Beauty Cooking

If you are on a diet and looking for a change from chicken recipes, why not try a couple of my favourite crab recipes? Crab is low in saturated fat and calories and is a versatile ingredient for those watching their waistline.

A few years ago my husband and I had a delicious crab pasta recipes dish in Italy. I have experimented at home trying to recreate it several times. Most things of course always taste better on holiday in the sunshine, drinking in the beautiful Italian scenery and this is no exception. However, it is nevertheless tasty and best of all quick and easy to prepare.

I like to use linguine but you could use penne, spaghetti, fusilli or just about any other pasta. Depending on your appetite, you will need for two people a large dressed crab or two medium ones. Chop a red chilli (de-seeded if you don’t like your food too fiery), a couple of cloves of garlic, a spring onion of two, a small bunch of parsley, and two or three vine ripened tomatoes (skinned). Fry them gently in some olive oil (spray fat is fine if you are being truly virtuous) add a glass of white wine and the crab meat and simmer while you cook the pasta. Serve with a dash of lemon juice.

My other favourite crab recipe comes from Greece and, as with many Greek recipes , packs quite a punch with its green chillies. You make a mixture of crab meat, chopped onions, garlic, skinned and chopped tomatoes, chillies, and chopped coriander, all fried in some olive oil. Add some lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Put the mixture into small ramekin dishes and top with bread crumbs. Drizzle some olive oil on top and bake for about 15 minutes. This is a great dish to serve as a starter or can be served as a main course with some naan or a salad.

When my son went to university my daughter was desperate to visit him. Off she went to spend the weekend with him and was introduced to the delights of student living, parties and all. The thing that made the biggest impression on her though was the festering navy blue frankfurters which were lurking in the communal fridge. I’m not sure how long it takes for a frankfurter to turn navy blue but I could take an educated guess. Her brother of course denied all knowledge of said health hazard.

If your child is heading off to university this autumn, now is the time to teach them a few basic recipes. A levels are over, so drag them kicking and screaming into the kitchen; they’ll thank you for it in the long run.

Being able to cook a batch of mince is a good idea for students. It can then be turned into a spaghetti bolognese, a cottage pie, a chilli or a lasagne. If they have access to a freezer, get them to cook double and freeze in suitable sized portions for future use. They don’t need to cook everything from scratch. A shop bought jar of ragu sauce or white sauce granules are nothing to be ashamed of!

Chicken is another versatile ingredient for your son or daughter to get to grips with. Good in stir fries, curries or roasted, the possibilities are endless. Introduce them to recipes from companies such as Schwartz so they can just pop online to find a new recipe or two to spice up their chicken without too much effort or expense.

Do, however, make sure they are aware of the salmonella risk and instil in them some basic hygiene rules such as washing their hands thoroughly after touching raw chicken, not allowing work tops to become contaminated with chicken blood, and not storing raw poultry near cooked meats in the fridge. These are things which we take for granted but which the average teenager is probably unaware of. Likewise, make sure they know that whilst eating a rare steak is fine, chicken (and for that matter pork) needs to be thoroughly cooked.

Are you a vegetarian and looking for a great meat-free alternative? Are you hosting vegetarians but aren’t an expert on vegetarian recipes and feel embarrassed offering your veggie friends boring old pasta recipes every time you host a dinner party? Are you just trying to make your meals healthier without sacrificing taste?

All of these are difficult situations but a little creative flair here and there and a healthy dose of international thinking can easily solve these conundrums.

The English are not renowned for their healthy or vegetarian-friendly food, so we must travel to Latin America for an inspiring Mexican influence.

Bean Enchiladas is a great recipe because it is extremely customisable; the following recipe is just a rough guideline, so you should feel free to add your own personal touches. Let’s start off with what you will need (or what you may decide to substitute):

- 1 Teaspoon of olive oil
- 2 onions (chopped)
- 2 green bell peppers (sliced or chopped)
- 2 teaspoons of chilli powder
- 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
- 2 cans of black beans
- 6 tortillas
- 200g low-fat yoghurt
- 50g cheese (grated or shredded)
- Handful of romaine lettuce (chopped)

If you’re thinking “this is a lot, I’m not quite that hungry” then I don’t blame you. This recipe is meant to be very substantial and provides enough to feed four to six people. Alternatively, you could hide the leftovers in the fridge and save it for yourself for another day; it depends solely upon how generous you’re feeling.

Going through this list, all of the ingredients can be taken out or substituted for something else, so if the look of anything doesn’t appeal to you, fear not.

To begin with, we are going to prepare the vegetables. Or not. It’s completely up to you. If you don’t want to put any vegetables in, that’s fine. Believe it or not, the beans and yoghurt in a cheese covered tortilla can stand up on its own but I highly recommend enhancing the experience with some vegetables. Put the oil in a frying pan and cook the onions and peppers for between five and eight minutes. Again, use whatever vegetables you want. Carrots also work well here, it’s just up to you and your preferences.

Then, add a little chili powder to make the dish a little more exciting. If you don’t like spice, then you may want to skip the chili powder, but it really adds an interesting twist. Cook with the chilli powder for one more minute. Next, bring the pan down to a simmer and add the tomatoes (if you want) and stir for 10 more minutes.

Once removed from the heat, add the beans to the mixture. I’ve listed black beans but pinto beans also work well. You can use both if you’re feeling a little crazy. Lay the tortillas on a board and distribute the bean mixture between them all, sprinkling a little salt in (perhaps a little paprika), wrap them up and line them in an ovenproof dish. At this stage, you could just finish and enjoy them as burritos, perfect for the time-pressed and on-the-go. You could even skip the tortillas completely and eat the mixture with tortilla chips, which are great for sharing.

Continuing on with this recipe, sprinkle the cheese of your choice on top and a light dashing of yoghurt or sour cream. Heating your grill to high, put the enchiladas in until the top is melted and bubbling. Now it is ready to serve. I recommend putting lettuce, sour cream, yoghurt, guacamole and/or salsa on the side to heighten the experience. But, most importantly, remember it is all up to you.