⭐️ Creamy coconut, butternut squash & potato Thai red curry ⭐️

❤️ This recipe is from my first cookbook, The Slimming Foodie 📒 (find it here 👉 https://amzn.to/3LaXNNH) ❤️

One of the tastiest soups I have ever eaten was a creamy, spiced tomato and coconut milk soup at a Thai restaurant in London. Here I`ve recreated those flavours in a Thai curry, using light coconut milk, which has less than half the fat of regular, but still gives a lovely creaminess.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 261
SERVES: 4

Ingredients:

2 onions, finely chopped
low-calorie cooking spray or spray oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
400g (14oz) can light coconut milk
3 tablespoons tomato purée
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon salt
500g (1lb 2oz) butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into rough 1cm (½ inch) cubes
500g (1lb 2oz) new potatoes, quartered (no need to peel)
handful of basil leaves, to serve

Method:

1. In a sauté pan or deep frying pan, fry the onions gently in low-calorie cooking spray for 10 minutes, until softened and a light golden colour.
2. Add the garlic and red pepper and stir-fry over a slightly higher heat for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the curry paste until the vegetables are coated, then pour in the coconut milk. Fill up the can with water and add that too.
4. Now squeeze in the tomato purée and add the soy sauce, lime juice, salt, squash and potatoes. Bring up to a rapid simmer, mixing everything together.
5. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. When it`s ready, the sauce will be thick and creamy and the vegetables cooked through.
7. Scatter the basil leaves over and serve.

NOTE You can freeze raw butternut squash, so if you have some left over, simply peel, chop and put it into a freezer bag or sealed container to freeze. This can then be used for a quick soup or curry when you need it. Serve this curry on its own or with cauliflower `rice`.

Food photo credit: Chris Terry

⭐️ Oozy, cheesy tomato and gnocchi bake ⭐️

❤️ This recipe is from my first cookbook, The Slimming Foodie 📒 (find it here 👉 https://amzn.to/3LaXNNH) ❤️

The gnocchi in this recipe is lovely baked in the oven. It has a satisfying chewy texture and, simmered in rich, herby tomato sauce, then blanketed in melting, oozy mozzarella, it`s deliciously simple, one-pot comfort food.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 378
SERVES: 4

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
low-calorie cooking spray or spray oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
500g (1lb 2oz) tomato passata
1 teaspoon dried oregano, plus extra for sprinkling
10 basil leaves, torn, plus extra to serve
500g (1lb 2oz) pack gnocchi
100g (3½oz) mozzarella, torn up
60g (2¼oz) Cheddar cheese, grated
15g (½oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan (425°F), Gas Mark 7.
2. In a medium-sized ovenproof pot, fry the onion in low-calorie cooking spray for 3–4 minutes until softened.
3. Add the garlic and stir-fry gently for another minute, then add the passata, stirring it through the onions and garlic. Add the oregano and torn basil leaves and season with ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
4. Stir the gnocchi through the sauce and increase the heat to bring up to a rapid simmer.
5. Remove the dish from the heat, scatter the torn mozzarella evenly over the top, then sprinkle over the Cheddar and Parmesan.
6. Sprinkle with a little more oregano and grind over some pepper.
7. Put the dish into the oven for 15 minutes. When it`s ready, the cheese will be golden, bubbling and browning around the edges.
8. Scatter over a few small basil leaves to serve.
NOTE If you fancy adding some extra vegetables to this, then throw in some halved cherry tomatoes or chopped red pepper after the onion, and fry for a few extra minutes before adding the garlic. Want to add some meat? Fry some bacon pieces or chorizo to add in, delicious!

Food photo credit: Chris Terry