WW POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4 – per serving = 16 points or 507 cals, 19.9g fat, 58.7g carbs, 18.7g protein

INGREDIENTS

• 240g pasta, dried
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 4 x spicy sausages (I use the hot honey and nduja sausages from Aldi), skin removed
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 50ml vodka
• 200ml water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 100ml Elmlea single cream
• 30g Parmesan, grated
• Handful fresh basil, roughly shredded
• Salt and pepper
• Chilli flakes (to taste)

METHOD

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
2. Then spray a large pan with 1kal and add the olive oil too. Add the skinned sausages and begin frying, breaking up with the spoon as they cook.
3. Add the onion and fry for 3-4 minutes then add the garlic frying for another minute.
4. Add the tomato purée, fry for a minute and then add the vodka. Simmer until reduced by half and the alcohol has burned away then add the water, sugar and Italian seasoning. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes until it starts to thicken.
5. Add the cream, simmer for a minute and the add the pasta with a splash of pasta water. Simmer until the sauce has thickened and coats the pasta nicely.
6. Add the Parmesan and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add chilli flakes if you like a little heat.

Enjoy!

As always, if you like my recipes don’t forget my cookbook ‘Slimming Kitchen Secrets’, which includes over 80 delicious easy healthy recipes, is available now!

The post Spicy Vodka Sausage Pasta first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

The inspiration for creating this recipe came many years ago from a restaurant I visited in Manchester when I tried nduja for the first time. It basically a twist on a roast dinner but much easier to make and with much less washing up! This is not strictly a WW friendly recipe as chicken thighs aren’t the leanest cut of chicken and nduja itself is rather high in calories however if you did want to lighten it up, you could make this with chicken breast and reduce the amount of nduja used. Either way, the flavours will still be delicious.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

• 1kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 chunks
• 100ml olive oil
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 6 cloves of garlic, 4 bashed with the blunt part of a knife (I leave the skin on), 2 peeled and finely chopped
• 8 chicken thighs (bone in, with skin)
• 100g nduja sausage
• Drizzle of honey
• 125ml white wine
• 1 chicken stock cube (made up with 300ml boiling water)
• 200ml single cream
• 60g parmesan, grated
• 2 packs of green beans
• 2 tbsp butter
• Juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

1. To begin, pre heat the oven to 180c. Take a large baking tray, add the oil and pop in the oven to heat up.
2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop into three of four chunks. Pop into a pan of cold, salted water. Add a stalk of rosemary and then bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce the water to a simmer and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain the potatoes, pop back in the pan, add the lid and let the potatoes steam dry in the pan for a few minutes. Then give the pan a shake with the lid on so the edges of the potatoes go a little fluffy. Sprinkle over the flour and give the pan another shake. This should result in some lovely crispy bits on the potatoes.
3. Add the potatoes to the hot oil (be careful it doesn’t spit on you) and give them a little toss so they are covered in oil. Add the leaves of another stalk of rosemary and the bashed garlic cloves. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. After 15 minutes, give the potatoes a shake so they turn over and then nestle the chicken thighs between the potatoes and season everything with salt and pepper. Pop back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
5. While the chicken is cooking, take the nduja and either roughly chop or tear apart (remove the skin). Pop into a sauce pan with 200ml boiling water and pop onto a medium heat. This should start breaking up the nduja into a nice saucey consistency (if you are using nduja paste you won’t need as much water and may need to use more than the stated amount of sausage). Once the nduja has loosened, remove from the heat.
6. Once the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes, spread three quarters of the nduja across the top of the chicken thighs. Drizzle each with a little honey and then pop back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
7. To make the sauce, take the remaining quarter of the loosened nduja and, into the saucepan, add 125ml white wine. Bring to a simmer for a minute or two and then add 300ml chicken stock and a stalk of rosemary. Simmer until it starts to reduce and thicken a little then add the cream and parmesan. Season with black pepper (taste it before you add salt as nduja can be quite salty) and add a pinch of sugar if you think it needs it. Stir and reduce the heat to keep the sauce warm.
8. Finally, par boil the green beans (3 minutes) in salted water. Then, take a frying pan, add 2 tbsp butter, melt and add the finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the green beans. Fry for a few minutes on a high heat until they char a little, then add the juice of 1 lemon and the reserved parmesan. Season with black pepper.
9. Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and serve with the green beans, topped with the lovely creamy sauce.
10. Enjoy!

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Nduja Roast Chicken Thighs with Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Garlic Lemon Greens

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 kg maris piper potatoes peeled and cut into 3 or 4 chunks
• 100 ml olive oil
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 6 cloves of garlic 4 bashed with the blunt part of a knife (I leave the skin on), 2 peeled and finely chopped
• 8 chicken thighs bone in, with skin
• 100 g nduja sausage
• Drizzle of honey
• 125 ml white wine
• 1 chicken stock cube made up with 300ml boiling water
• 200 ml single cream
• 60 g parmesan grated
• 2 packs of green beans
• 2 tbsp butter
• Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

• To begin, pre heat the oven to 180c. Take a large baking tray, add the oil and pop in the oven to heat up.
• Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop into three of four chunks. Pop into a pan of cold, salted water. Add a stalk of rosemary and then bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce the water to a simmer and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain the potatoes, pop back in the pan, add the lid and let the potatoes steam dry in the pan for a few minutes. Then give the pan a shake with the lid on so the edges of the potatoes go a little fluffy. Sprinkle over the flour and give the pan another shake. This should result in some lovely crispy bits on the potatoes.
• Add the potatoes to the hot oil (be careful it doesn’t spit on you) and give them a little toss so they are covered in oil. Add the leaves of another stalk of rosemary and the bashed garlic cloves. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, give the potatoes a shake so they turn over and then nestle the chicken thighs between the potatoes and season everything with salt and pepper. Pop back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, take the nduja and either roughly chop or tear apart (remove the skin). Pop into a sauce pan with 200ml boiling water and pop onto a medium heat. This should start breaking up the nduja into a nice saucey consistency (if you are using nduja paste you won’t need as much water and may need to use more than the stated amount of sausage). Once the nduja has loosened, remove from the heat.
• Once the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes, spread three quarters of the nduja across the top of the chicken thighs. Drizzle each with a little honey and then pop back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
• To make the sauce, take the remaining quarter of the loosened nduja and, into the saucepan, add 125ml white wine. Bring to a simmer for a minute or two and then add 300ml chicken stock and a stalk of rosemary. Simmer until it starts to reduce and thicken a little then add the cream and parmesan. Season with black pepper (taste it before you add salt as nduja can be quite salty) and add a pinch of sugar if you think it needs it. Stir and reduce the heat to keep the sauce warm.
• Finally, par boil the green beans (3 minutes) in salted water. Then, take a frying pan, add 2 tbsp butter, melt and add the finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute and then add the green beans. Fry for a few minutes on a high heat until they char a little, then add the juice of 1 lemon and the reserved parmesan. Season with black pepper.
• Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and serve with the green beans, topped with the lovely creamy sauce.
• Enjoy!

The post Nduja Roast Chicken Thighs with Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Garlic Lemon Greens first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

When we moved back to Newcastle, I had a rather large Sugo shaped hole in my heart and so I decided it was about time I tried to come up with my own version of the dish. The result below is the closest I could get to it tasting as good as the masters in Manchester. It’s a little higher in points for a pasta dish, but I promise you, its worth every single one of them. The recipe makes a huge batch of pasta sauce and so you can freeze plenty for another day. It’s a great dish to make family or friends as it feels so luxurious but it really doesn’t take much effort at all.

The pasta shape used in Sugo for this is usually Orecchiette and so when I can get my hands on it (usually in the Aldi special buys aisle) I always stock up. It’s the perfect shape to neatly cup the sauce and meat and is a lovely texture too. If you can find orecchiette, feel free to use the pasta of your choice.

You can get nduja in most supermarkets these days but if you are struggling have a look in your local Italian deli. This lovely spicy spreadable pork sausage takes this dish to a whole new level!

WW POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 8 = 9 points per serving for the sauce – add extra points for your serving of pasta – I usually serve 60g dried per person for a total of 15 points.

Per serving = 246 cals, Fat 4.6g, Carbs 11.5g, Protein 14.1g 

INGREDIENTS

• 400g beef shin, raw
• 400g pork shoulder, raw
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• 50g njuda sausage (you can get this in most deli style shops now)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 250ml red wine
• 500ml beef stock (made of 1 stock cube)
• 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes (Mutti are the best but any will do)
• 2 bay leaves
• Spring of fresh thyme and rosemary
• 1 tsp oregano
• 50g parmesan, grated

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 150c (fan assisted).

Season the beef and pork with salt and pepper then take a large sauce pan, spray with 1kal and on a medium/high heat add the beef shin to the pan and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan, pop to one side and then do the same with the pork shoulder. Remove from the pan.

Spray the same pan with 1kal again and add the carrot, onion and celery. Fry on a medium heat until everything begins to soften (6-8 minutes). Add the garlic and anchovies and fry for another minute.

Add the nduja to the pan, fry for a minute or two until the oils start releasing and it starts to breakup and then add the tomato puree. Stir, fry for a minute and then add the red wine to the pan. Reduce the wine for a few minutes and then add the beef stock, tomatoes, bay, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Add the beef and pork back to the pan (chop into a few large chunks if you are struggling to get the meat to fit), make sure the sauce covers the meat and season well. Bring to the boil and then take off the heat, add the lid and then pop in the oven for 3-3.5 hours.

Once the cooking time is up the meat should be falling apart. You can either shred the meat in the sauce or take it out the pan and shred it on a plate. Either way, once shredded, put the pan back on the heat (with the meat and sauce) and reduce the sauce if it is still too thin until it thickens up. Adding the meat will help with this anyway.

Finally add the parmesan, stir and then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta of your choice.

Enjoy!

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House Sugo at Home

WW POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 8 = 9pp per serving for the sauce – add extra points for your serving of pasta – I usually serve 60g dried per person for a total of 15 points.

Per serving = 246 cals, 4.6g fat, 11.5g carbs, 14.1g protein

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 400 g beef shin raw
• 400 g pork shoulder raw
• 2 carrots peeled and finely diced
• 1 onion peeled and finely diced
• 2 sticks of celery finely diced
• 6 cloves of garlic peeled and finely minced
• 2 anchovy fillets finely chopped
• 50 g njuda sausage you can get this in most deli style shops now
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 250 ml red wine
• 500 ml beef stock made of 1 stock cube
• 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes Mutti are the best but any will do
• 2 bay leaves
• Spring of fresh thyme and rosemary
• 1 tsp oregano
• 50 g parmesan grated

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 150c (fan assisted).
• Season the beef and pork with salt and pepper then take a large sauce pan, spray with 1kal and on a medium/high heat add the beef shin to the pan and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan, pop to one side and then do the same with the pork shoulder. Remove from the pan.
• Spray the same pan with 1kal again and add the carrot, onion and celery. Fry on a medium heat until everything begins to soften (6-8 minutes). Add the garlic and anchovies and fry for another minute.
• Add the nduja to the pan, fry for a minute or two until the oils start releasing and it starts to breakup and then add the tomato puree. Stir, fry for a minute and then add the red wine to the pan. Reduce the wine for a few minutes and then add the beef stock, tomatoes, bay, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Add the beef and pork back to the pan (chop into a few large chunks if you are struggling to get the meat to fit), make sure the sauce covers the meat and season well. Bring to the boil and then take off the heat, add the lid and then pop in the oven for 3-3.5 hours.
• Once the cooking time is up the meat should be falling apart. You can either shred the meat in the sauce or take it out the pan and shred it on a plate. Either way, once shredded, put the pan back on the heat (with the meat and sauce) and reduce the sauce if it is still too thin until it thickens up. Adding the meat will help with this anyway.
• Finally add the parmesan, stir and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with pasta of your choice.
• Enjoy!

The post House Sugo at Home first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

A few weeks ago I had a pack of lean pork mince in the freezer and so I thought, yep, lets add it to that, and this recipe was born.

It might seem a bit strange adding milk but milk is actually quite a traditional ingredient to add to a ragu (particularly Bolognese). Not only does it help make a lovely rich sauce, it also tenderises the meat and takes some of the acidity out of the tomatoes.

The key to this dish is a low, long simmer. It helps to thicken up the ragu nicely and make sure the flavours are deep and delicious.

If you don’t want to add the wine, just leave it out, you don’t need to replace it with anything. This will make the ragu 6sp per serving instead of 7. I serve this with 60g (dried) of pasta per person for a total of 13sp for the whole dish. I do add a cheeky shaving or parmesan to the top too though!

If you can’t get your hands on any of the whole nduja, you can get nduja paste in lots of supermarkets now, I got it recently in M&S. You can also get it online (I’ve had it from Amazon before and popped it into my shop if anyone would like to get it from there!!).

This is a great dish if you want left overs for the next day, or to pop in the freezer. Tossing the sauce through the pasta makes it go much further and I like it when theres a nice pasta to meat ratio (my hubbie on the other hand, would have piles of meat)!

Give this one a whirl, it’s a real treat.

SMART POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 6 = 7sp per serving (on all plans)

INGREDIENTS

500g lean pork mince, raw

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

2 sticks celery, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced

50g nduja sausage (or 2 tbsp nduja paste), roughly chopped into 1cm chunks

2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted for 30 seconds in a dry pan and then ground to powder

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp crushed chillies

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp tomato puree

125ml red or white wine (optional)

1 chicken stock cube

400ml skimmed milk

400g tin tomatoes

Bay leaf

Salt and pepper

100g fresh parmesan

Small bunch fresh basil, roughly torn (reserve a little to dress)

METHOD

Pop the pork mince into a large frying pan, season with salt and pepper and fry until the mince is nicely browned.

Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and fry for another 5-6 minutes until the carrot starts to soften.

Add the nduja, ground fennel, oregano, crushed chillies, lemon zest and tomato puree. Stir, fry for another minute and then add the wine. Simmer until the wine reduces by half.

Crumble the chicken stock cube into the pan. Add the milk, tomatoes and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on a low heat for 2 hours (no lid), stirring regularly. The sauce should reduce nicely over time.

Pop the pasta on when the ragu has 10 minutes left to cook.

Finally, add the parmesan and basil to the ragu, stir and remove from the heat. Season to taste.

Serve the ragu with the pasta (I like to toss it through before serving) and dress with the reserved basil.

Enjoy!

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Pork, Nduja and Fennel Pasta

Serves 6 = Per serving

7sp on all plans

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 500 g lean pork mince raw
• 1 carrot peeled and finely diced
• 1 onion peeled and finely diced
• 2 sticks celery finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced
• 50 g nduja sausage or 2 tbsp nduja paste, roughly chopped into 1cm chunks
• 2 tsp fennel seeds toasted for 30 seconds in a dry pan and then ground to powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp crushed chillies
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 125 ml red or white wine optional
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 400 ml skimmed milk
• 400 g tin tomatoes
• Bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• 100 g fresh parmesan
• Small bunch fresh basil roughly torn (reserve a little to dress)

Instructions

• Pop the pork mince into a large frying pan, season with salt and pepper and fry until the mince is nicely browned.
• Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and fry for another 5-6 minutes until the carrot starts to soften.
• Add the nduja, ground fennel, oregano, crushed chillies, lemon zest and tomato puree. Stir, fry for another minute and then add the wine. Simmer until the wine reduces by half.
• Crumble the chicken stock cube into the pan. Add the milk, tomatoes and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on a low heat for 2 hours (no lid), stirring regularly. The sauce should reduce nicely over time.
• Pop the pasta on when the ragu has 10 minutes left to cook.
• Finally, add the parmesan and basil to the ragu, stir and remove from the heat. Season to taste.
• Serve the ragu with the pasta (I like to toss it through before serving) and dress with the reserved basil.
• Enjoy!

The post Pork, Nduja and Fennel Ragu first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.