Basic seasoning
Fresh stock from lamb bones or low salt beef stock cube (made up)
Celery, sliced
1 TBS each of tomato puree, reduced salt tomato ketchup and reduced salt brown sauce.
Pepper to taste
Potatoes and milk for mash

Optional additions to the meat sauce: Onion/spring onion (diced/sliced), carrots (sliced), sundried tomatoes (finely chopped) , a little fresh mint or mint sauce, ½ tsp low salt yeast extract(let down in a little boiling water)

Optional additions to the mash: spring onion (sliced), mustard, Quark, garlic-infused milk instead of plain

Alternative version – cottage pie: use minced beef / leftover roast beef instead of lamb, in which case you will have a cottage pie rather than a shepherds pie – if using beef, do not include mint or mint sauce, but a little horseradish or wasabi would be a good addition.

To make the meat mix:

Fry lamb mince, if using, then strain off any liquid and leave to separate, using a gravy separator or by refrigerating overnight, discarding the fat content, before adding back to the reserved meat.

Soften the celery (and onions and/or carrots, if using) by frying a little then add to the meat and stock.

Fry mushrooms. When they are fully cooked and have released their liquid, add back the meat mix and add then all remaining ingredients except for mash, milk, a little of the Basic seasoning and any optional mash ingredients being used. Leave to cook down until gravy has become fairly thick and all vegetables are fully cooked (and, if using roast lamb, the meat is falling apart)

To assemble the “pie”:

Make your mash, then when placing it on top of the meat mix, try not to pack it down tightly and leave the surfaces rough. Packing it down and smoothing it out would mean you only get a little “crust” and the crunch and well-done taste of the crispy bits are an integral part of shepherds pie. Bake in a hot oven until golden, and – of course – crispy.

To serve: Pickled red cabbage is a traditional accompaniment, but until I work out a recipe for this without salt (using vinegar) beetroot is a good alternative. I simply roast a few whole beets on a tray (no oil) until shrivelled slightly, then peel when cool and douse in a little vinegar for 5+ minutes.

Fattoush (tomato and pita salad)

Mix up a dressing of pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and mint (a little mint sauce from the jar, not made up, will do if you don’t have fresh mint to hand).

Bake pitas until brittle, then break into bite size pieces. Roughly chop tomatoes. Mix and dress immediately.

I have in the past added shredded lettuce, walnuts or pine nuts, and diced cucumber, as well.

Pomegranate & walnut chicken

2 large onions, chopped into a fine dice
1 cup water
6-8 chicken breasts
5 TBS pomegranate molasses
Pinch each of black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric and nutmeg (or allspice or “mixed spice”)
2 cups of low salt chicken stock
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS sugar
200g ground walnuts


Using a few sprays of oil, saute the onions until golden, then remove from pan and set aside. If you can’t get a good golden colour this way, use olive oil from a bottle and rinse away the oil with boiling water – caramelising onion provides flavour and a subtle sweetness that this dish needs that adding more sugar won’t provide.

Brown the chicken, then add the onions back to the pan along with the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken and set aside. Mix in the water, pomegranate molasses, ground walnuts and sugar and simmer for 15 minutes then return chicken to the pan and add spices and lemon juice before simmering for a further hour.