Spicy Tomato Sardines

Wow!!! This was a revelation.....we were supposed to have Chilli Con Carne for supper tonight but for reasons I won't bore you with we had to change direction. Didn't know what to pull out of the fridge/freezer but while I was wondering about things I noticed a tin of sardines on the shelf. I remembered that I had been reviewing recipes in my recipe builder and came upon this one so I took the opportunity to do it....and it was fab. I know the photo looks a bit browned out but it really was delicious. A note to consider...the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice but I like lemon so I put the juice of a whole lemon into it.....it was really nice.

Ingredients

Spray Oil

1 medium Shallot finely diced

60g Passata

1 teaspoon Capers, in Brine

Zest of a Lemon

2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Pinch Chilli flakes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar

Pinch of salt

1 (120g) Can of John West Boneless Sardines in Tomato Sauce

Method

Spray a frying pan with the spray oil. Soften the shallot for a few minutes.
Add the passata, chilli flakes, capers, lemon zest and juice, Worcestershire Sauce and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes to combine flavours. Season well
Add the sardines and break them up into the sauce. Cook for a few minutes to warm through. Serve on pasta (adding the appropriate sp) or vegetable ribbons.

"Butter Chicken" Sauce

Hi guys....!!

Since I've been on my WW journey hubby and I don't often eat the same meals so when I find something that suits us both I'm all over it. At the beginning of lockdown I was rooting around in the freezer and came across a portion of Butter Chicken that I had made using a a ready made sauce...it was great so I decided to find a Butter Chicken recipe that I could make at home....found this one (can't remember where it came from...normally I'm red hot on this but I've not been blogging regularly for a while so didn't think to record where it came from apologies if this is yours...no malice intended)

This recipe serves 6 so I make it up and then divide it into 3 portions for us two and freeze it. Just a note.....the first time I used this sauce from the freezer I forgot to add the Canderel and the creme fraiche.....so now I write myself a note on the label....LOL!!!
 
I served mine with Cauliflower rice and a couple of Low Fat Poppadoms (2sp) and I made up a quick and easy version of Mint chutney (Its 1 large chopped onion with the juice of 1 lemon and some dried mint...make as far ahead as you can remember for your meal and leave to marinate)

I put this in the WW recipe builder and it comes out at 1sp per portion (thats for the half fat creme fraiche)

The recipe can be used in a meat free recipe ...the chicken breast is in the photo because I was making Butter Chicken for our supper.... :)


Lets stay Strong guys
Sue
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Ingredients

10 sprays Tesco Pure Rapeseed Oil Spray

1 large Onion sliced

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Root Ginger, minced or finely grated

1 ¹⁄₂ level teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 ¹⁄₂ level teaspoons Garam Masala

1 level teaspoon Dried Coriander,

1 large can Chopped Tomatoes

¹⁄₂ level teaspoons Chilli Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

2 level tablespoon Half Fat Crème Frâiche

15g Canderel Sugarly

Method

Spray a large skillet or pot and place over medium-high heat.

Fry the onions until they start to sweat (about 6 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.

Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant,

....then add ground coriander, cumin and garam masala. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.

Add chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red colour.

                                                               

                                                            Before and after simmering

Remove from heat, scoop mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to help it blend (up to 1/4 cup). You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your blender.

At this point it can be frozen in batches. When ready to use stir the creme fraiche and Canderel through the sauce before serving.

Saffron Salmon Caulisotto

So ....a Hairy Bikers recipe for Saffron Seafood with Fregola pitched up on my Facebook newsfeed....looked good but I didn't have the seafood in and I don't eat pasta anymore so at first I thought "Well I won't be making that"....it was the saffron that attracted me to the recipe...I've got some in and don't use it much so as I was intending to have salmon caulisotto for dinner I just incorporated the herbs and saffron into that....loved it and will be making it again

I only made a single portion and it came out at 1point please remember to recalculate if you add or substitute any ingredients or (to be on the cautious side) if you increase the number of portions.

Ingredients

1 salmon fillet either raw or pre-cooked
1 portion of cauliflower florets (riced)
1 medium shallot finely diced
1/2 teaspoon of Canderel Sugarly
A small pinch of saffron
Spray Oil (not shown in pic)
100ml veg stock (not shown in pic)
45g Philadelphia lightest
1/8 teaspoon chilli flakes (to your own taste if you like it more spicy)
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon oregano
Salt
Black pepper

Method

The first thing to do is cook the salmon fillet (unless you are using a ready cooked one). I preheat the oven to 170 fan. Then I place my salmon in a piece of foil and wrap it up then I bake it in the oven for 12-13 minutes. Take it out and flake it into bite sized pieces.

At this point its a good idea to prepare the saffron, I put it in an egg cup and add a tablespoon of boiling water and allow it to sit and infuse while I do everything alse.



Normally, when I make a caulisotto, I just add the shallot to the pan and soften it but I wanted the flavour of caramelised shallot which is of course much sweeter. To do this I put the shallot in a small frying pan along with a few squirts of spray oil and let it come up to the heat. I then turned the heat down and sprinkled the Canderel over, I then let it gently continue to cook until the shallot was lovely and brown and sweet and sticky

  I know it looks burnt but I promise you it isn't... :)

While this was happening I placed the cauliflower rice in a lidded casserole dish with a couple of tablespoons of water and zapped it in the microwave for 2 minutes

When the shallot was ready I added it to a small saucepan and added the microwaved cauli rice. Now at this point the shallot and the rice are already cooked so its pretty much an assembly job. The thing about risotto is the consistency and its that which takes the time at this point. I've tried adding the Philadelphia cheese at this point but its almost impossible to get the right consistency so I normally add a little stock at this point didn't have any to hand so I added some hot water (just enough to cover the mixture) and the stock cube. I added the saffron, the herbs and and some seasoning. I kept the caulisotto on a medium high heat and waited for the liquid to evaporate (takes about 10-15minutes depending on how high the heat is). When the consistency was right I added the flaked salmon and mixed it gently in so as not to break up the salmon. Served it on a warm plate with a wedge of lemon.

Hope you try it and enjoy

I'd love comments if you would like.

Stay strong guys
Sue
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