The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight by Hairy Bikers Page B
Authors: Hairy Bikers
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basmati rice. Aim to cook no more than 50g per person, so 200g in all. Press the freshly boiled rice into a 200ml metal pudding basin or dariole mould that you’ve oiled lightly and lined with cling film, then turn out into the bowls before adding the hot curry. You only need 1 basin or mould as you can reuse it for all the servings
SI AND DAVE’S WEIGHT-LOSS TIPS
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, cook just a 50g portion of rice to have with your meal. It won’t look much if you’re used to huge portions, but if you fill the rest of your plate with lots of colourful vegetables or salad, you will hardly notice.
The idea of many pasta dishes is that the pasta adds bulk so you don’t need so much of the sauce. When you’re dieting, reverse this so you have less of the pasta and more of the good stuff.
In dishes such as risotto it’s not the rice that’s the problem but the fat you add to it. Have a go at making our risotto which is lower in fat than usual – you’re going to love it.
Buy tomato-based sauces if you like, but check the calorie count on the label. Some of them are higher in calories than others.
Bulk out home-made sauces with extra vegetables, such as peppers and aubergine. Whiz them up if you like a smooth sauce.
Serve some extra protein like chicken or prawns with your pasta dish so you need less of the carbs.
HOME-MADE BUTTERNUT SQUASH TORTELLINI
Didn’t think you could eat stuffed pasta did you? Well, this recipe uses a gyoza dumpling dough, rather than a traditional home-made egg pasta, and could save you a whopping 240 calories or so for the recipe as a whole, and up to 60 calories a portion. The dough is much easier and quicker to roll than traditional pasta and makes beautiful tortellini. You can use the same recipe to make ravioli, lasagne or tagliatelle too.
SERVES 4
300g strong white flour, plus extra for rolling
½ tsp fine salt
200ml boiling water
Filling
500g butternut squash (½ small squash)
1 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion
3 tbsp quick-cook polenta
25g Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
flaked sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
3 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche
handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
2 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
389 calories per portion
First make the dough. Sift the flour and mix in the salt, then stir in the boiling water with chopsticks or a knife until a ball forms. If the dough seems too wet, add a bit more flour; if it’s too dry, add more boiling water. Cover the dough and leave it to stand and cool for about an hour. Meanwhile, you can get on with the filling.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Peel the butternut squash and cut it into rough 4cm chunks. Put these in a large bowl and toss with ½ tsp of the oil, a couple of pinches of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Scatter over a large baking tray and roast for 25 minutes until just tender when pierced with a skewer.
While the squash is cooking, halve and finely slice the onion. Put the slices in the bowl used for the squash, add the remaining oil and toss well. Scatter over the top of the squash after the 25 minutes cooking time and roast together for 10 minutes more.
Tip the hot vegetables back into the mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Add the polenta and blitz with a stick blender (or in a food processor if you prefer) to make a thick, orange purée. Set aside to cool for about an hour, then stir in the grated cheese and nutmeg. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until it’s very elastic. You can do this in a food mixer with a dough hook if you like. Take a third of the dough and roll it out very thinly on a floured surface, stretching and turning it as you go. Cut out 10 circles with a 9cm round pastry cutter, stacking the discs with a dusting of flour between them to stop them sticking. Continue
SI AND DAVE’S WEIGHT-LOSS TIPS
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, cook just a 50g portion of rice to have with your meal. It won’t look much if you’re used to huge portions, but if you fill the rest of your plate with lots of colourful vegetables or salad, you will hardly notice.
The idea of many pasta dishes is that the pasta adds bulk so you don’t need so much of the sauce. When you’re dieting, reverse this so you have less of the pasta and more of the good stuff.
In dishes such as risotto it’s not the rice that’s the problem but the fat you add to it. Have a go at making our risotto which is lower in fat than usual – you’re going to love it.
Buy tomato-based sauces if you like, but check the calorie count on the label. Some of them are higher in calories than others.
Bulk out home-made sauces with extra vegetables, such as peppers and aubergine. Whiz them up if you like a smooth sauce.
Serve some extra protein like chicken or prawns with your pasta dish so you need less of the carbs.
HOME-MADE BUTTERNUT SQUASH TORTELLINI
Didn’t think you could eat stuffed pasta did you? Well, this recipe uses a gyoza dumpling dough, rather than a traditional home-made egg pasta, and could save you a whopping 240 calories or so for the recipe as a whole, and up to 60 calories a portion. The dough is much easier and quicker to roll than traditional pasta and makes beautiful tortellini. You can use the same recipe to make ravioli, lasagne or tagliatelle too.
SERVES 4
300g strong white flour, plus extra for rolling
½ tsp fine salt
200ml boiling water
Filling
500g butternut squash (½ small squash)
1 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion
3 tbsp quick-cook polenta
25g Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
flaked sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
3 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche
handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
2 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
389 calories per portion
First make the dough. Sift the flour and mix in the salt, then stir in the boiling water with chopsticks or a knife until a ball forms. If the dough seems too wet, add a bit more flour; if it’s too dry, add more boiling water. Cover the dough and leave it to stand and cool for about an hour. Meanwhile, you can get on with the filling.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Peel the butternut squash and cut it into rough 4cm chunks. Put these in a large bowl and toss with ½ tsp of the oil, a couple of pinches of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Scatter over a large baking tray and roast for 25 minutes until just tender when pierced with a skewer.
While the squash is cooking, halve and finely slice the onion. Put the slices in the bowl used for the squash, add the remaining oil and toss well. Scatter over the top of the squash after the 25 minutes cooking time and roast together for 10 minutes more.
Tip the hot vegetables back into the mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Add the polenta and blitz with a stick blender (or in a food processor if you prefer) to make a thick, orange purée. Set aside to cool for about an hour, then stir in the grated cheese and nutmeg. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until it’s very elastic. You can do this in a food mixer with a dough hook if you like. Take a third of the dough and roll it out very thinly on a floured surface, stretching and turning it as you go. Cut out 10 circles with a 9cm round pastry cutter, stacking the discs with a dusting of flour between them to stop them sticking. Continue
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