Quick and Easy Oven Roast Cherry Tomatoes

A delicious taste of sunshine all year round!

I'd say this is almost more of a method than a recipe, but either way they're so quick and easy to prepare it's hard to go wrong and you can adapt the 'recipe' to your own tastes.

I prefer to bake mine on Pyrex as the bottoms don't burn, and they don't stick. I've recently fallen in love with Pyrex baking trays, which I only discovered quite recently - especially as they fit really easily standing up in the plate rack of the dishwashers, and don't take up so much room as the good old Pyrex dishes which are always a bit awkward to fit in!

Luxury Potato Salad

 A delicious, creamy potato salad full of flavour

This potato salad is delicious both warm or cold, depending on what you're serving it with.

Great as an accompaniment to cold meats, smoked fish, cured meats, barbecues, salads, leftover roast chicken and almost anything you can think of!

If you want to lower the calories, use fat free Greek yoghurt, light mayonnaise and half fat creme fraiche (or just extra yoghurt). Will keep happily in the fridge for a few days. Serves 8 to 10 comfortably, easily halved.

Chicory, Courgette and Radish Salad with Orange, Coriander and Dill Dressing

Well, this wasn't supposed to be a recipe for my blog, but it turned out so delicious, that it would have been criminal not to share it!

The other half declared it the most delicious thing he'd eaten this year - and he doesn't like salads, so that's really saying something! The children also loved it, and I found it incredibly more-ish - especially the dressing, so I've had to write it down as accurately as I can, so we can recreate it again!

The only downside to creating something delicious, without planning it or thinking about it, is that you don't tend to get a very good photo of it, as you haven't set it up or made it at the right time of day - so apologies for the picture, but I can assure you that the flavours are divine! This was created to go with hot smoked mackerel, and hot smoked salmon (with a few new potatoes on the side, or some crusty bread would be nice too), and it really is fantastic with smoked fish. It would also be great with griddled, roast or barbecued chicken., and a sophisticated side to serve on a platter for people to help themselves to.

Marinated Mushrooms with Garlic, Lemon and Herbs, and other Summer Grilled / Marinated Vegetables

Delicious appetiser / antipasti, side dishes, or even starters. Makes for great vegetarian mezze / tapas dishes to share.

I really love mushrooms, and remember making Mushrooms a la Grecque many, many years ago. I thought I'd add my own spin to it, by charring the mushrooms a little first, as a nod to the char-grilled marinated artichokes we enjoy, and a few of my favourite flavours.

             

Scroll down for a couple of other recipes / suggestions for side dishes to go alongside the mushrooms (as pictured). 

These dishes will collectively serve 4-6 people as sides for lunch, and keep well in the fridge for a few days (see notes).

Calories per serving for those counting: Mushrooms - 70, Asparagus - 50, Peppers and Tomatoes - 61. Total calories for all three dishes as sides - 181.

If you're not counting calories, feel free to slug in extra oil and serve with Parmesan shavings, torn mozzarella, goats' cheese, feta cheese, pine nuts, and / or whatever else you fancy scattered on top or along side!

Asian-Style Slaw (includes Thermomix method)

A refreshingly different take on coleslaw that's a great side for Asian-flavoured grilled or barbecued meat and fish.

Full of flavour and texture, this is delicious as a side dish to complement all kinds of Asian flavours, whether you have it on the side of grilled meat or fish, some tasty barbecued skewers, or pop it inside a 'fusion' burger with a splash of sweet chilli sauce!

Not only is it tasty, it's healthy too, being packed full of fresh ingredients. I serve this with my Thai-style salmon fishcakes - and I'm sure it would be equally delicious with Thai crab cakes too!

Serves five, 45 calories per serving.

Salad Shirazi with Pomegranate Seeds

This is one of those dishes whose simplicity belies how utterly amazing the combination of ingredients tastes...

Which is perhaps why it is pretty much the national salad dish of Iran. Hailing from the city of Shiraz, this Persian salad is to Iran, what Kachumber is to India.

With the same base of cucumber, tomato and onion, salad Shirazi is flavoured with citrus and mint. I've added fresh pomegranate seeds to my version, for delicious little pops of sweetness with a crunch, and the fresh mint brings it all together beautifully.

It's good to make this a little in advance and leave it to chill for an hour or so, to allow the flavours to mingle. It's great as a side dish to pretty much any Persian meal - we had it on the side of some delicious Joojeh kababs (Persian chicken kebabs with saffron and lemon - recipe here) along with my Persian-inspired quinoa and lentil salad with roasted vegetables, sumac and fresh herbs.

This serves four people as a side dish, at 38 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets]

Quinoa, Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Salad, with Sumac, Lemon and Fresh Herbs (includes Thermomix tips)

Enjoy a taste of the Middle East in this delicious and healthy salad full of different textures and flavours.

Courgettes and peppers are roasted with cumin seeds and sumac then tossed with quinoa, nutty lentils and a refreshing mix of coriander, mint and parsley and dressed with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

          

Makes a fantastic side dish to grilled or barbecued meat, fish, poultry or halloumi, or even good as a light lunch on its own. We enjoyed it with Joojeh kababs (Persian chicken kebabs in a saffron and lemon marinade, my recipe is here) and salad Shirazi with pomegranate seeds.

Serves six to eight as a side dish. 174 calories per serving for an eighth, 232 calories for a sixth. [Calories in square brackets]

Cucumber and Radish Pickles (Japanese style)

Very simple and quick, and a refreshing accompaniment to Japanese food

These are great served on the side of Teriyaki dishes (which is what we had them with last night), with my Miso-Sesame Grilled Aubergines or Japanese barbecued skewers such as Yakitori chicken or my Kushiyaki beef.

They don't need long for salting either, you can do that while you prepare the other ingredients and there's no cooking involved either, so why not give them a try!

This quantity serves two as a small side, and is easily doubled. 14 calories per serving.

Japanese Pickled Vegetables - leave overnight, then delicious as sides to Japanese grilled meats the next day

These are so simple and quick, and a perfect accompaniment to Japanese grilled / barbequed meats

Pickles are served with almost every meal in Japan, and this recipe will keep for several days in the fridge. You can substitute all kinds of veg, such as red radishes, daikon/mooli, courgettes, celery – whatever you’ve got to hand – and don’t be afraid to add some ginger or chilli to the mix if you want a kick!

If you have a food processor with a slicing attachment these will take just a few minutes to make - and they are delicious served with grilled or barbequed Japanese meat, poultry, vegetables or fish, such as Teriyaki chicken or salmon, Yakatori chicken, Miso-Sesame Grilled Aubergines or Kushiyaki beef skewers.

Serves four to eight (depending on serving size - a quarter of this is a fair amount), 126 calories for all of it (including topping), 16-32 calories per portion (although you may only want a spoonful on the side of your dinner).

Greek Village Salad (Horiatiki Salata)

A timeless classic, great on its own, or as a side dish

A handful of good quality ingredients is what makes this simple salad so enduring. Go for a decent barrel-aged feta, juicy vine-ripened tomatoes and the best Greek olives you can get your hands on: classic purply-brown to black almond-shaped Kalamata olives, or if you're breaking from tradition, go for a nice plump green variety, like Halkidiki or some Olympian green olives.

I tend to switch depending on what I'm having it with, and who else is eating it - if in doubt, just put your favourites in!

Serves up to eight as a small side dish, or four as a light lunch, from 79 calories per serving for a small side and 159 calories as a light lunch (see below for information re. calories).

Speedy Shredded Carrot, Cabbage and Caraway / Cumin Salad

A five minute side dish for something slightly different - almost a cross between a salad and a slaw...

Great with my quick Turkish griddled chicken breasts.

You can throw this together in minutes, and it will happily keep chilled for a few hours (or while your Turkish chicken marinates for a minute and you prepare the other side/s), as there's no lettuce in it to wilt

Serves two, generously - easily doubled and a great one to stick through the food processor if you're making in larger quantities and want to save time. 71 calories per serving.

Turkish Red Cabbage Salad

This is a must if you're barbecuing some Turkish Kebabs...

It's so simple, and goes so well along with a few other sides, that it would be a crime *not* to make it the next time you're having a barbecue (regardless of what you're cooking!).

It's something I became familiar with as a side dish in Turkey, and from a Turkish restaurant I frequent from time to time who make exceptionally delicious kebabs; and it has now become synonymous (along with a few other side dishes) with eating good kebabs.

Serves 4 as a small side dish, 28 calories per serving. Easily doubled (or quadrupled, of course!) for a crowd.

If you fancy putting together a nice Turkish feast, with a shopping list and preparation plan, then have a look here!

Tzatziki (also known as Cacik)

A delicious, creamy dip infused with garlic, salted cucumber and lemon juice, dressed with extra virgin olive oil.

I've given this its most popular name of Tzatziki, but my recipe and reason for posting it, is as a collection which go together (with some other Turkish recipes), remniscent of my favourite foods from there including this, the Turkish version known as 'Cacik'. They both contain essentially the same (or at least very similar) ingredients, and both vary slightly regionally, so I'd be hard-pressed to say for definite which was which from any given region or restaurant! The main difference is that Turkish cacik is slightly thinner than Greek tzatziki.

It's very easy to make, but the fundamental thing about Tzatziki is that it's not just cucumber grated or chopped in yoghurt, the cucumber has to be salted first to give it that authentic flavour.

Serves six, 54 calories per portion (or 38 calories per portion if using fat free Greek yoghurt, see notes).

If you fancy putting together a nice Turkish feast, with a shopping list and preparation plan, then have a look here!

Fresh Mexican Salsa (Salsa Mexicana Cruda)

Tasty, versatile and can be prepared in a matter of minutes.

Great with all kinds of Mexican food, especially as a topping for Mexican style beans with some sour cream, in wraps, or as a side dish for spicy meat and fish dishes, like my Yucatecan-Spiced Chicken Skewers.

I prefer to chop my tomatoes by hand, but like to throw all of the other ingredients into the food processor for a quick blitz to save on time, then just stir everything together and garnish with a few extra coriander leaves.

Serves four, 17 calories per serving.

Yucatecan Pickled Onions

No cooking, just mix the ingredients together the day before - great with all kinds of Mexican food as a condiment.

Common in Yucatecan kitchens these will keep a good while in the fridge, and are great as a garnish to pep up Mexican food, particularly added to Escabeche, or with a splash of sour cream in a wrap, or on top of beans, or with a salad.

Make them a few hours ahead - preferably the day before, to allow the flavours to infuse into the onions.

Approximately 15 calories for a heaped forkful (around 1 tbsp, drained).

Italian Tricolore (and more) Salad

Italian Tricolore Salad is one of my favourite Italian salads

It's just so simple, but so delicious. This isn't so much a recipe, as me satisfying my own curiosity as to how many calories there were in what I was eating. But given that I write recipes for people who want recipes for under 500 calories, it was a great idea, as it's very easily under 500 calories even with extras! So working out the calories for the different ingredients, kind of made it into a recipe, and discovering that it was something delicious and simple which could be consumed for far fewer calories than I thought, made it a must-blog to share... (warm ciabatta not pictured!)

So, my apologies that it's not set out in a purist or traditional fashion, and that there are extras on the side, but I wasn't planning to post this as a tricolore salad, or even necessarily as a recipe - just as something summery and vague on a sunny day, showing my appreciation of the simple things in life. Also... I kind of like to keep the balsamic to the tomatoes, to make them more piquant, rather than staining my mozarella or avocado, and I like the grassy tones of a good extra virgin oil shared between the tomatoes and mozarella, with it's greenish golden tones trickling over the white of the cheese.

But I digress... you want to know how you can fit something like this in for under 500 calories (because if you're not counting, you're like a kid in a sweetshop in the deli, and you don't care!).

Serves one, from 326 calories.

Coleslaw - Southern-Style and Healthy

Delicious, crunchy, coleslaw, perfect with pulled pork, salad, in a sandwich, with a barbecue, on top of a jacket potato, or eat it on its own... whichever way you like it!

I made this to go with my pulled pork recipe (it's fantastic in a bun with pulled pork and barbecue sauce!), but if you're a fan of coleslaw then you already know how versatile it is - I'm having leftovers tonight with my Cajun chicken, and a nice fresh salad and the children had it in their lunchboxes, in cheese sandwiches... everyone loves it! I also have to be careful not to eat too much after I've just made it, as I love how fresh homemade coleslaw tastes, especially with the apple in it - and I don't like the huge, overpowering chunks of onion you get which overwhelm you in bought coleslaw.

The great thing about this recipe, is that you can make it as creamy as you like it, and add or substitute ingredients to suit your tastes (suggestions at the bottom in the Tips). Oh, and did I mention you can cheat and buy a bag of ready shredded coleslaw mix if you prefer? I've given you the basis for a nice crisp coleslaw, with a slight sweet and crunchy element from tart, Granny Smith apples and carrots, the tang of sweet white onions, and the crispness of shredded green cabbage (with a little red cabbage as well, if you like!) with a tasty dressing - it's up to you how much mayonnaise you add, if you're not counting the calories. I'm not one for a 'sloppy slaw' (one of the reasons I've used nice thick Greek yoghurt alongside the mayonnaise, rather than buttermilk), but when you've made it up with my suggested quantities, you can just keep going with the mayonnaise until it's the consistency you like. [Calories in square brackets, if you're counting].

Calories per 50g serving: 60 for full fat version, 27 for light version (extra-light mayo and 0% fat Greek yoghurt).  (Total weight, approximately 1,190g, total calories 888 for full fat version, 475 for extra light mayo, fat free yoghurt version).

Quick Warm Potato, Green Bean, Lemon and Caper Salad (with Salmon) including Thermomix method

This quick, warm potato and green bean salad is the epitome of why simple is often delicious, with just six ingredients.

Absolutely perfect with salmon or trout (which you can cook all-in-one in the Thermomix), or for a vegetarian alternative toss with some quartered boiled eggs and a handful of olives and top with toasted pine nuts, or if you want to cut the carbs, replace the potatoes with thick chunks of sliced courgettes (zucchini).

After craving salmon for a few days, and dreaming up just how might be the very perfect way to cook it I also had to think what would be the perfect accompaniment to it as well. I thought about quite a few things, and then finally settled on making something light and lemony, warm and simple. Which also just so happened to cook in around the same time as my salmon took to cook to perfection.

Serves two, calories per serving: 145 each for the warm potato and bean salad (if you want to cut the calories and carbs substitute thickly sliced courgettes for the potatoes this reduces the salad to to 95 calories per serving), and 140 calories per serving for smoked trout or from 211 calories per serving for hot smoked salmon (see ingredients).

So, for a really light meal, the warm salad made with courgettes and served with smoked trout (see below) would come in at 145 calories per serving.

Feel free to substitute and add your favourite vegetables to the warm salad - asparagus, broccoli, mange tout, snow peas etc. would all be great.

Artichoke, Asparagus and Fennel Salad with a Lemon Dressing

This is a beautiful, Spanish-inspired dish, which really takes salad to a whole new level.

It makes great use of what some would consider luxury ingredients, and with the Spanish slant, goes wonderfully with things like grilled chicken, fish and seafood, or my Moorish-Spiced Pork and Padron Pepper kebabs, and makes a stunning dish on a table of food to share with friends.

Serves four as a side, 91 calories per portion.
Feel free to chop and change the ingredients according to what you’ve got! [Calories in square brackets]

Wakame and Shaved Vegetable Salad in a Soy-Ginger Dressing with Toasted Seeds

Now that the sun is starting to coyly tease us with its presence, it's time to think about some exciting new salads for refreshing accompaniments or meals on warmer days!

But... seaweed? Really? Yes!!!  This tastes amazing!

Serves 4 (possibly a couple more as a side dish). For the whole salad for 4 people: 747 calories with avocado, 471 without. Per serving: 187 calories with avocado, 118 without.

Go on, step away from the iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes, and push the boat out. Believe it or not, the whole family loved this, including my two children (aged 9 and 11). It's healthy, tasty and packed with different textures and flavours - and if you invest in some dried wakame a little goes a very long way (see below!) and it's great in things like miso soup too (my miso soup recipe is here). Makes a great side dish to all kinds of Japanese/oriental-flavoured marinated, grilled, griddled or barbequed meat, poultry, fish or tofu etc. (think teryaki, yakitori etc.), with a side of rice or noodles.