Saturday 1 November 2014

Huevos Rancheros meets Ham, Egg and Chips


I really fancied huevos rancheros today, but as I'd already used my Hex B for my bacon butty at breakfast, I decided to substitute a thick slice of ham for the tortilla.

The advantage of serving it with a cooked salsa rather than raw, is that I could add plenty of onion to really up that superfree.

Husband requested chips, so I made him some black pepper jacket wedges. They're almost chips, and I can't be too compliant now can I?



So, this is what I did:

Serves 2
Syn free on Extra Easy

2 thick slices of ham, all visible fat removed
4 potatoes, skin left on, cut into wedges
salt and coarsely ground pepper
8 tomatoes, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped

To flavour the salsa, I used the leftover spicy sauce from last night's tiger prawns, which consisted of:

a small knob of ginger, minced
a couple of cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp tomato purée
1-2 tsp paprika

Par boil the potatoes, shake well in a sieve or colander to rough them up a bit, place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper. Cook in the oven on a high temperature until nicely brown.

Meanwhile, make the salsa. Sauté the chopped onion, garlic and ginger in Fry Light until soft, then add the tomatoes. Continue cooking for a minute or two, then add the tomato purée and paprika. You may need to add some water if the mixture is too stiff.

Serve with the ham and a fried egg.

Butternut Squash and Leek Risotto with Garlic-Ginger Tiger Prawns


Serves 2
2 syns on Extra Easy*

* providing you use the cheese as your Hex A



6 large raw tiger prawns
knob of ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp paprika

150g arborio rice
bouillon powder
125ml dry white wine
60g grated Parmesan cheese
1 large leek, sliced
a small butternut squash, quartered

Bake the butternut squash at 210°C until al dente (or as soft as you would like it). When cooked, scoop out the flesh using criss cross cuts which don't go right the way through the skin (much as you would with a mango).

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the prawns. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the turn pink. Do not overcook or they will be tough. Drain, retaining the liquid, and plunge immediately into a bowl of iced water to arrest the cooking process. When cool enough to handle, peel the prawns.

Sautée the garlic and ginger in a little Fry Light until it is just beginning to go brown, then add the tomato purée and paprika plus a little of the cooking water from the prawns. Just before the risotto is ready, add the prawns to the sauce – either whole or sliced – to reheat.

Place the rice in a saucepan with some of the cooking liquid from the prawns, bring to the boil and stir continuously while the rice absorbs the liquid. Continue adding about a ladle-ful of water each time, adding the wine and bouillon powder at some stage. About half way through (the whole process usually takes 20-30 minutes), add the leeks. When the rice is cooked to your liking, add the butternut squash and stir until the squash it heated through. Take the risotto off the heat and stir in the cheese. Serve with the prawns on top.