Nutty chicken curry

I'm now coming up for six months of eating low carb and as well as a great impact on my blood sugar, I've lost almost 30 kilos - I'm guessing I'll hit that mark around six months which is in a couple of weeks (maybe sooner). At first it was odd to eat curries, stews, etc. without the carb accompaniment, but now it feels fairly normal. This chicken curry is wonderful because the sauce has layers of flavours. It's also lovely and creamy which I find easier to eat without rice.

Ingredients
One onion, chopped
One (or more, to taste) chillies
One knob of ginger, chopped
Three cloves of garlic, crushed, peeled and chopped
Two spring onions, finely sliced
A bunch of coriander - leaves removed and set aside, stalks chopped
Oil
250 g roasted peanuts
500 g boneless chicken pieces, cut into chunks
100ml yoghurt
200 ml stock

Pound the peanuts in a pestle and mortar, adding oil until it's just about pourable.

Add half the garlic, half the chilli, half the onion, half the stock, half the spring onions and the coriander stalks to a blender and blend until you get a really tasty soupy mix.

Fry up the rest of the onions, garlic and ginger. Separately fry the chicken. Combine.

Add the peanut mixture.

Add the sauce.

Add the stock and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Stir in the rest of the spring onions. Turn off the heat and stir the yoghurt through.

Serve with coriander and thin slices of chilli.

Fluffy herb omelette

This is a lovely light and airy breakfast.

To make this omelette, take two eggs and separate them.

Beat the whites till they peak.

Mix the egg yolks with herbs, salt and pepper (and if you want a tablespoon of milk - I prefer without).

Slowly, and gently fold the yolk herb mix into the whites.

Heat a pan with a thin layer of oil.

Pour in the egg mixture.

Leave to cook for a couple of minutes until you can move the egg around in one piece.

If you are brave, flip it, pancake style (I prefer to use a second pan!)

Serve and eat.

Chick pea and carrot salad

The secret to this salad is the incredible array of flavours in the dressing. You don't need much as it's jammed with flavours.

For the salad:
Chick peas - either from a tin, or soaked and boiled dry chickpeas
One large carrot - peeled and grated
A handful of raisins, soaked in half orange juice, half water
A handful of chopped coriander
A handful of almond slices, toasted


To make the dressing:
Juice of two limes
Juice of one orange
Teaspoon honey
3 shallots, finely sliced
Teaspoon salt
Quarter of a teaspoon of the following spices:
Cumin
Cinnamon
Ginger
Coriander
All spice
Cayenne

Mix the chick peas, raisins and carrots together. Mix all the dressing ingredients together. Mix the two. Leave to marinade for a few hours (if you can). Just before serving add the coriander and almonds.

For the onion - cut a red onion almost all the way through. Put on a roasting pan. Pour over equal measures of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast for around 20 minutes, till it opens up like a flower.

Citrus fruit salad with honeyed pistachios

This is a great breakfast. Maybe with a little vanilla yoghurt.

Stir together a spoon of honey and a spoon of water and toss in a handful of pistachios.
Toast these in an oven for 5 minutes.

Peel and remove the pith from a selection of oranges, pomelo and limes. Finally dice 4 dried apricots. Stir together and pour over 200 ml water, a handful of chopped mint and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. Leave for a few hours.

Serve with the honeyed pistachios.

Halloumi kebabs

I adore halloumi. It's very salty and so goes well with some fresh veggies.

Mix together a tablespoon of olive oil, another of lemon juice and a handful of chopped mint and marinate the cheese for a couple of hours. Barbecue with courgetttes, cherry tomatoes, onions, etc.

Chop up a preserved lime and sprinkle this over the kebabs. Serve with chopped coriander.

Spicy lentil soup

I always feel fuller when I've had an explosion of spices. I guess it's all the different layers makes me think I've eaten more. And lentils are always filling.

This soup works well cold as it's so spicy and it freezes well. It's also fairly fast to make, and be produced from store cupboard ingredients.

For a 4 small bowls or 2 larger bowls

One cup of lentils
One onion, chopped finely
One chilli (more if you prefer) finely chopped
A knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Two cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed and finely chopped
A teaspoon of turmeric
A teaspoon of paprika
Pinch of salt
Tomatoes - roasted or tinned and finely chopped (optional)
 500 ml vegetable stock

Sour cream and paprika to serve

Boil the lentils with just enough water to prevent from burning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add some of the stock and the rest of the ingredients and boil up.
Add more stock as required.

Preserved limes

These are a great to have as an addition to all sorts of dishes, they are sour and salty, so add quite a punch. And they are very easy to make.

You need a very clean jar with an airtight lid, lots of limes, lots of salt and some water that has been boiled and is now warm.

Cut the limes into quarters, almost to the bottom, but not quite.

Next fill the lime with as much salt as possible. 

Holding it together, turn it upside down (into the jar) and press some of the juice out. 

Store for a few weeks (or months) turning periodically to make sure the salt dissolves evenly on the limes.

spicy pork with aubergine

Fry some slices of peppers, chunks of peeled aubergine and onions in some oil. Separately fry some pork slices in some oil, draining away any excess liquid until the pork is golden brown.

Add a teaspoon of curry powder to the vegetables. Add the meat. Add around 6 roasted tomatoes or a tin of tomatoes, if you don't have time.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Chicken satay with pickled vegetables

I've now lost 28.5 kilos on this low GI diet and I'm feeling so very much better for it. One of the things I keep doing, though, is forgetting how small my appetite now is. I'm cooking too much and putting too much on my plate. The high protein and high fibre aspect of the diet, with very few carbs, means that I am never actually hungry any more and I always feel like I've just eaten a big meal. I'm slowly learning to cook less, or at least put less of what I cook on a plate at a time (it's always great to have loads to snack on for when I know I need to eat and I'm done with cooking as it stops me reaching for the bad for me stuff. This dish is particularly good as it isn't a problem to eat cold and the pickled veggies are great to have in the fridge to accompany all sorts of food. They are quick and easy to make yourself and you can control what goes in - I'm not a big fan of spicy food, so I leave out chillies, but you could add extra. More or less any veggies that can be eaten raw and aren't leaves, are suitable for pickling. Add some slices of lemon - chargrilled is great, and play around with the spices - we used pepper corns, mustard and coriander seeds, but cardomom, poppy seeds, star anise, maybe even fennel seeds can work well. I like it with dill, but again you can play around with any herbs you add.

Make the pickled veggies in advance.
Cut meat into strips. Pound together shallots, garlic, and chilli. Stir in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of sesame oil and a tablespoon of regular oil. Maranate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Then barbecue.
For the peanut sauce, add to a blender, 250grams roasted peanuts, 100ml coconut milk, one chilli (or more to taste), 3 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, a tablespoon tomato puree and two spoons orange juice. Puree and serve with chopped coriander.

Pickled veggies

Slice a selection of veggies - we've used carrots, cauliflower, red peppers, and cucumber, together with shallots.

Add some spices - we've used coriander seeds and mustard seeds together with peppercorns.

Heat up one cup of white wine vinegar with one cup of water and a teaspoon of soft brown sugar. Once boiling, turn of the heat and leave to become warm.

Layer the veggies and herbs in a jar. Pour over the vinegar mix and put in the fridge, turning occasionally.

It'll be good after about an hour, but better overnight - or in a week - or two!

Garlic mushrooms with roasted tomatoes and a poached egg

For the garlic mushrooms, finely chop some garlic - as strong as you like it. Fry gently with about a tablespoon of butter. Peel and chop the mushrooms - a selection of different types works best.

Serve with roast tomatoes and poached eggs. Eat immediately.

Roast tomatoes

Cut the top off a 2 kilos of tomatoes and arrange them cut side up in a roasting pan. Put in the oven at around 200C for 2 - 3 hours. These can then be kept in oil (ideally olive oil - and it isn't wasted - the oil takes on a lovely tomatoey flavour) for a few weeks. Great in salads, warmed up alongside meats, in sauces, stews, etc.

Poached egg

To make a poached egg, you need very fresh eggs, some vinegar, and some water, a pan and a slotted spoon.

Put a pan with enough water to easily cover the egg, on to boil. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar (this stops it from spreading out if it's a little old). Break an egg into a small bowl.
When the water is gently simmering, stir it fast with a spoon to create a whirlpool effect and drop the egg into the middle. After a minute, use the slotted spoon to lift the egg out and see if the white looks cooked. You should be able to see when it's done and immediately remove it and serve it.