In this recipe I used frozen uncooked king prawns (from Sainsbury’s) which you can cook from frozen. They were just as tasty as fresh but a lot cheaper!

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 2 – per serving = 9 points or 474 cals, 9.8g fat, 58.4g carbs, 40.3g protein

Ingredients 

165g chicken breast, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
35g chorizo, peeled and thinly sliced
150g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp each paprika and smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, ground turmeric and dried thyme
1/2 tbsp tomato puree
100g Arborio rice
1/2 chicken stock cube made up with 500ml boiling water
Small pinch of saffron
A few drops of Tabasco or a pinch of chilli flakes (optional if you like it a little hotter)
80g peas, frozen
100g uncooked king prawns, fresh or frozen
1 lemon
10g fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Take a large frying pan, spray with low-calorie cooking spray and pop over a medium heat.
2. Add the chicken and onion, season and fry for 5–7 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, adding a splash of water if the pan gets a little dry.
3. Next add the garlic, pepper, chorizo and tomatoes and fry for another 2 minutes until the chorizo starts releasing its oil. Add the dried herbs and spices and fry for a minute and then add the tomato purée, frying for another minute.
4. Add the arborio rice, combine with the vegetables and spices and fry for a minute to toast the edges of the rice.
5. Add half the chicken stock to the pan with the saffron, stir, and begin to simmer over a medium heat. As the stock is absorbed, continue to add more to the rice. I ended up using all of the stock but, depending on the heat of your hob, you may need a little more or a little less.
6. After 15 minutes, add the Tabasco or chilli flakes (if having) and the peas and the prawns. Cook for a further 5–7 minutes until the prawns are completely cooked through and then add the juice of half the lemon and half the parsley.
7. Remove from the heat, cover with tin foil (or a pan lid) and leave to rest for 5 minutes. This will allow all the flavours to mingle nicely together and any excess liquid to absorb into the rice.
8. Serve in two bowls, finishing with a slice of lemon each. Top with a little more fresh parsley.

The post One Pot Paella first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

The first is the Potato Fritters. When I was a young my Mam always used to make all her meals from scratch. One of her dishes included these lovely little potato fritters and, having received a mandolin for Christmas, I thought it was about time I tried them out for myself. The beauty of these thinly sliced potatoes is that, even though you are only having a small portion, you feel like you are getting loads. Plus, they hardly take any preparation. If you don’t have a mandolin (get one, they’re awesome!) just slice the potatoes very finely. I kept the skins on so that they held together nicely.

The second is the Blue Cheese Sauce. It is something that a few people have requested I make for a while now so I thought it was about time I gave it a whirl. If you like the sauce really cheesy you might want to omit to Worcestershire sauce (I like the addition of Worcestershire sauce as it takes a little of the cheeses richness away). Alternatively, if you like it really cheesy you could also increase the amount of cheese to 40g but this would make the sauce 5sp per person.

Steak in a Blue Cheese Sauce with Buttered Spinach and Potato Fritters

Serves 2 = 11sp each

3sp per person if on No Count (provided you swap the Creme Fraiche for Quark) 

Ingredients

For the Fritters – 3sp per person

100g potato, raw, finely sliced (with a mandolin if you can get a hold of one)

100g sweet potato, finely sliced

Garlic Salt and Pepper

For the Blue Cheese Sauce- 4sp per person

2 shallots, finely diced (or ¼ white onion very finely diced)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Small box of shitake mushrooms (or mushrooms of your choice)

½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)

4 tbsp very low fat crème fraiche (I use Sainsbury’s Be Good to Yourself)(Quark if on No Count)

30g blue stilton, crumbled

100ml skimmed milk

Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Other

2 x lean rump steak, raw (170g (4sp) each)

Large bag of spinach + 1 tsp half fat butter (0sp between 2)

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200c.

Begin by making the fritters. Warm a baking tray in the oven and then remove, spray with 1kal and arrange the thinly sliced potatoes and sweet potatoes in a single layer (the less they overlap the crisper they will be). Season with the garlic salt and pepper and then pop in the oven for 30-40 minutes until they are nice and crisp. When the fritters have about 20 minutes left you can get started on everything else.

Spray a large saucepan (or frying pan) with 1kal, add the shallots and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for another 2 minutes then add the Worcestershire sauce. Once this has absorbed into the mushrooms turn the heat down to medium and add the creme fraiche. Stir in and bring to a simmer. Add the blue cheese and let it melt into the creme fraiche and then start adding the milk a little at a time so the sauce loosens nicely. Once the sauce is the consistancy you like (you might not need all the milk), stir in the parsley and season to your taste. Keep sauce warm while you cook the steak.

Next take a griddle pan, heat to high and spray with 1kal. Season one side of the steak and add seasoned side down into the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes, season the top side and then flip, cooking for another 3-4 minutes on the other side (or until cooked how you like it, we like it medium rare). Remove from the pan and pop onto a plate to rest.

In the same griddle pan add half the butter and once melted throw the spinach into the pan. Let the spinach wilt for 1 minutes then add the other half of the butter.

Now you are ready to plate up.

Pop the spinach on a large plate and top with the steak. Remove the fritters from the oven and pop next to the steak and then top everything with the blue cheese sauce. I served mine with a side of green beans too which was a nice addition for 0sp.

Enjoy!

The post Steak in a Blue Cheese Sauce with Buttered Spinach and Potato Fritters – 11sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

The result was amazing. Bursting with flavour and the most gorgeous texture, I was blown away with how good these were. When made with sweet potato these fishcakes are 3sp each however if you would like to make them with Butternut Squash, they would be 2sp each.

I served two fishcakes per person with a lovely light salad of mixed leaves, courgette strips, tomatoes, red onion and lemon juice, a little bowl of sweet chilli sauce (2 tsp per person is 1sp per person) and a slice of lime. Delightful!

These would be a great meal to make for those of you who have kids, just be sure to omit the chilli from the fishcake mixture!!

Ingredients 

Makes 4 Fishcakes = 3sp per fishcake (Flex)

No Count = 0sp per fishcake (when breadcrumbs are made with a toasted and blitzed brown warbie thin)

200g sweet potato, raw, peeled and cubed roughly

1 x tin of salmon (213g drained) (I used John West Wild Alaskan Salmon)

2 x spring onions, finely sliced

1 chilli, finely chopped (and deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and very finely chopped (or grated)

Juice of 1/2 lime (reserve the other half of the lime to serve)

Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

30g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

50g Panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

2 tsp of sweet chilli sauce per person (optional – add 1sp extra per person).

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c and pop in a small baking tray to warm up.

Take a saucepan, half fill with boiling water and add a little salt. Add the sweet potato and then boil for 10 minutes until nice and soft. Drain the potatoes and then mash until smooth (I used a potato ricer to achieve a lovely none lumpy finish).

Drain the salmon and then add to the potato with the spring onions, chilli, garlic, ginger, lime and coriander and combine everything together. Season to taste. Split the mixture into four and then take each 1/2 in turn and shape into a fishcake. Pop onto a plate to one side.

Take three bowls. In one add the seasoned flour, in another the panko (or normal) breadcrumbs) and in the other the egg. Then taking each fishcake in turn, coat in a light dusting of flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs. Pop on the baking tray and repeat for the rest of the fishcakes.

Spray the fishcakes with 1kal and pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes (until a nice golden brown). If the fishcakes aren’t browning how you would like, take them out the oven after 20 minutes and finish off in a frying pan with 1 tsp olive oil. This will give you the golden brown finish you are after.

Serve on top of a light salad (mixed leaves, courgette strips, tomatoes, red onion and lemon juice tossed together) with a little bowl of sweet chilli sauce (2 tsp per person is 1sp per person) and a slice of lime.

Enjoy!

The post Sweet Potato and Salmon Fishcakes – 3sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

This particular stuffing has been on my list to try for a while now and after rediscovering a jar of sundried tomatoes in my fridge, I thought it was about time I gave it a whirl. The ingredients that make up a tepenada are all so flavoursome that you really don’t need that much of them to make your mouth water!

I served this with a lemony green salad (salad leaves, peeled courgette, a little grated parmesan and lemon) and butternut squash chips. It was delicious and definitely something I will be rustling up again soon!

Tepenade Stuffed Chicken 

Serves 2 = 5sp each (Flex)

Ingredients

2 x 165g chicken breast, raw

40g sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped

10g anchovies, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp capers, finely chopped

5 stoneless black olives, finely chopped

1 x lemon

60g light mozzarella, sliced

4 x slices of prosciutto

Accompaniments

Lemony Courgette Salad  (salad leaves, peeled courgette, a little grated parmesan and lemon)

Butternut squash chips

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c. If you are having butternut squash chips, pop these in the oven whilst you are preparing the chicken. That way they will be ready at the same time as the chicken.

Place one chicken breast into a food bag and using a meat mallet, flatten until the chicken is around 1/2cm thick.  Repeat with the second chicken breast and then lay both flat on a plate.

Finely chop the sun dried tomatoes, capers, anchovies, and olives, mix together and squeeze over the juice of 1/4 lemon.

Cover a baking tray with tin foil and lay out two slices of prosciutto side by side lengthways. Repeat with the other two slices leaving a gap between the other two.

Spoon half the tepenade mixture horizontally across the chicken and top with the mozzarella.

Repeat with the other breast and the rest of the tepenade Roll the chicken so the stuffing is enclosed and then roll the chicken in the prosciutto.

Spray with low calorie spray, season and then place the stuffed chicken, seal side down on the baking tray and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove from the oven and serve with the BNS chips and courgette salad.

Enjoy!

The post Cheesy Tepenade Stuffed Chicken – 5sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

This is a great dish as it takes less than 20 minutes to make and plate up and most of the ingredients you will probably have in your fridge/store cupboard anyway. The whole dish is bursting with flavour and since its only 4sp you still have enough points left over to add some new potatoes to it if you fancy.

If you fancy watching a short video tutorial for this recipe, head to the very bottom of the page!

Baked Seabass with Roasted Peppers and Feta

Serves 2 = 4sp per person (6sp with new potatoes)(Flex)

 Ingredients

2 x 90g boneless seabass fillets, raw

¼ tsp paprika and crushed chillies

1 lemon

2 roasted red peppers (30g), sliced

2 spring onions, sliced

40g light feta cheese, roughly cubed

1 slice of stale bread (preferably a crust or bun weighing no more than 20g), toasted and whizzed into breadcrumbs

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp olive oil

Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

½ tsp oregano

Bag of salad leaves

Small pack of green beans

1 courgette, peeled into strips

200g new potatoes, halved (optional – add an extra 2sp per person)

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200c. Pop the potatoes on the boil if you are having them.

Take a baking dish, spray with 1kal and lay the fish inside. Sprinkle the paprika, crushed chillies and lemon zest over the fish and season.

Next sprinkle the roasted peppers, spring onions and feta over the fish.

In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, garlic, oil, parsley and oregano. Mix well. Top the fish with the breadcrumb mixture.

Pop in the oven, uncovered for 12-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the breadcrumbs are golden.

While the fish is cooking take a non metallic bowl, add 2 tbsp cold water and the green beans. Pop in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until soft. Drain the water and add the salad leaves and courgette strips to the beans and toss together. Add the juice of ½ the lemon and toss again. Split between 2 plates and top with the baked fish and toppings.

Serve with a side of new potatoes, finished with salt and pepper and a final squeeze of lemon.

Enjoy!

The post Baked Seabass with Roasted Peppers and Feta – 4sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

If you like your blue cheese a little stronger you could split the amount stated in the recipe in two, adding half to the burger mixture and half to the top. I prefer it inside however as blue cheese is not the best at melting and the crumbly bits have a habit of making a dash for it when you are trying to eat them on top!

The addition of bacon here is optional. Without it, the smart points are the same (3sp per burger) . They are just as nice without but the bacon does add a real depth of flavour to the overall meal. I cooked these burgers in a griddle pan as I wanted them to cook quickly without the cheese melting too much out of them. If you prefer to cook them in the oven you can do so. Simply pop onto a greased baking tray and cook at 180c for 15-17 minutes.

If you fancy you can double stack your burgers into one bun which means you get a double whopper for only 10sp. Alternatively you can omit the bun and serve as a ‘burger in a bowl’ with various salad bits. The worlds your oyster, feel free to add whichever accompaniments you fancy.

I served these with BNS chips as they fill the dish out for 0sp.

Beef and Blue Cheese Burgers

Makes 8 burgers = 3sp per burger pattie (Flex)

Ingredients

For the burgers

500g extra lean beef mince (5%), raw

1 red onion, very finely chopped

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

80g blue cheese, crumbled

1 egg, beaten

Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

Dash of tobasco (optional)

Salt and pepper

4 bacon medallions, grilled and chopped into small pieces (optional but good)

To accompany

Aldi Brioche Buns (5sp each) or Warburton’s Thins (3sp each)

Handful of lettuce leaves

1 large tomato, sliced

Caramelised red onion – 1 red onion fried for 10 minutes with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sweetener (0sp when split between 4 people)

Low sugar ketchup

2 tbsp extra light mayo with a little Dijon, garlic salt and balsamic vinegar mixed in (1sp when split between 4).

Butternut Squash Chips

Method

Take a large bowl and add all of the burger ingredients except the egg. Combine well using your hands. Add the egg bit by bit until you have a nice pliable consistency that’s not too wet (I used half the beaten egg).  Split the burger mixture roughly into eight evenly sized balls. Using your hands press the mixture together and form into burger patties. Press lightly with your fingers to flatten out a little and make a little dent in the middle of each burger (a thumbprint) to stop it bulging up whilst cooking. Pop onto a plate and refrigerate for at least 15-20 minutes.

If you are having BNS chips pop them on at this point.

Take a griddle pan, heat and spray with 1kal and then, cooking 2 burgers at a time, cook the burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Keep in a warm oven until all the burgers are cooked.

Now time to assemble the burger.

Take either the bun/thin and pop into the burger pan cut side down for a minute to warm up and soak up some of the beefy juices. Then to the bottom half of the bun add some balsamic mayo and then lettuce, then tomato. Add the burger and then top with the caramelised onions. Top with a little more balsamic mayo and some ketchup. Finally add the ‘lid’ of the bun and pop a toothpick through to secure everything together.

Serve with the BNS chips (or the accompaniments of your choice).

Enjoy!

The post Beef and Blue Cheese Burgers – 3sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

This style of omelette is a little different as it’s stuffed rather than the usual method of setting the ingredients into it – a much better way to serve an omelette in my view as it means you can stuff it with lots of veg to make it super filling. In Mexico, I garnished the omelette with guacamole, salsa and a little sour cream. I’ve recreated it at home so many times with either all or one or two of these accompaniments, depending on what I have in the fridge (be sure to adjust the calories depending on your accompaniments).

POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 1 – per serving

without accompaniments – 5 points or 308 cals, 20.6g fat, 7.5g carbs, 24.0g protein

with accompaniments – 10 points or 472 cals, 35.9g fat, 10.6g carbs, 26.0g protein

INGREDIENTS

2 medium eggs, whisked in a bowl

15g chorizo, peeled and finely diced

4 cherry tomatoes, finely diced

¼ small red onion, finely diced

½ pepper, finely diced

Small handful of spinach, finely shredded

1/2 teaspoon paprika

20g light mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Low calorie cooking spray

Salt and black pepper

Accompaniments

1 tbsp hot salsa

½ tbsp light sour cream

1 tbsp cheats guacamole (mash together the flesh of 1/2 ripe avocado – about 75g, juice of 1.2 lime, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, a pinch of chilli flakes and salt and pepper)

Sprinkle of fresh coriander

Method

1. Whisk the eggs in a jug and pop to one side.
2. Spray a small frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray, heat, and then add the chorizo, tomato, onion, pepper, spinach and paprika. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Once the onion has started to soften after 3–4 minutes, remove the filling from the pan and pop onto a plate to one side.
4. Spray the same small frying pan again with low-calorie cooking spray. Tip in the beaten eggs and season. Leave to set for a few minutes until the base is firm and the top has started to bubble. Then add the stuffing back to the pan, distributing over one half of the omelette.
5. Top the stuffing with the cheese and then, using a spatula, fold the non-filled side over on top of the filled side.
6. Leave to cook for another minute and then slide out onto a plate. Serve with your chosen accompaniments.

The post Mexican Omelette first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

There are several key things which you mustn’t skip to make this perfect. Number one, don’t forget to squeeze the water out of the courgette, if you don’t do this step your base will not cook and it will turn to mush. Number 2, make sure you cook the base on a preheated totally flat baking tray sprayed with 1kal. If you have any lumps or bumps, you risk the base sticking to the tray. Thirdly, don’t be tempted to cook this on a sheet of baking paper. The base needs the heat from the baking tray itself to cook through so preheating it helps with this.

Feel free to change the toppings to any you prefer. Just remember to pop the recipe back through the recipe builder to recalculate the smart points.

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 9sp each (Flex)

350g grated courgette (I used 2 large courgettes)

3 eggs, beaten

40g plain flour

10g fresh parmesan

140g half fat grated mozzarella

¼ tsp oregano, basil, garlic salt

1 red onion, finely sliced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

2 tsp sun dried tomato pesto

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 smoked bacon medallions, griddled and diced

Pinch of crushed chillies (or 1/2 fresh chilli sliced)

Handful of fresh basil, shredded

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c. Pop two non stick baking trays into the oven to warm up. The baking trays need to be of the flat kind (no bobbles or rivets) so that the pizza slides of the tray at the end.

Grate the courgettes into a large bowl, sprinkle over a pinch of salt and leave for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes squeeze out all of the water using a clean tea towel. Return to the bowl and add the beaten eggs, flour, parmesan, 70g of the mozzarella, oregano, basil and garlic salt. Combine well.

Take the baking trays out the oven and spray with low calorie cooking spray.DO NOT use baking paper or tin foil as the base of the pizza won’t cook.

Add half the base mixture to each tray and shape into round pizza shapes (approx. 9 inch circle), around 3-4mm thick. You don’t want the base too thick or it will end up soggy. Pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the base turns a nice golden brown colour.

Remove the base from the oven and spread the pesto and tomato puree across the top. Evenly distribute the onion and pepper over the top and and then sprinkle over the bacon, crushed chillies, basil and remaining mozzarella.

Put the pizzas back in the oven for 5-6 minutes until the cheese starts to melt and bubble.

Remove from the oven, slice into 6 and then serve on a large wooden board with a nice rocket salad in the centre. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to finish.

Enjoy!

The post Courgette Pizza – 9sp  first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

Whilst the ingredients list looks a bit intimidating, a lot of it is store cupboard essentials. Not only that but once the paste is made, the rest is very simple of put together. If you don’t have time to make the paste you could use a shop bought Laksa paste but I guarantee you, the homemade stuff is SO much better!!

You only need half of the quantity of the paste that you get from the below paste ingredients for this dish. The rest can be popped in the fridge and kept for up to 2 weeks. Alternatively it can be frozen or you can do what I did and use it the next day as a marinade for chicken! The world’s your oyster.

Prawn Laksa

Serves 2 = 11sp each (Flex)

For the paste

2 red chillies, roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small onion, roughly chopped

1 stick of fresh lemongrass (woody outer layer and bottom removed) and roughly chopped

3 lime leaves (fresh if you can get them), roughly chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp reduced fat peanut butter

1 tsp each turmeric, ground coriander

1/4 tsp cumin

For the Laksa

100g flat rice noodles (or your favourite type of noodle)

200ml reduced fat coconut milk

Juice of 1 lime

½ tbsp each of soft light brown sugar, fish sauce and dark soy sauce

1/2 chicken stock cube (made up with 400ml of boiling water)

200g king prawns, raw

To serve

Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 lime, quartered

Method

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.

Put all the ingredients for the paste in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add a little water to loosen the paste as you are blending to make sure it goes nice and smooth.

Next take a non stick sauce pan, heat and spray with low calorie cooking spray and add half the paste (pop the rest back in the fridge). Fry for a few minutes until the aromas start to release then add the coconut milk, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and chicken stock. Simmer for around 5 minutes (or until your noodles are ready).

Drain the noodles and spilt between two large bowls.

Add the prawns to the laksa sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until pink and cooked through. Split the prawns and laksa sauce evenly between the two bowls and then top both with a sprinkling of spring onions, chilli and coriander. Serve with a couple of slices of lime.

Enjoy!

The post Prawn Laksa – 11sp first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.

The hotel we were staying at, the Royalton Riviera Maya for anyone whose interested, really pulled out the stops and arranged a private cooking class for my husband and I in the hotels dedicated Mexican restaurant.

The day of the class we (me with a rather large hangover as you can probably tell from the pics and my OH who was fresh as a daisy) headed down to the restaurant, which as you can see from the picture has the most beautiful open kitchen sat right in the middle of the dining area. This was where our class was to take place.

We were greeted by chefs Daniel and Luciano and informed we were going to be making a three course meal, the recipes for which I have the pleasure of being able to share with you now. I’ve had to make a few tweaks to chef  Daniels original recipe here to make it both Smart Points friendly and so that the ingredients would be readily available but it tastes almost exactly as it did on the day. Freddie, the Executive Chef who runs all 9 restaurants at the hotel even stopped by to say hello and have a quick chat about food and cooking.

Chef Daniel and Executive Chef Frederico 

I have to say a massive thanks to the guys in the hotel who arranged this fabulous afternoon for us. It was a real pleasure learning more about the cuisine which I love and having the opportunity to cook up and sample all of the amazing food.

Not only did I get lots of ideas for new dishes whilst I was away, I also learnt a lot about the cuisine itself.

Firstly before we visited the place itself I don’t think that I fully appreciated the difference between ‘Mexican’ and ‘Tex Mex’ cuisine. I had always assumed things like fajitas, chilli and BBQ sauce were Mexican but none of these things were on the menu in the Mexican restaurant.

Secondly, I’ve always been a fan of Mexican food for the delicious salsas, guacamoles and sauces however again I don’t think I fully appreciated the way that these elements are used to ‘build’ a dish and add different flavours too it. A lot of the time, the meat wasn’t actually spicy in itself, rather the salsas were used to add the level of heat you preferred. This is definitely something I will be taking into account more as lots of my recipes are rather spicy!

So without further ado below is the first recipe we made on the day, a starter dish titled ‘Wahaca Salad’. It one of the nicest salad dishes I’ve ever tasted and although I couldn’t get my hands on a few of the ingredients, the recipe below is as close to the original as I could get! It’s not as low in points as some of my other recipes but I was keen to retain the amazing flavours Daniel created. Its the perfect starter for any meal and a lovely weekend lunch. It may seem a little complicated to make but it really is worth it.

If you don’t want to include the pistachios (I know some people are allergic) just omit them. The points stay the same.

The salad we made on the day

My version of ‘Wacaha Salad’

Wahaca Salad

Ingredients

Serves 2 = 11sp per person (Flex)

100g soft goat’s cheese

1/4 tsp olive oil

20g pumpkin seeds

1/2 tbsp sugar

5 pistachios, blended into a crumb (optional) (I did this in a spice grinder but you could do it in a blender or in a pestle and mortar)

2 smoked bacon medallions

Handful of salad leaves

1 carrot, peeled into strips with a julienne peeler

1 courgette, peeled into strips with a julienne peeler

Handful of tomatoes, halved

1 lemon

1 level tsp honey

1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Method

Pop the goats cheese into a bowl, add the olive oil and mix through so the cheese is soft and pliable. Pop the bowl to one side.

Take a small non stick frying pan, add the pumpkin seeds and toast for a few minutes. Remove the pumpkin seeds from the pan and pop to one side. In the same pan, add the sugar and heat  until it melts and begins to brown. Don’t stir the pan at all, just let the sugar do its thing from a distance. The caramelisation of the sugar happens quickly so get ready to take it off the heat. One the sugar has browned, remove from the heat and add the pumpkin seeds, tossing them in the caramel. Leave to cool. Once cooled, tip the caramelised seeds onto a chopping board and chop until you have a fine crumb.

Add half of the pistachio crumb to the pumpkin mix and combine.

Next take a 1/4 tsp sized ball of goats cheese, roll into a rough ball with a teaspoon and roll in the crumb. Pop onto a plate and repeat until you have 10 small balls. Pop in the fridge.

If you are having the bacon, grill or griddle and then roughly chop.

Take two bowls and add a handful of salad leaves to each. Add the carrot and courgette and tomatoes, squeeze over the juice of 1/2 the lemon and then toss together. Top the salad with the goats cheese balls and bacon.

In a small bowl, mix the honey, the rest of the lemon and wholegrain mustard. Drizzle over the salad. Finish by sprinkling over the remaining pistachio crumb.

Enjoy!

The post A Mexican Cooking Class and a Fabulous Wahaca Salad! first appeared on Slimming Kitchen Secrets.