Lighten Up!

Healthy eating at the start of January. It's cliched, yes. But when have I ever been original? Our meals this week and those planned for next week are simple, back to basics and healthy. Kind on the wallet and the hips.

I do feel good when I'm eating super healthy food, but it has to taste good too - there is absolutely no compromise on flavour. I've been cooking this week from Jill Dupleix's book "Lighten Up" which my brother in law gave me a few years ago (if I hadn't told him I wanted it, I would have almost been offended). If I'm going to eat well, then I'd rather follow healthy recipes written by a foodie, not a nutritionist who thinks juiced carrot is the best thing since sliced gluten free bread, so Jill Dupleix (Australia food writer living in London - check out her website for more recipes

) fit the bill.
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I really enjoy reading this book, but more fun is of course making and eating the delicious food. Previously I've made salmon, orange & chickpea salad (actually we're having that again on Sunday night), spiced yoghurt chicken, aubergine curry with ginger and chilli, Thai beef with lemongrass, braised oxtail with ginger and chilli, and harissa beef with couscous. This is really the food I've always eaten in Australia, so to me, the food in here is not really "a healthy new way to cook" (my emphasis) as the book's cover claims, but that doesn't stop all the recipes from being scrumptious.
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Last Sunday we had nutty quinoa with greens. I've cooked with quinoa several times before (to go with roast beef, quinoa with butternut squash, haricot beans and seeds, and linseed & quinoa porridge) and I really love it. Here's Jill's recipe:

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serves 4

400g quinoa

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

100g baby spinach

2T pistachios or hazelnuts (I used pistachios and my toasted mix of hazelnuts, pumpkin & sunflower seeds)

2T sultanas/currants

3T mint leaves, torn

3T parsley leaves

2T extra virgin olive oil

1T lemon juice

1t ground cumin

1t fennel seeds

sea salt & pepper

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I also fried off some lardons I had in the fridge.

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Wash the quinoa, drain and tip into a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Once boiled, let simmer for 10 minutes or until tender - it's kind of like cooking couscous - the grains will all fluff up. Drain.

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I then added to my frying pan with the lardons, the quinoa, tomatoes, spinach, pistachios, sultanas, mint and parsley.

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Make a dressing (either by whisking or shaking in a jar) with the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and fennel seeds and season. Add this to the quinoa salad. Serve!

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Thursday night was kheema with peas which my notes in the cook book told me we'd had twice before, so it must have been good!

serves 4

2T vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1T grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1t ground coriander

1/2t dried chilli flakes (or a couple of dried chillies chopped up in my case)

1t turmeric

750g lean minced lamb or beef (I used lamb)

2T tomato puree/paste

250ml stock/water

sea salt & pepper

200g frozen peas

1-2t garam masala (I seem to have run out so didn't include)

3T chopped coriander leaves

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Jill suggests (and I've done this in the past) serving with a dollop of natural yoghurt. As I didn't have any this time, I added just a dash (maybe 2T) of coconut milk at the end, which worked really well.

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Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onions until lightly golden. Add ginger, garlic and spices and cook for a minute or two before adding the meat. Cook the meat until browned.

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Add tomato puree, stock, salt & pepper. Cook gently for 20 minutes (or if it's a week night and you're starving, maybe only 10min ... but you didn't hear that from me).

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Add the peas and simmer for a few minutes longer. Add garam masala to taste and serve with coriander leaves.

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We just eat ours like this, without any carbs, but Jill suggests the addition of rice or lentils - I think either would be nice (especially brown rice) stirred through the kheema.

Last night we devoured tuna souvlaki with tahini and parsley which was fantastic.

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serves 4

2 ripe tomatoes chopped (or the leftover cherry tomatoes from the quinoa, quartered)

2T parsley

2 spring onions, finely sliced

4 thick tuna steaks

1T olive oil

s & p

1t dried mint

4 pita breads (I prefer the wholemeal ones)

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tahini sauce (I advise deliberately making too much so there will be leftovers):

2T tahini

2T lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3T natural/Greek yoghurt

If using wooden skewers, soak first. I used metal ones as you can see. Cut the tuna into generous bite sized chunks and thread onto the skewers. Drizzle with olive oil, s & p, and sprinkle with the dried mint.

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Mix the ingredients for the sauce together, add a little water and shake up. You can add more water to get a smooth runnier consistency.

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Toss tomatoes, parsley and spring onions together.

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On a hot grill quickly grill the pita bread (I just popped mine in the oven while the tuna cooked). Then grill the tuna for 2 minutes each side (I did mine for less, so just watch the tuna and play by ear).

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To serve, smother delicious tahini sauce all over pita bread, top with tomato salad and then the skewers of tuna. The flavour and texture combo is fab!