Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is all to do with healthy, hearty, winter warmers. With any luck all of your new years’ resolutions haven’t been lost yet. Hopefully you can continue to keep the resolution for a slimmer you with this week’s recipes, nonetheless just because you’re counting the calories and fat content doesn’t mean that you can’t have something warm and hearty on a cold winter’s night. I’ve also included something naughty to tickle your fancy.
The features recipes this week are Bacon and Sweetcorn Chowder, Italian Stew with Borlotti Beans and Sausage and Tinker’s Tea.
My first recipe is Bacon and Sweetcorn Chowder, recipe courtesy of Slimmer Dinners, published by Olive Magazine January 2011.
Serves 2, Prep 5mins, Cook 15mins approx.
3 x Rashers of Streaky Bacon – chopped (or lardons)
Oil
1 x Small Onion – finely chopped
1 x Large Potato – peeled and cut into small cubes
350ml x Organic Chicken or Vegetable Stock
400ml x Milk
200g x Sweetcorn (frozen or tinned (drained))
Chives, snipped to make 2 tbps
Fry the bacon in a little oil in a pan – as soon as it starts to colour, add the onion and potato and cook until the onion starts to soften. Add the stock and milk and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5mins or until the potato is tender, then add the sweetcorn and heat. Season and stir in the chives.
My next recipe is Italian Stew with Borlotti Beans and Sausage, recipe courtesy of Slimmer Dinners, published by Olive Magazine January 2011.
Serves 2, Prep 5mins, Cook 25mins
2 x Italian-Style Sausages – skins removed
Oil
1 x Onion – roughly chopped
1 x Garlic Clove – chopped
1/2 tsp x Fennel Seeds
A Pinch of Chilli Flakes
1 x 400g tin of Cherry Tomatoes
300ml x Organic Vegetable Stock or water
1 x 400g tin of Borlotti Beans – drained and rinsed
100g x Green Beans – trimmed and cut in half
Roll the sausagemeat into little balls. Heat a non-stick frying pan sprayed or brushed with oil and brown the meatballs until golden and any oil is released. Remove the sausage and add the onion, garlic and fennel seeds to the pan, along with chilli flakes and some seasoning. Cook for 5mins and then add the cherry tomatoes with 300ml of water or stock. Bring to a simmer and add the Borlotti beans and meatballs. Cook for 10mins then add the green beans. Cook for 5mins more until the beans are tender, then serve.
My last recipe for this week is more of a cocktail than a dish, something to warm the cockles on a winter’s night. Tinker’s Tea, recipe by Ray Foley, courtesy of Ultimate Bartender’s Guide. Published by Sourcebooks Inc.
Makes 1, takes minutes to prepare.
45ml x Bailey’s Irish Cream
170ml x Hot Tea
Make yourself a cup of tea as you normally would, but instead of adding milk add 45ml of Baileys Irish Cream and stir until thoroughly mixed, and enjoy.
Recipes Under The Covers 