The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight (19 page)

Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander. Put the tuna on warmed plates and add the drained spaghetti, broccoli, tomatoes, lemon juice, chilli oil and parsley to the frying pan.

Cook for 2 minutes, tossing with 2 wooden spoons until the pasta is lightly coated with the spices from the pan and the tomatoes are softened but still holding their shape. Divide the spaghetti between the plates using tongs or a couple of forks. Add some extra lemon wedges for squeezing if you like. Serve right away while it’s all lovely and hot.

CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Bet you didn’t think you could eat risotto and still shed the pounds? Well, you didn’t reckon with our clever cooking skills. We’ve radically reduced the fat content of a normal risotto while sacrificing little of the flavour and texture. A classic mid-week supper.

SERVES 4

10g dried wild mushrooms

1 litre just-boiled water

1 chicken stock cube

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

150g small chestnut mushrooms, wiped and sliced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

150g risotto rice (Arborio)

25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

2 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

317 calories per portion

Put the dried mushrooms in a small heatproof bowl and pour over 100ml of the just-boiled water. Pour the rest of the water into a medium saucepan and stir in the stock cube until dissolved. Leave the mushrooms to soak.

Put the chicken breasts in the chicken stock – the liquid should just cover them. Place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 10 minutes, turning after the first 5 minutes. The liquid should just simmer gently – don’t let it boil. Lift the chicken breasts out of the stock with tongs and put them on a board to cool a little.

Place a large non-stick saucepan on the hob over a medium-high heat and add the oil. Fry the sliced chestnut mushrooms for 3 minutes until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook with the mushrooms for 3 minutes until pale golden brown, stirring. Stir in the rice and cook for a minute with the vegetables, stirring constantly until the grains look translucent.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add a large ladleful of the hot stock to the pan and stir well. As soon as it has been absorbed, add another ladleful. Continue gradually adding stock to the pan until it has all been used and the rice is looking swollen and creamy but isn’t quite tender. This will take about 25 minutes and you need to keep stirring.

Just before the rice is ready, drain the dried mushrooms through a fine sieve placed over a bowl and reserve the soaking liquid. Roughly chop the mushrooms and add them to the pan with the rice. Stir in the mushroom soaking liquid and cook for a couple of minutes while you prepare the chicken. The risotto should look fairly saucy at this point, so if yours looks quite thick, stir in some extra water.

Cut the chicken into strips and stir them into the rice. Add the Parmesan and heat through for 2–3 minutes, then remove from the heat and check the seasoning. Stir in the crème fraiche, cover with a lid and leave the risotto to stand for 3–5 minutes before serving.

SOUTHERN-STYLE JAMBALAYA

Jambalaya is a wonderful rice dish that we got to know and love in Louisiana – a sort of Creole paella, really. This is our version, cutting down on the fat but keeping all the warm, spicy flavour.

SERVES 6

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

100g chorizo (we like picante)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

4 slender celery sticks, cut into 1cm slices

2 small green peppers, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks

5 large ripe vine tomatoes (about 475g)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

2 bay leaves

200g long-grain rice (we often use the easy-cook version)

450ml chicken stock, made with 1 chicken stock cube

100g cooked peeled king prawns, thawed if frozen

6 spring onions, sliced (including lots of green)

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

341 calories per portion

Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, removing any excess fat, and season them with salt and pepper. Skin the sausage and cut it into 5mm slices. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or non-stick sauté pan and fry the chicken for 3 minutes over a medium heat until lightly coloured. Add the chorizo and cook for 30 seconds more, then transfer the chicken and chorizo with tongs to a large plate or tray.

Tip most of the oil out of the frying pan and chuck it away. Return the empty pan to the heat and turn the heat down to low. Stir in the onion, celery and green peppers and cook for 8–10 minutes until well softened, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes – see our top tip. Cut them in half and remove the green stem ends, then roughly chop the rest of the flesh – no need to deseed.

Stir the crushed garlic, paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano and bay leaves into the frying pan and cook for 20–30 seconds, stirring. Increase the heat and add the chopped tomatoes and any juice that has collected on the board. Cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are well softened, stirring regularly.

Return the chicken and chorizo to the pan, add the rice and cook for about a minute, stirring. Pour over the stock, season with a pinch of salt and lots of black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until the rice is just tender and most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally. The rice should still be pretty saucy at this point, so if your rice takes longer to cook, you may need to add a little more stock.

Stir in the prawns and spring onions and cook for about 2 minutes more or until the prawns are hot, stirring regularly, then serve.

Top tip:

To skin tomatoes, make a small cross in the base of each tomato with the tip of a knife. Put the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave the tomatoes to stand for 30–60 seconds until the skins begin to wrinkle back, then drain. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, strip off the skins and chuck them away.

ITALIAN MEATBALLS WITH CHUNKY TOMATO SAUCE

Lean minced pork can be the dieter’s friend, but do check the fat content on the pack. You can make these with beef mince if you like, or a mixture of the two.

SERVES 4

500g lean pork or beef mince (less than 10% fat) or 250g of each

½ medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely grated

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp sunflower oil

freshly ground black pepper

Tomato sauce

2 tsp sunflower oil

½ medium onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

400g can of chopped tomatoes

100ml red wine or water

200ml cold water

282 calories per portion

To make the meatballs, put the mince in a large bowl and add the onion, carrot, garlic, oregano, salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Mix with clean hands until everything is well combined, then shape the mixture into 24 small balls; they should be slightly smaller than a walnut in its shell.

Pour the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or sauté pan and fry the meatballs over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Keep turning and rolling the meatballs around the pan until lightly browned, then transfer them to a plate.

To make the sauce, pour the sunflower oil into a medium non-stick saucepan and add the onion. Fry for 4 minutes, stirring regularly, then add the garlic and fry for 1 minute more.

Tip the tomatoes, red wine and water into the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the browned meatballs to the sauce and bring back to a simmer.

Cover the pan loosely with a lid and leave the meatballs to simmer gently in the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and continue simmering gently for another 15–20 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Stir often and add a little extra water if the sauce reduces too quickly. Serve hot with a small portion of pasta or lots of freshly cooked vegetables.

CHILLI CON CARNE

Here’s a spicy classic you can still eat while on a diet. Serve with a salad and/or a very small portion of rice. Don’t forget you’ve already got some carbs in the beans.

SERVES 5

500g lean minced beef (10% or less fat)

2 medium onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped