Authentic Moroccan Slimming World Curry

I love a good slimming world curry as much as the next person. And on a Sunday evening, a syn free curry is the best option for me as I've used the rest of my syns on wine.

I recently went down the wrong aisle in a local supermarket and found myself buying this Tagine. I knew it looked cool, but wasn't really sure where to start with ideas for slow cooking. Slow cooking is popular with slimming world followers - Tagines not so much. However they are cheaper at about €25/£20 - and are similar to slow cookers in that there is little fuss, you don't need to use a ton of pots and pans. you can cook your meal over a number of hours and with the lid on, the moisture is retained, the flavours are teased out and the meat is delectably tender. 

The below recipe was inspired by a jamie oliver version, I've converted it to be a syn free slimming world curry recipe. Perfect to try out on a lazy sunday :)

Ingredients

• 1lb diced lamb (beef or chicken can also be used)
• Small tin of chickpeas
• 1/2 small butternut squash, diced
• 1 onion
• Frylight Spray
• Tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup of vegetable stock
• Fresh coriander

For the spice Mix:

• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon ras al hanout spice mix
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the spice mix ingredients.
2. Add the lamb to the spice mix and massage using your hands - ensure the meat is well coated.
3. Cover with cling film and pop it in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight if you have the time to spare.)
4. Spray a pan with frylight and brown the lamb on a medium heat for 5 minutes.
5. Add the onions and fresh coriander and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. Tip in the chickpeas, chopped tomato and half the stock
7. Bring to the boil and then take off the pan. At this point, transfer from the pan to the slow cooker or tagine. If using the slow cooker, cook on low for 90 mins. If using a tagine, cook in the oven for 90 mins on 160 degrees. 
8. After 90 minutes, add the butternut squash and cook for a further 90 minutes. 

Garnish with flaked almonds if desired (25g for healthy B). This is a hearty dish, but goes well with crusty brown bread, slimming world wedges or couscous. 

10 ways with bolognese

As bolognese is a very handy dish to batch cook and freeze I thought I would share various ways you can use it for lunch and dinner. There are many recipes and ways to make Bolognese so feel free to use your own. I have included my syn-free Bolognese recipe below that can be doubled or tripled for batch cooking if you would like to try it.

Ingredients:

• Tinned Tomatoes (500g)
• Passata (500g)
• Lean mince (500g)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 or 2 onions
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves (depending on size ect)
• Pinch of Italian Seasoning
• Pinch of Salt

Method:

1. Chop up red pepper, onion and crush the garlic cloves
2. Spray frying pan with fry light and put on medium heat, put in mince and toss around until
3. all mince is brown
4. Put the red pepper, onion and garlic into frying pan and mix with mince for 3-5minutes
5. Place above mix into a pot and pour in pasata and tinned tomatoes.
6. Put pot on medium heat
7. Add salt and seasoning and mix together and cook for 10 minutes

Now that the recipe and method is taken care of, here are some of the fun ways you can have bolognese!

1. Spaghetti Bolognese

2. Pasta Bolognese

3. Lasagne

4. Bolognese on rice

5. Bolognese Baked Potato

6. Bolognese on a bed of lettuce

7. Bolognese stuffed pepper

8. Bolognese and Lettuce Wrap

9. Bolognese Pizza

10. Bolognese Potato Bake