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Lentil and Chick Pea Casserole September 9, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:07 pm
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Hi everyone, I’m afraid I couldn’t leave the original of this recipe alone. It serves 4. I would serve it with cous cous or rice.  For a meat version, I think it would work well with lamb.

2 Weight Watchers points per recipe

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

1 red onion, sliced thinly

2 garlic cloves

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 courgette, sliced

1 x 400g can cherry tomatoes

1 x 410g can green lentils, drained

1 x 100g can chickpeas, drained

1 x 100g can red kidney beans, drained

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of fenu greek

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

150 ml stock

150g young leaf spinach

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley, to garnish

Method

1. Crush the spices in a pestle and mortar, set aside.

2. Lightly coat a large lided non stick saucepan with low fat cooking spray. Heat until hot. Add the onion and fry for 3 minutes. Add the courgette and peppers and cook for another 3 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add in the garlic and spices and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

4 Stir in the spinach and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the spinach has wilted. Serve hot with a sprinkle of parsley on top.

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Vegetable and Lentil Moussaka August 29, 2010

Filed under: Potatoes,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 9:13 pm
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This recipe is from the Cornucopia cookbook.  This one can be made and the leftovers put in the freezer for a later date.

Note: I couldn’t find puy lentils at the time, so I used a tin of green lentils. I also added some vegetables (peppers) to bulk it up a bit.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Sauce

340g fat free natural yoghurt

1 tsp of mild curry powder

¼ tsp of ground turmeric

2 egg yolks

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

75g of grated cheddar cheese

Base

2 tablespoon of olive oil

200g of tinned puy lentils

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

25g of fresh oregano

1 can of tomatoes

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground cumin

2 large (3 medium) aubergines

4 large waxy potatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Fry off the onion for 5 minutes on a medium. Add in the garlic and fry for another 2 minutes.
  2. Add in the herbs and spices and fry for 1 minute. Add the puy lentils and tin of tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat once cooked.
  3. While the base is simmering, peel and slice the waxy potatoes.
  4. Par-cooked in salted water for 15 minutes. Remove from water and set aside.
  5. Slice the aubergines and spray with low cal spray. Cook on a griddle pan until slightly charred on each side.
  6. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
  7. Mix together the yoghurt, curry powder, turmeric, egg yolks and nutmeg in a bowl and season to taste.
  8. Spread some of the base sauce on the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Layer some aubergine on top and then some of the potato. Repeat process.
  9. Cover the top with the creamy sauce mixture and sprinkle with grated cheese.
  10. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
 

Chicken and puy lentil salad with coriander

Filed under: Chicken,Healthy Eating,Salads and Dressings — delishuss @ 8:30 pm
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I got this recipe from TV3 ‘s Expose show. Clodagh McKenna was the name of the chef making the dish. It’s pretty quick and easy.

Ingredients

Preparation method

  1. Using a sharp knife, make a few long shallow incisions on both sides of the chicken breasts.
  2. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the ground coriander, garlic, a pinch of black pepper, two tablespoons of lemon juice and two tablespoons of the olive oil. Mix the marinade with the chicken in a bowl, making sure all the meat is evenly coated in the marinade. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes (or one hour if you have the time).
  3. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas 8.
  4. When the oven is hot, spread the chicken out on a baking tray and cook it for 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts. To ensure the chicken is cooked through, cut into the breast with a knife. Once cooked, take the chicken out of the oven and allow it to rest for a couple of minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, place the still-warm lentils in a saucepan, cover with water and boil for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.
  6. When cooked, drain the lentils then dress them with the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and chopped coriander, and season with salt and pepper.
  7. To serve, slice the chicken thinly and toss with the lentils (they can be still warm) and the mixed salad leaves. Place on plates or in a large bowl and sprinkle with the crumbled feta and a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
 

Carrot and Lentil Soup August 22, 2010

Filed under: Healthy Eating,Soups and Stews,Vegetarian,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 8:51 pm
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This gets the thumbs up from my boyfriend anyway. It’s a good hearty soup. I doubled up on the quantities and put some in the freezer.

This recipe serves 4.

2 1/2 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients

Low fat cooking spray

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced thinly

1 celery stick with leaves, both sliced thinly

175g (6 oz) red lentils, rinsed

4 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs

1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

For the croutons

2 slices day-old wholemeal bread, crusts removed

2 garlice cloves, halved lengthways

Method

1. Spray a large, lidded saucepan with the cooking spray and fry the onion, celery and leaves and carrots for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, bay leaves, mixed herbs, salt and pepper.

2. Pour in the stock, bring up to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, half covered, for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are tender, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Remove the bay leaves. Whizz the soup in a food processor, or use a hand-held blender, until smooth. Check the seasoning and add more if necessary.

3. Meanwhile, rub both sides of each slice of bread with the garlic. Cut the bread into cubes and spray with the cooking spray. In a non-stick frying pan, fry the bread, turning occasionally and spraying with more cooking spray if necessary, until golden and crisp. Serve with croutons on top of the soup and some freshly ground black pepper.

 

Red Lentil, Vegetable and Basil Soup August 2, 2010

Filed under: Soups and Stews,Vegetarian — delishuss @ 8:49 pm
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This is a derivation of a Cornucopia recipe.  I tried the recipe after seeing it in their book.  Normally, I change stuff a little based on my gut feeling but didn’t this time to see if my gut was right. I’m afraid it was in this case. I altered it by adding some leek and some stock and reducing the quantity of basil. I think this is going to be one of my staple soups.  Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

1 leek, chopped

3 sticks of celery, chopped

6 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

100g red lentils

25g basil leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper

1 litre of stock

I litre of water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method

  1. Heat a large saucepan and heat the olive oil.
  2. Add in the vegetables and sauté for a couple of minutes. Reduce heat and cover and leave to sweat for 5 minutes.
  3. Add in the lentils, stock, water, seasoning and bring to the boil. Once boiled reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are yellow.
  4. Add in the basil leaves and stir.
  5. Blend with a handheld blender. Taste and correct seasoning if required.