The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight (23 page)

288 calories

EGG, BACON AND ASPARAGUS FLAN

A light tart that melts in the mouth, this feels like a real treat and it’s a cinch to make. There’s not even any rolling involved. If you like, leave the asparagus out of the filling mixture or add extra ingredients of your own. Sautéed mushrooms, blanched broccoli and roasted peppers all work well.

SERVES 6

1 bunch of young asparagus, about 10 spears, trimmed

5 rashers of dry-cure smoked back bacon

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely sliced

25g cornflour

300ml semi-skimmed milk

3 large eggs, beaten

25g extra-mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated

flaked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Pastry

1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for oiling the tin

4 sheets of filo pastry, each about 32 x 38cm

245 calories per portion

Slice the asparagus into lengths of about 5cm. Half fill a large non-stick frying pan with water and bring to the boil. Add the asparagus, bring back to the boil and cook for 1 minute until just tender. Drain and rinse under running water until cold, then pat dry. Trim any fat off the bacon and cut it into 1cm strips. Return the pan to a low heat, add the oil and gently fry the onion and bacon until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Add the onion and bacon to the bowl with the asparagus, toss lightly and leave to cool. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat.

Lightly oil a 20cm loose-based fluted flan tin that’s about 3.5cm deep. Pour the rest of the oil into a small bowl. Place a sheet of filo pastry in the flan tin, pressing it firmly against the base and sides. Using the tip of a pastry brush, brush the pastry with a little oil then cover with a second pastry sheet at a right angle to the first. Brush with more oil and cover with a third sheet at the same angle to the first. Brush with the oil and cover with a fourth sheet, running in the same direction as the second. Roll and crumple the overhanging pastry back on to the rim of the tin, lifting slightly above it, and brush lightly with the remaining oil. Place the tin on the baking tray.

Put the cornflour in a non-stick saucepan and stir in 50ml of the milk to make a thin paste. Pour over 200ml of the milk and stir well. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute over a medium heat, stirring, until the sauce is thick and smooth. Season, then remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the milk to cool and loosen the sauce. Stir in the beaten eggs until thoroughly combined.

Scatter half the asparagus, bacon and onion mixture over the base of the pastry case and pour the white sauce gently on top. Scatter the remaining asparagus and bacon mixture on top and press down lightly, then sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Bake on the preheated baking tray in the centre of the oven for 25–30 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned and crisp and the filling is set. Take the flan out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm or cold.

CHEESE, LEEK AND ONION PASTIES

You can’t have a Hairy Biker book without a pasty so here they are. When only a pasty will do, we are here to rescue you with another hand-held lovely from our recipe vaults, this time with a special low-fat crust. Good for vegetarians too.

MAKES 8

400g potatoes, preferably Maris Pipers, peeled and cut into rough 2cm chunks

300ml cold water

½ vegetable stock cube

350g leeks (2 medium), trimmed and cut into 5mm slices

1 medium onion, finely chopped

500g premium white bread mix

plain flour, for rolling

100g half-fat mature Cheddar, finely grated

1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

freshly ground black pepper

231 calories per portion

Put the potatoes in a large non-stick saucepan and add the cold water. Crumble over the vegetable stock cube and set over a high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the leek and onion to the pan with the potato and stock and return to a fast simmer. Cook for another 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and all the liquid has evaporated. Stir regularly, especially towards the end of the cooking time so the potatoes don’t stick. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the ‘pastry’ cases, make the bread dough by hand until smooth and elastic according to the packet instructions. Follow the directions up to the point at which the dough is shaped ready for baking. Because it is a bread dough, the ‘pastry’ won’t feel as stiff as usual but it shouldn’t be sticky so add a little extra plain flour if necessary. Roll the dough into 8 evenly sized balls.

Roll out each ball of dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 18cm across. Turn the dough every couple of rolls so you get a good even shape, but don’t worry too much as they don’t have to be perfect. Stir the grated cheese into the cooled potato mixture and season with lots of black pepper. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7.

Spoon an eighth of the filling mixture on to one of the dough circles, placing it in a long heap down the centre and leaving a 2cm gap at each end. Lightly brush all around the edge of the dough with milk. Bring 2 sides up around the filling and press the edges together to seal firmly. Crimp the edges neatly.

Put the pasty on a baking tray lightly dusted with flour and make the rest in the same way. You’ll need to use 2 baking trays or bake 1 batch after the other. Brush the pasties with more milk to glaze. Bake the pasties for 15 minutes, then cover them loosely with foil and bake for another 10–12 minutes or until lightly browned and hot inside. You may need to leave the lower tray in the oven for a few minutes longer than the one on the higher shelf. Serve warm or cold.

ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS

This tasty dip makes a great snack with a few veg sticks. We like to have some of this in the fridge when the yearning for an in-between-meals mouthful gets too great.

SERVES 6–8

2 large red peppers

1 tbsp olive oil

½ small onion, finely chopped

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

1 heaped tsp ground cumin

400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 long red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped

finely grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon

1 tsp fine sea salt

89 calories per portion (if serving 6) 67 calories per portion (if serving 8)

Preheat the grill to its hottest setting and line a grill pan or baking tray with foil. Cut the peppers in half lengthways, remove the stalks and deseed. Put the pepper halves, cut side down, on the lined tray.

Place the peppers on a shelf close to the heat and grill for 15 minutes or until the skins are blackened and charred. Remove the pan and leave the peppers for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the chopped onion, ground coriander and ground cumin. Fry over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally, then leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Scoop the chopped onion mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Peel off the charred pepper skins and chuck them away. Tear the pepper flesh into pieces and add to the food processor with the onion. Then add the chickpeas, garlic, chilli, lemon zest and salt and blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible. You may need to remove the lid and push the mixture down once or twice with a spatula until you have the consistency you like. Leave it a bit chunkier if you like or make half the chickpeas very smooth and then add the rest for a final blitz.

Spoon the dip into a serving dish, or into small plastic containers if you want to take some for your lunch box, and eat with pieces of raw carrot, cucumber or other veg, or with dried vegetable crisps. Store it in the fridge and eat within 2 days.

SNACKS

If you’re anything like us, you’ll feel a bit peckish during the day between meals, but we’ve got into the habit of keeping some healthy low-cal snacks to hand so we don’t head for the biscuit tin. Crispbreads are low in calories and can be topped with all sorts of ingredients, so we like to have a few different sorts as well as some rice or corn cakes in the cupboard. A tub of reduced-fat hummus is also a brilliant standby to enjoy with a few cut-up veggies for dipping. Be careful of your portion size though – no more than a couple of tablespoons for a snack. Avoid cheesy or creamy dips or you could be tempted to eat more calories than you need. Most of these snacks are about 100 calories each, but the cheese and pickle has about 138.

PEANUT BUTTER AND APPLE

Spread 1 corn cake with 10g of peanut butter. Cut a quarter of an apple into slices, removing the core, and place on top of the peanut butter.

MARINATED OLIVES

Marinated olives have lots of flavour. A 50g serving – about 8 olives – makes a great snack.

HUMMUS AND VEGETABLES

Put 2 tablespoons of lemon and coriander hummus on a plate and serve with vegetable sticks.