#Cod #Greek #Lemon #Garlic Greek-Style Baked Cod with Lemon and Garlic

#Cod #Greek #Lemon #Garlic This is my take on a Mediterranean Dish Recipe by Suzy Karadsheh which is Low Gi and diabetic friendly.

Level of difficulty – Not too tricky

Ingredients:

680 g (1.5 lb) Cod fillet pieces (4–6 pieces)

5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced (use a garlic press)

A good handful (¼ cup) chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Lemon Juice Mixture

5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp melted butter

For Coating

80 ml (⅓ cup rye flour (Lower GI))

1 tsp ground coriander

¾ tsp sweet Spanish paprika

¾ tsp ground cumin

Pinch of salt

½ tsp black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180º C (400º F).

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, and melted butter in a shallow bowl and set aside.

In a separate shallow bowl, mix rye flour, spices, salt, and pepper. Place next to the lemon juice mixture bowl.

Pat the fish fillet dry, then dip the fish in the lemon juice mixture then dip in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat (watch the oil to be sure it is sizzling but not smoking). Add the fish and sear on each side to give it some colour, but do not fully cook (about a couple minutes on each side) Remove from heat.

To the remaining lemon juice mixture, add the minced garlic and mix. Drizzle all over the fish fillets.

Bake in the heated oven until it begins to flake easily with a fork (about 10 minutes should do it, but begin checking earlier). Remove from heat and garnish with the chopped parsley. Serving suggestions: Serve immediately with Lebanese Rice and a traditional Greek Salad.

Preparation Time – 10 minutes

Cooking Time – Approx. 12 minutes

Nutritional Information

All Nutritional Information is estimated:

Fat – 18.4g

Saturates – 2.6g

Carbs – 16.1g

Sugars – 1.6g

Fibre – 0g

Protein – 23.1g Salt – 215 mg

#GreenLentil #Pasta #Puttanesca #Beef Green Lentil Pasta Puttanesca with Beef

#Pasta #Puttanesca #Beef #GreenLentil This is my take on an Eating Well recipe which is Low Gi and diabetic friendly.

Level of difficulty – Easy

Ingredients:

500g (1 pound) 5% or lower fat lean minced beef (could use turkey mince)

1 onion chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes with chilli (We used Lidl’s own brand)

1 tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

250g Organic Green Lentil Penne Pasta (we used Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Pasta from Asda)

A good handful of Kalamata olives, chopped

A good handful of snipped fresh flatleaf parsley with some for garnish

170g (about 2 to 3 tbsp) no-salt-added tomato puree

3 anchovy fillets, chopped

1 Low Salt Beef Stock Cube

Method

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large non-stick pan fry the onions over medium heat for a few minutes until they begin to soften, add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds (do not allow the garlic to burn) add the minced beef and continue frying until meat browns. Drain off any fat and discard.

Make a well in the meat mixture and add the tomato puree, cook for a few moments and mix well into the beef, add tinned tomatoes with chillies, anchovies, oregano, crushed red pepper and Low Salt Beef Stock Cube. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for one hour to 1 ½ hours. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Before serving, stir olives and ¼ cup parsley into the pan and add the pasta to the pan and garnish with the extra parsley. Sprinkle with low-fat Parmesan Cheese (optional) and serve with Low GI Garlic Bread.

Garlic mushroom pasta

#Garlic #Mushroom #Pasta This is my take on a Jamie Oliver recipe from his quick and easy series. Minimum shopping, maximum taste and super quick to make.

Ingredients

150 g dried wholemeal fusilli (or any other healthy pasta of your choice)

4 cloves of garlic

500 g mixed mushrooms (we used Chestnut, Common and Shiitake Mushrooms)

25 g Parmesan cheese (we used Lidl Parmigiano Reggiano)

4 heaped tablespoons half-fat crème fraîche (we used Lidl Reduced Fat crème fraîche)

Method

Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic. Place it in a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with ½ a tablespoon of olive oil, followed 1 minute later by the mushrooms, tearing up any larger ones. Season with sea salt and black pepper, and cook for 8 minutes, or until golden, tossing regularly.

Toss the drained pasta into the mushroom pan with a splash of reserved cooking water. Finely grate in most of the Parmesan, stir in the Reduced Fat crème fraîche, taste, season to perfection, and dish up, finishing with a final grating of Parmesan.

Serve with a healthy garlic bread of your choice.

Prawn Curry in a Hurry

#Prawn #Curry This is my take on a recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, spiced up a bit with a couple of more ingredients than the original (the holy trinity of Indian cooking onion, garlic and ginger according to Cyrus Todiwala (one-half of the Incredible Spice Men)). Minimum shopping, maximum taste, and if Indian’s not your thing make this Thai prawn curry with a simple switch.

Ingredients

2 tbsp curry paste (we used Patak’s Original Madras Spice Paste (Use Thai Red Curry Paste if you prefer)

1 onion finely sliced

3 red chillies finely chopped (remove seeds and pith if you’re not keen on heat)

1 Thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

200g large raw or cooked prawns (we used Lidl’s King Prawns 2 packs), defrosted if frozen

400g can chopped tomato with chilli (we used Lidl’s Chopped Tomatoes with Chilli)

large bunch coriander leaves and stalks chopped

Method

First of all drizzle some oil from the curry paste jar into a wok or large frying pan, you may have to add a little more olive oil to make this work, gently heat, then add the onion. Sizzle over low heat for 4 mins until the onion softens, add the chopped chillies and ginger and sizzle for a couple of minutes then add the garlic and sizzle for 30 seconds or so. Then stir in the paste and cook for a few mins longer. Stir in the tomatoes and mix well with the ingredients already in the pan and finally stir in the prawns, then bring to a simmer. If using raw prawns, simmer until they have changed colour and are cooked through. Season, if you like, then add the coriander just before serving with boiled yellow Basmati Rice (keep it Low GI) and (healthy wholemeal or Low GI) naan bread or the flatbreads of your choice.

Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Cooking Time – Approx. 12-15 minutes

Nutritional Information

All Nutritional Information is estimated:

Fat – 4g

Saturates – 1g

Carbs – 11g

Sugars – 8g

Fibre – 3g

Protein – 22g Salt – 1.08g

Lentils and Vegetables

#Vegetarian #Lentils I’ve recently decided (reluctantly) that we need to eat more vegetables and less meat, mainly for health reasons but also because purely vegetarian meals can be quite delicious and are very healthy. This is my take on a recipe by Sajeev Thomson Mathew who is the author of the MyFoodSwings Blog. I am a person who usually pairs vegetables with some sort of meat or chicken but in this quick and tasty dish, you won’t miss it.

Recipe

Lentils and Vegetables

INGREDIENTS:

225 ml (1 cup) Broccoli
225 ml (1 cup) Brussels Sprouts halved

225 ml (1 cup) Asparagus Tips (trimmed)

118 ml (½ cup) Lentils
2 Medium Carrots (sliced into thin batons)
Pinch of Salt (optional)
Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsps Minced garlic
2 tbsps Butter
1 tbsp chilli flakes
Olive Oil

Vegetable Stock

PREPARATION:

Boil some vegetable stock in a saucepan and once the water starts boiling, add the lentils (we used split yellow lentils but any lentils will do) to the saucepan. Once, they are cooked which should be in about 15 to 20 minutes, drain the water out and keep the lentils aside.

In a pan, heat up some oil and butter. Then add the red chilli flakes and minced garlic. Sauté till the garlic turns golden brown. Then add the broccoli and lentils along with some salt and pepper. Cook till the broccoli is browned and crisp and the lentils are firmed up.

Slice the carrots into thin batons and add to a pan with some oil. Season with some salt (optional) and pepper. Fry until the exterior wilts and is browned properly.

Halve the brussels and trim the asparagus and add to the carrots in the pan just to crisp up the exterior of the brussels and the asparagus. Add the remaining juices on the lentils, broccoli and carrots on the plate and serve as shown.