Lentil lamb

Serves 4 : Easy : Quick
Ingredients
400gm minced lamb
½ cup barley
½ cup lentils
2 carrots, chopped
4 courgettes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
500mls hot veg stock

600gm sweet potatoes,
peeled and cut in chunks

Method
Put the sweet potatoes on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Once tender, drain and mash.
Keep warm.

Meanwhile, spray a large pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dry-fry the onions, celery and garlic for about 5 minutes until the onions are soft.
Add the mince to the pan and brown.

Add the lentils and barley.
Add the carrots, courgettes and rosemary.
Add the stock and stir well to combine.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 mins,
or until the lentils and barley are cooked.

If necessary, thicken the sauce with a tablespoon of maizena.

Serve the sweet potato mash with the lamb sauce.
Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

I’m always thrilled when I can get the proper orange sweet potatoes. They have a naturally sweet flavour which goes well with lamb. Although sweet potatoes are higher in kilojoules than ordinary potatoes, they have more fibre and therefore a lower GI.

Souvlaki and chopped salad

Serves 4 : Easy : Quick
Ingredients
±400gm lean lamb strips
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp dried oregano

A good handful or two lettuce, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
½ small cucumber, chopped
6-8 spring onions, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
12 pitted black olives, sliced
Small handful seedless raisins
Handful of mint, chopped

500gm new potatoes, scrubbed
Method
Put the potatoes on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain and keep warm once they are cooked.

Measure the cumin seeds and oregano into a plastic bag.
Add the lamb strips to the bag and shake well.

Combine all the salad veg in a large bowl.

Spray a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray, and heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the coated lamb strips.
Stir-fry the lamb for 6 – 8 minutes.

Serve the lamb with the new potatoes and chopped salad.

If you like a dressing on your salad you can make your own with equal quantities of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. There are quite a few low-fat readymade dressings available, too. Just remember that you only need one tablespoon per person at most.

Eastern Chilli Beef

Serves 4 : Easy : Quick
Ingredients
400gm lean beef strips
1 onion, sliced
1 – 2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 – 4 stalks celery, sliced
1 small cabbage, shredded
125gm snow peas, sliced diagonally
4 courgettes, sliced
Small bunch of spinach, trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 Tblsp chopped ginger
2 Tblsp soy sauce
3 Tblsp sweet chilli sauce

320gm rice

Method
Put the rice on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain and keep warm when tender.

Combine the soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and ginger in a small bowl.

Spray a wok or large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Fry the onions, celery and garlic until the onion starts to soften.

Add the beef strips to the pan and cook for about 5 mins.
Stir through the courgettes, cabbage, spinach and snow peas.
Add the ginger and sauces.
Keep stirring over the heat for about 2 minutes.

Serve with the rice and extra soy sauce if desired.

Lamb stuffed pita bread

Serves 4 : Easy : Quick
Ingredients
±400gm lean lamb strips
1 - 2 Tblsp curry paste
4 Tblsp fat free natural yoghurt
1 – 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions, cut in wedges
4 whole meal pita breads

5cm piece cucumber, diced
4 Tblsp fat free natural yoghurt
1 – 2 Tblsp good mint sauce

Method
First make the dressing by combining the cucumber, mint sauce and 4 Tblsp yoghurt.

Mix the curry paste, garlic and the other 4 Tblsp yoghurt together.
Toss in the lamb strips and stir around so the lamb gets nicely covered.

Spray a frying pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook the onion wedges in the pan until they start to brown.
Remove the onions from the pan and keep warm.

Tip the lamb and marinade into the pan.
Cook over high heat, stirring all the time, until the lamb is cooked and starting to char
at the edges.

Warm the pita breads – I usually cut mine in half and put them in the toaster.
Open the pitas to make pockets.
Stuff with the lamb and onion wedges.

Serve with the dressing and a crisp green salad on the side.

A fresh green salad – lots of it – is good with this. The whole meal pita breads are very filling.

Old fashioned Bubble and Squeak

Serves 4 : Very easy
Ingredients
500gm potatoes
6 slices lean bacon, chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1-2 large courgettes, grated
1 small cabbage, shredded
Salt and black pepper
1 Tblsp finely chopped parsley
A little flour

Method
First, steam or microwave the carrots and peas until just tender, and wilt the cabbage.
Fry off the bacon bits in a large pan, and drain on kitchen paper.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water.
Drain when cooked, and mash until smooth.

Stir the carrots and peas through the potatoes – you can mash it all a little bit more,
but there should be crushed peas and carrots visible.

Fold in the wilted cabbage, the grated courgettes, the bacon bits and the parsley.
Stir well to combine.

Shape the mixture into eight rounds.
Dust lightly with flour.
Rest the rounds in the fridge for half an hour, if you have time.

Spray the rounds with non-stick cooking spray.
Fry the rounds in the bacon pan on a fairly high heat, for about 8 minutes each side,
until they are nicely brown.
Serve with tomato sauce and sliced tomatoes on the side.

My mother used to make this when I was a child, but she used to make one big potato and cabbage round. It’s called ‘bubble and squeak’ because of the sound it makes in the fryng pan. I’m sure when she made it, it was just potato and cabbage. And maybe a slice of bacon on the side.

Steak ‘n’ peas

Serves 4 : Easy : Quick
Ingredients
±480gm lean beef strips
1 Tblsp Dijon mustard
1 Tblsp balsamic vinegar

±240gm rice
2 cups frozen peas
1 Tblsp mint sauce

Mixed salad, to serve

Method
Mix the mustard and vinegar together.
Put the beef strips in the mustard and vinegar marinade.
Stir and turn steak pieces around to cover.
Allow to stand while you:

Put the rice on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
When almost done, add the frozen peas.
Continue cooking until the peas are done.
Drain and stir through the mint sauce.
Keep warm.

Spray a frying pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Place over a high heat and tip in the steak strips and marinade.
Dry fry for about 5 - 10 mins (the better the quality steak, the shorter the cooking time).

Serve the steak strips over the peas and rice, with a crisp mixed salad on the side.

Lamb steaks and butternut

Serves 4 : Easy : Quick
Ingredients
400gm lamb steaks
Ground cumin
500gm butternut, sliced in rounds
4-6 large courgettes, sliced lengthways
1 large onion, sliced
300ml dry couscous
300ml chicken or lamb stock
1-2Tblsp good quality mint sauce
100gm reduced fat feta, crumbled
Salad leaves
Mint leaves

Method
Prepare the butternut and courgettes.
Stem or microwave until cooked.
Keep warm.

Put the couscous and boiling stock in a bowl.
Cover with cling wrap or a plate.
Allow to stand for 10 minutes.
Stir through the mint sauce.
Fluff up with a fork.

Spray a frying pan or ridged pan with non-stick cooking spray. Put on high heat.
Spray the lamb steaks, both sides, with cooking spray.
Sprinkle cumin over the lamb steaks, both sides.
Cook the lamb steaks about 4 minutes per side.
Fry the onion in the same pan.

Lay a bed of lettuce leaves over each plate.
Spoon a mound of couscous onto the lettuce.
Now make a layered stack of butternut, courgette, onion and lamb on top of the couscous,
ending with lamb.
Garnish with crumbled feta and mint leaves.

I’m so sorry I lost the photo for this dish – it looked so impressive. Delicious too.

Hungarian Stew

Serves 4 : Very easy
Ingredients
400gm pork fillet, cut into bite sized chunks
1 large onion, chopped
1 large leek, sliced
1 small butternut, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
±150gm fine green beans
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 ½ tsp Mexican spice
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tblsp tomato paste
½ cup dried red lentils
3 cups beef stock

240gm linguine

Parsley and tomato to garnish

Method
Spray a large sauce pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Toss in the onions, leek and butternut.
Dry-fry for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Add the paprika, Mexican spice and thyme.
Fry for 2 mins more, stirring all the time, until spices are fragrant.
Add the pork and ‘seal’ it. (This takes about 5 mins on high heat, turning continuously.)

Now add the green beans, tomato paste, lentils and stock.
Bring to the boil; then simmer for about 30 mins, while you cook the pasta.

Drain the pasta and serve with the stew.
Garnish with chopped parsley and tomato slices.

The paprika that I have been able to find is the ‘sweet’ variety, and not hot – that’s why I have used Mexican spice for heat. I meant to spoon fat-free natural yoghurt over the stew, but I forgot.

Herby steaks

Serves 4 : Very easy
Ingredients
500gm fillet steak
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tblsp each of finely chopped:
basil, parsley, chives

500gm potatoes
8 patty pans
200gm thin asparagus spears

125gm mushrooms
400ml water
2 tsp beef stock powder
1 – 2 tsp maizena

Method
Put the potatoes on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Steam the patty pans and asparagus over the potatoes.

Meanwhile, cut the fillet into four steaks.
Flatten the steaks out a little, just with the heel of your hand.
Mix the herbs and garlic together.
Sprinkle the herbs over the steaks, and press on firmly.
Turn the steaks over and repeat the sprinkle/press.

Spray a griddle pan with non-stick cooking spray, and put on a high heat.
Spray both sides of the steak with non-stick cooking spray.
When the griddle pan is smoking, turn the heat down to medium.
Place the steaks in the griddle pan and cook for about five minutes.
Turn the steaks and cook for a further 5 mins.
Remove steaks from pan and allow to rest.

Put the mushrooms, water and stock powder in the pan.
Simmer until the mushrooms are tender.
Mix the maizena to a paste with a little more water.
Add the maizena paste to the mushroom sauce, stirring continuously.
Cook until sauce is thickened.

Serve each steak on a bed of asparagus, with the patty pans and potatoes
alongside, and the mushroom sauce over the potatoes.

I think I’ve said before that I only buy fillet steak – but you could use rump. My steaks were probably about 2.5cm thick. With 5 mins per side, they were still slightly pink in the middle. Allowing meat to stand helps make it tender.

Australian shepherd’s bake

Serves 4 : very easy
Ingredients
450gm lean lamb, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
crushed garlic to taste
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
2 Tblsp tomato paste
1 ±400gm tin chopped tomato
1 cup frozen peas
1 Tblsp maizena
4 large potatoes
80gm fat reduced cheddar

Method
Scrub the potatoes, and cut into thick slices.
Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes, until just tender.

Meanwhile, spray a large pan with cooking spray.
Tip the onion, garlic, carrot and celery into the pan.
Dry-fry over a medium heat until the onion is tender.
(If you add a splash of water and cover the pan, it helps to stop the onion burning.)

Increase the heat slightly, and add the lamb.
Keep stirring so that the lamb browns all over.
Add in the tomato paste, the tinned tomatoes and the frozen peas.
Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 mins.

Mix the maizena to a paste with a little water.
Pour the maizena into the lamb, stirring all the time, until the sauce thickens.

Line a casserole dish with the cooked potato slices.
Gently pour in the lamb.
Top with grated cheese.

Grill at 220°c for 10 mins until nicely browned.

Serve with a simple salad.

This makes a nice change from the usual beef mince. You can add mixed herbs and a lamb or beef stock cube with the tomatoes for a richer flavour. Leaving the skin on the potatoes (and carrot, for that matter) adds fibre. Lamb is very expensive in South Africa – use ½ the quantity of lamb, and stretch it with ½ a can, or more, of cannellini beans.

Almost vegetarian linguine

4 servings : Very easy : Very quick
Ingredients
4 rashers back bacon, fat removed
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
180gm brown mushrooms, wiped and sliced
1 cup broad beans (fava beans)
2 cups low fat/skim milk
2 Tblsp chopped parsley
1 Tblsp maizena (corn flour)
250gm (dry) linguine
grated parmesan

Method
Cook the linguine (or pasta of your choice) in plenty of boiling, salted water.
Drain when al dente. Keep warm.

Spray a pan with cooking spray.
Add the onion, mushrooms and bacon.
Cook, on medium heat, until the onion and bacon are softened.
Add in the parsley and milk.

Mix the maizena to a loose paste with a little water.
Gradually add the maizena paste to the pan, stirring continually, until the sauce thickens.

Serve the linguine with the sauce, and grated parmesan.

For a vegetarian version, leave out the bacon.
Broad beans are very difficult to find in South Africa. Last year I managed to find some at the Chinese market. This year, they only had the dried variety – and those were full of some kind of bug, so I had to chuck them. If you can’t find/don’t like broad beans you can use frozen peas instead, but it is more filling with pulses, so try butter beans or kidney beans.

Executive SLT

4 servings : Very easy : Very quick
Ingredients
400gm fillet steak,trimmed
4 wholewheat rolls
12 asparagus spears
150gm mushrooms
lettuce
tomato
low fat mayo
mustard

Method
Microwave the asparagus spears in a little water for 3 – 4 mins.
Microwave the mushrooms in a little water for 2 mins.

Spray a ridged pan with cooking spray. Place on high heat.

Cut the fillet into 2cm slices.
When the pan is smoking, add the steaks and sear for 3 – 4 mins each side
(or until done to your liking).
Remove the steaks from the pan, and allow to rest for at least 5 mins.
Slice the steak into thin strips.

Place the asparagus and mushrooms into the steak pan.
Allow them to reheat and brown a little.

Slice the rolls open and spread generously with mayo and mustard.
Place lettuce and thick tomato slices on the bottom half of each roll.
Top with the steak strips, mushrooms and asparagus.
Drizzle over any remaining pan juices.

Serve with a simple salad garnish.

I only buy fillet steak, but you could use minute steaks, rump or sirloin.
Somehow, not quite the same. The ‘executive’ part of the recipe title comes from the inclusion of the asparagus and mushrooms. Leave them out, if you wish. But then it’s just a steak roll, isn’t it?

Ginger pork with cabbage

4 servings : Very easy : Very quick
Ingredients
500gm pork fillet, trimmed and sliced
Marinade
2 Tblsp soy sauce
1 Tblsp honey
½ tsp Chinese five spice
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp olive oil
Accompaniments
250gm egg noodles
150gm cabbage, cored and shredded
150gm spinach, washed and
shredded
1 small red bell pepper, deseeded
and diced
1 red or green chili, finely chopped
Garnish
A handful of bean sprouts

Method
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow bowl.
Add the pork, turn to coat, and allow to stand while you
prepare the vegetables.

Tip the pork and marinade into a heated pan. Keep the pork
moving so that the honey doesn’t catch.
Cook the noodles in plenty of water, according to the packet
instructions.

Just before the noodles are cooked, add the shredded cabbage and spinach, the diced
bell pepper and the chopped chili.
Return to the boil and allow to cook for a further 2 mins.
Stir well to combine. Drain.
Divide the vegetable-noodles and the pork between 4 serving plates.

Garnish with bean sprouts.
Serve with extra soy and sweet chili sauce if desired.