This recipe works perfectly as an evening meal hot or, if left to cool and refrigerated, as a weekday lunch. It was also be the perfect addition to any BBQ or buffet table.

If you aren’t a fan of mackerel you could make this recipe using chicken.  Cook the chicken any way you prefer or if using the method below, season with salt and pepper and then pop under the grill for 5-7 minutes, flip and grill for 5-7 minutes on the other side until cooked through. You can then either chop the chicken into pieces or shred. Whichever you fancy!

You can get gochujang in most large supermarkets these days. I usually get mine in Sainsbury’s (who also sell it in their convenience stores) or from Amazon. It’s cheaper in store (a large pot is only £2.50 and lasts ages!)

Korean Mackerel and Potato Salad

Serves 2 = 5sp per serving (Flex)

Ingredients

400g new potatoes, halved

½ tsp gochujang chilli paste

2 tbsp lighter than light mayo

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 small garlic clove, peeled and grated

2 mackerel fillets, skin on, raw

Sprinkle of crushed chillies

Handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered

¼ cucumber, peeled into strips

2 spring onions, sliced into small rounds

Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Small bag of salad leaves, roughly torn

Drizzle of Sriracha (if you like spice!)

Method

Pop the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and add 1 tsp table salt. Boil for 15-18 minutes (or until soft – check by poking with a knife).

Meanwhile, pop the grill on to a medium high heat. Take a small baking tray, cover with tin foil and lay the mackerel fillets on the foil, skin side down. Season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Spray with 1kal and then pop under the grill for 5-6 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Remove from the grill and pop to one side.

Whilst the potatoes and fish are cooking, make your dressing. In a large bowl mix the gochujang chilli paste, mayo, white wine vinegar and garlic. Mix and pop to one side.

Prepare all of the other vegetables.

Once the fish has cooled a little, flake the flesh away from the skin being careful to remove any bones.

Drain the potatoes and add to the dressing. Toss the potatoes in the dressing and then add the tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, coriander, salad leaves and mackerel. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss in so everything is coated well in the dressing. Drizzle over a little sriracha if you like it spicy.

Pop into two bowls and enjoy!

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You can buy pre made gyoza skins in Chinese or Asian supermarkets which would make the whole process below a bit less fiddly/time consuming (I will be doing this next time!). However if, like me, you didn’t have time to get your hands on any, you can always whip them up yourself! With minimal ingredients the skins are relatively simple to make and the best thing is, you can stuff them with whatever you fancy! Here I’ve gone for a classic mix of pork and prawn which turned out to be absolutely delicious. At only 6sp for a portion of 5 gyoza, you can have a little bit of what you fancy for not very many points at all!

The method below tells you how to make the gyoza without any pre prepped ingredients or special equipment however one thing I would recommend are these fab little gyoza makers. They are so cheap on eBay and make the whole process so much quicker and easier – they really make sure the edges of the gyoza are sealed tightly!

The little delights can either be served as a starter or can be served as part of a gyoza noodle soup (recipe for this bad boy also coming soon!!).

Pork and Prawn Gyoza

Makes 25 gyoza = 5 portions of 5 gyoza= 1 portion of 5 gyoza is 6sp (Flex)

Ingredients

For the gyoza skins

250g dumpling flour (or plain flour), sieved

125ml boiling water

½ salt

For the filling

100g lean pork mince (5% fat)

200g prawns, fresh or frozen (and defrosted)

2 gloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, roughly grated

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

½ tsp each Chinese 5 spice and crushed chillies

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp each fresh coriander and basil, roughly chopped

Zest of 1 lime

Method

1. Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt to the water and stir to dissolve and then gradually add the water to the flour, stirring to combine. Once combined, form the dough into a ball and then knead for around 8 minutes.

2. Cut the ball of dough in half and then, using your hands, shape each half into a chunky sausage shape. Wrap each sausage separately in cling film and then pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. While the dough is resting you can make your filling. It couldn’t be easier, pop all of the filling ingredients into a food processor and blitz until you have a sausage meat like texture. Season with a little salt and black pepper. Pop in the fridge while you finish the wrappers.

Note: if you have pre made skins, you have the advantage of starting here and then skipping to step 5.

4. Take the dough out the fridge, dust the bench with a little flour and then cut each sausage into 12 (cut in half and then each half into six). Cover the dough pieces with a damp towel to stop them drying out and then, taking each piece in turn, roll into a ball with your hands and flatten by pressing with your palms. Roll out until flat and thin and then, using a round cutter (or glass), cut into rounds (you want them to be roughly the size of your palm). Collect the excess dough from the outside of the cutter as you go and combine (this will make your 25^th gyoza!). Pile the skins on a plate and top each with a little flour to stop them sticking together.

5. Now get ready to assemble the gyoza. Pop the bowl of filling next to the plate of skins. Have a small dish of water ready. Take one skin in the palm of your hand and pop a teaspoon of the mixture in the centre. Dip your finger in the water and wipe around the edge of the skin (this will help the edges to stick together).

6. Bring the edges of the skin together than then pinch ‘pleats’ along one side, pressing each pleat into the opposite side of the skin. This should seal the parcel completely. At this point, you can pop all the gyoza you aren’t eating onto a plate in a single layer and pop in the freezer for 1 hour. Then remove and bag up into separate portions and pop back in the freezer.

7. For the gyoza you are cooking right now, there are two ways you can go about it.

1. The first is to boil the gyoza for 4-5 minutes until cooked through.
2. The second is to spray a frying pan with 1kal and in batches, fry one side of the dumpling for a few minutes until golden. Once all of the gyoza are browned, add them all back to the pan, add ½ cm water to cover the base of the pan and cover with a layer of tin foil with a few holes poked in. Steam on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the filling is cooked through.

8. Serve with a small bowl of dark soy sauce and a small bowl of sriricha for dipping.

9. Enjoy!

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Gorgeous Guacamole 

For the guacamole – serves 8 = 3sp each or serves 4 = 5sp each (Flex)

2 ripe avocados (155g each)

1 large ripe tomato, roughly diced

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 chilli, red or green, deseeded and finely chopped (or large pinch of crushed chilli flakes

Pinch of garlic salt

Juice 1 large lime

A handful coriander, leaves and stalks chopped, plus a few leaves, roughly chopped, to serve

Method

Halve and stone the avocados (saving a stone) and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into the bowl. Roughly mash the avocado to the consistency of your choice (I like it nice and chunky).

Tip all the other ingredients into the bowl, then season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to roughly mash everything together.

If not serving straight away, sit a stone in the guacamole (this helps to stop it going brown), cover with cling film and chill until needed.

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

Serves 4 =2sp each

1 large broccoli

100ml plus another 100ml water for the dressing

3 tbsp of dark soy sauce

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp light brown sugar

¼ tsp crushed chillies

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Method

Add 100ml of water to a pan with a lid and begin to heat. Add the broccoli, pop on the lid and steam until the broccoli is firm but tender, around 3 minutes.

In a large bowl add 100ml water, soy sauce, cornflour, sugar, and crushed chillies and whisk until combined.

Reduce the heat under the broccoli pan to medium and add the garlic stirring to combine, and cook for around 1 minute (make sure the garlic doesn’t stick to the pan and burn).

Remove the pan from the heat and add the dressing to the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens and coats the broccoli (around 1 minute).

Serve and enjoy!

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Ingredient

Makes 16 falafels

0sp on BLUE

500g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and roughly cubed
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and crushed with the flat part of a knife
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon curry powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cinnamon
400g tin of chickpeas in water, drained
1 small bunch coriander, finely chopped

And another…
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 200c. Pop the butternut squash in a baking tray. Spray with low calorie cooking spray and sprinkle the garlic powder, cumin, coriander, curry, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper over the butternut squash. Add the bashed garlic cloves and toss everything to evenly coat with the spices. Pop in the oven for 30-40 minutes until soft and beginning to colour.

Whilst your butternut squash is in the oven pop the chickpeas, fresh coriander and the additional cumin, coriander and garlic powder into a food processor. Blend for several minutes until well combined and pop in a bowl to one side.

Once the butternut squash is cooked, squeeze the garlic cloves out their skin and into a food processor and then add the butternut squash and blast in the food processor until blended but still a bit chunky. Mix the butternut squash with the chickpea mix and combine well.

Line your baking tray with some baking paper and then take 1 tbsp dollops of the mixture at a time and shape into rounds in your hands. Flatten the balls slightly when on the tray.

Pop in the fridge for 20-30 minutes (or until you need them). Spray with 1kal and pop in the oven for 30-40 minutes until they are nicely set and brown on top.

Serve with a nice mint yoghurt (fat free natural yoghurt, grated cucumber and a touch of mint sauce and lemon mixed), a little harissa swirled yoghurt (literally yoghurt with a touch of harissa dropped in the middle and swirled in, some low fat houmous and a nice green salad. Serve ‘sharing’ style with a few wedges of lemon.

Enjoy!

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