Thai Fish Cakes - Version Two! (With Sweet Chilli Sauce and Fresh Pickled Vegetable Relish - includes Thermomix method)

 

One of my favourite Thai dishes, and so versatile - a dinner, a starter, a snack, a buffet dish... and now I've updated it as it has evolved over the years - 2014 was when I first posted this recipe!

Fish cakes are one of the iconic street food dishes of Thailand, and they're delicious dipped into a piquant sauce. I think my favourite thing about Thai fish cakes is the fact that there's no filler in there - no bread crumbs, or potato - they're just pure, delicious un-stodgy protein! If you want to, you can give them a little twist, by replacing some of the raw fish with crab meat, and lightly pan frying them and finishing off for a few minutes in the oven rather than deep-frying them - but you're welcome to deep-fry them if you prefer... I think they're really good cooked this way though, and somewhat healthier.

These ones have been shallow fried, which gives a more uniform browning

This recipe makes around 20 to 25 fish cakes, and although usually you'd probably have three for a starter, you could also serve four to five as a main course (there are four of us including two children, 10 and 11 with hearty appetites - I made twenty, and we had five left over).

Obviously it would serve far more as a starter (divide the mix into 24, and you'll have three each to serve eight people), and would make a great warm buffet dish. The secret is not to overcook them - you want a nice, light, dare-I-say-it almost slightly 'bouncy' texture. They really are deliciously tasty - no wonder they are so popular! They even freeze well, either raw or cooked (I prefer to freeze them lightly cooked, for ease) - just defrost and re-heat or cook lightly.

If you're counting calories, then the calories per serving if divided between five people are as follows:

Fish Cakes - 177; Pickled Vegetable Relish - 50; Sweet Chilli Sauce - 48; Total calories - 275. (You can take off 30 if you leave out the peanuts, and add on 76 for a 200g portion of cauliflower rice, or 149 calories per serving for a portion of Thai Jasmine rice (45g uncooked). 50g mixed leaves is around 10 calories). [Calories in square brackets next to ingredients]

Gazpacho - a refreshingly cold, raw tomato based soup from Spain

A delicious, healthy and refreshing chilled soup from Spain.

Made predominantly from raw tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, onion and garlic blended together with sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, this soup can be anything from a starter, to a main or a tapa - and on a hot summer's day it's wonderful to be able to just reach into the fridge and pour yourself some out!

 

 

Makes approximately 1.3 litres (or see Notes for double), hence it makes six servings of 220ml.
820 calories for the full batch including extra virgin olive oil (or if you're fasting, you can leave it out, and it will then be 286 calories for the entire quantity).

Hence 136 calories for a 220ml/g serving including the extra virgin olive oil (or 48 calories for a 210ml/g serving excluding extra virgin olive oil) - obviously adding chopped up salad toppings will add a few more calories, and adding a drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) will add around 120 calories per tbsp.

Easy Sri Lankan Cauliflower Curry

This curry is so easy and quick to make, and it tastes that good you can eat it all by itself, or with the simplest of accompaniments!

I've been going a bit mad for Sri Lankan food at the moment (yes, it probably shows in my blog posts!), and I love to share the things that I love the most!

*** Post in progress, awaiting photos! ***

Easy Chilli con Carne (with Pressure Cooker method)

Chilli con Carne is something most of us have been cooking for years, without even looking at a recipe book...

I know I have - probably for the best part of two decades. I already have one chilli con carne 'recipe' on my blog here from over three years ago, back in the early days - so it's somewhat detailed on the method and goes on a bit! Although it does use soaked chipotle chillies and tastes bloody gorgeous, so it's staying where it is!

Anyway, I digress. This one is much, much simpler, has pressure cooker instructions for those who have one, and tastes equally amazing!

It's a decent sized batch if you're catering for friends, or want to put a few portions in the freezer (which is what I always do!), but you can easily halve it. It tastes even better the next day, if you've got any left! Last time I made this, I made half the quantity for a family of four and it all got eaten in one sitting, so I decided not to make that mistake again!

Serves 10 to 12 portions, at 265 to 318 calories per serving (depending on size).

Want a low carb / low calorie meal? 

Serve on top of 200g cauliflower rice per person (76 calories a serving), or 50g rice per person (raw weight, 176 calories per serving) or serve in a couple of taco shells (e.g. Old El Paso boxed tacos, for 67 calories per taco, check ingredients for GF), or mini-tortillas (87 calories each, for a 28g flour tortilla, not suitable for  GF)... or you could even use lettuce leaves to wrap it in - whatever floats your boat! All of these suggestions will bring you in at under 500 calories quite comfortably.

Sri Lankan Beef Curry - Harak Mas Curry

A delicious, simple-to-make braised Sri Lankan beef curry.

I am going through a real phase of loving Sri Lankan food at the moment, and this beef curry, adapted from a Charmaine Solomon recipe is so simple to make, and incredibly tasty, that I had to share it.

It's also naturally low in fat, as it contains no coconut and only a small amount of oil, so it's pretty guilt-free too!

This serves four people as part of a meal served with a vegetable side dish and rice (or cauliflower rice - although if you're a complete meat head and want it on its own, it would probably make two or three servings), but it is very easily doubled. Even better the next day, and freezes beautifully.

199 calories per serving (between four people). Slimming World Syn free.

Easy Ham and Cannellini Bean Soup (Gluten and Dairy Free)

A tasty, healthy soup that you can throw together for a nutritious light meal

Well, this was going to be ham and lentil soup, until I realised that my dried red lentils weren't actually gluten free (my daughter can't eat gluten) and I had to think of a quick substitute as things were already cooking away and I didn't want to waste my precious ham stock from cooking the Christmas ham (Knorr stock cubes are good too if you don't happen to have your own ham stock lying around)!

Luckily there are always various tins of beans in the cupboard here, so I substituted some cannellini beans in part of the broth so she could eat it, and put the lentils in the remainder (next blog!) for the rest of the family. You don't have to use cannellini beans, you could use butter beans, haricot or any other mild and creamy tasting white bean. It turned out really tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Serves four to six, from 93 calories per serving for a smaller portion (six smaller portions at around 250g each, or four larger portions at around 400g each - exact weight depends on how much liquid has evaporated overall) or 139 calories for a larger portion.

Baked Cod Provencal

A delicious, healthy taste of the Meditteranean, cooked in just the one tray!

Yes, that's right. Not only does this taste amazing, you only need one tray to cook it in, so less pots to contend with, too!

Succulent fillets of cod cook perfectly in the oven, on top of a bed of delicious roasted vegetables full of Provencal flavours. Shavings of lemony fennel inspired by Gordon Ramsey, top it all off perfectly for a contrasting texture, with fresh herbs.

Serves two, 318 calories per serving.

Roasted Aubergine and Spinach Curry

A delicious vegetarian curry that's easy to make and tasty!

'Roasting' the aubergines until soft, and then scooping out the flesh means that you don't need to cook them in lots of oil, and that they take on a rich, toasty flavour from the slight char on the skin which permeates through to the flesh.

If made with two de-seeded large red chillies, this is a very mild curry, which makes a lovely vegetarian main on its own (you may want to add a tin of chickpeas to add more texture and protein to the curry, if you want to serve it as a main on its own), or a beautiful side dish to other curries, or part of a selection (e.g. a thali).

Makes seven portions (main sized) of approximately 250g, at 134 calories each; or eight servings if including chick peas (see 'variations'), at 157 calories a portion. Serves more as a side dish, and freezes well.

Moroccan Spiced Roast Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Warning: This soup will fill the house with gorgeous smells whilst cooking!

This delicious (and healthy!) soup came about for two reasons: Firstly, I wanted to create a vegetarian soup with Moroccan flavours which didn't contain chickpeas, and secondly, there's a jar of ras el hanout in my spice cupboard which was crying out to be used in something!

So here it is, I'm very pleased with it, and everyone else really loved it too! Feel free to shake up the flavours by substituting a different spice mix, or adding cooked pulses after blending it to make a heartier soup.

Yields 10 portions (recipe easily halved) of approximately 250g each, at only 99 calories per serving!