Party pieces: Celebrate good times with yummy and slimming snacks
SLIMMING party snacks tried-and-tested by Saturday magazine's celebrity chef Aldo Zilli
Hello, and welcome to the Bank Holiday weekend. I have never seen so many tourists out and about in London and around the coast before and I, too, have been enjoying the outdoors.
This week’s book is Slimming World’s Little Book Of Light Bites and as slimming is often on people’s minds – including mine – I was interested to see the recipes in this little volume.
The sweet potatoes, which you can see on the front cover, especially took my eye. Sweet potatoes are a favourite of mine at the moment – I love them with anything. I roasted
some white sweet potatoes with some sage for a snack yesterday and the kids loved it.
I also tried the spiced chicken nuggets and the balsamic strawberries which were a great combo. So for a quick fix, this little book really is quite handy.
The weather has been so good recently that the Zilli household has seen lots of barbecues and alfresco dining. We’ve cooked everything – local fish, meat and great vegetables – all chargrilled on the barbie.
For me, cooking at home is all about getting prepared the day before, so shopping and marinating is always done ready for the following day. Having said that, I’ll be shopping for this evening’s dish today, as it’s Saturday so I have more time, and I’m lucky to have a local farm shop just 10 minutes away.
Buon appetito!
- Aldo Zilli
Indian-spiced chicken nuggets
Asian
Starter
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- ●5 Skinless and boneless chicken thighs, fat removed and roughly chopped
- ●1 2cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- ●1 Garlic clove, crushed
- ●1 tsp Fennel seeds, crushed
- ●Half tsp Ground cinnamon
- ●1 tsp Turmeric
- ● Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ● Low-calorie cooking spray
- ● Lemon wedges, to serve
Put the chicken in a food processor with the ginger, garlic, fennel seeds, cinnamon, curry powder and turmeric. Season and blend until fairly smooth. Turn out the mixture on to a clean work surface and divide into 12 equal portions. Roll each one into a little ball and flatten slightly to make nuggets.
Spray a large non-stick frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Fry the nuggets for 6-7 minutes or until nicely browned, turning halfway (you may need to do this in batches).
Serve straight away with lemon wedges to squeeze over the nuggets. You can also cool the nuggets and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Eat cold or reheated thoroughly.
Sweet potato wedges with a garlic dip
American
Starter
Ingredients
For the wedges:
- ●1 tsp Smoked paprika
- ●2 tsps cumin seeds
- ●1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ●2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed or peeled and cut into wedges
- ● Low-calorie cooking spray
For the garlic dip:
- ●200g quark
- ●200g fat-free fromage frais
- ●1 garlic clove, crushed
- ●1 tbsp cider vinegar
- ●2 spring onions, finely chopped
- ● Salt
Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and line a large baking tray with nonstick baking parchment. Mix the paprika, cumin seeds and cinnamon in a bowl, spray the wedges with low-calorie cooking spray and toss them in the spices to coat evenly.
Arrange them on the baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.
Make the dip by mixing the quark, fromage frais, garlic and vinegar in a bowl. Add the spring onions.
Sprinkle the wedges with salt and eat straight away with the garlic dip. You can also cool the wedges and the dip and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the wedges thoroughly before eating.
Balsamic strawberries
English
Dessert
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- ●250g box of strawberries, halved
- ●1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ●2 tsp sweetener (optional)
- ● Fat-free natural fromage frais
- ● Freshly ground black pepper
Put the strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and sweetener, if using. Toss to coat well, cover and leave to stand for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.
When you’re ready for a snack, spoon some strawberries into a bowl, add a dollop of fat-free fromage frais and grind over some black pepper.
The strawberries will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Extracts taken from Slimming World’s Little Book Of Light Bites, photographs by Gareth Morgans, priced £3.95. Available in all 11,000 Slimming World groups across the UK and Ireland. The book is only available when you join Slimming World.
