Ceviche masterclass

By Ellen Wallwork

Ceviche is having a bit of a moment and is appearing at an increasing number of restaurants. But while this Peruvian delicacy looks a la carte, it’s surprisingly easy to make in your own kitchen – and you don’t even need to turn on the oven! In its simplest form, ceviche is chunks of raw fish ‘cooked’ in citrus juice –it’s the acid in the juice that denatures the proteins in the fish, similar to traditional cooking methods, turning them opaque.

So, with curing raw fish making it into Kenwood’s top 50 food experiences to try in a lifetime, we decided to try our hand at making ceviche. We sought out the expertise of Fernando Trocca, executive chef of the Gaucho restaurant chain where ceviche has been on the menu for more than 11 years. He shared his simple six-step guide to preparing the dish…

 1. Cut the fish into small chunks

‘Make sure you select quality fish,’ says Fernando. ‘Fresh, locally and responsibly sourced fish is always best. The fresher the fish, the better the taste.’ Cutting the fish correctly is essential, too. ‘If the chunks are too big, the cure won’t reach the middle so the fish will still be raw.’

2. Season (optional)

Traditionally, ceviche is seasoned with salt. But the good news for healthy foodies is this is very much down to taste preference, so you can use as little salt as you want, or none at all. However, if you don’t add salt you’ll need to cure the fish for a little longer.

3. ‘Cook’

‘When preparing ceviche we refer to cooking, but it is actually curing,’ explains Fernando. ‘The citrus juices marinate the fish and seep through to the middle.’

Cure the fish in lime juice, then drain. The cure time depends on the type of fish and the size of the pieces you use. It can take from 30 sec (for thinly sliced tuna, scallops, lobster and sole) up to 5–7 min (for prawns). Cod and octopus need around 3 min.

4. Prepare the vegetables

Thinly slice red onions and cut vegetables into bite-size cubes. Popular veg choices include avocado, tomatoes and steamed sweet potatoes.

5. Make the marinade

Chilli, coriander and garlic are typically used in ceviche marinades, but spicy red pepper and tomato sauce also works well. ‘Spice is incredibly important,’ advises Trocca. ‘You want the dish to pack a punch with every mouthful.’

6. Assemble

Gently combine the cured fish with the sliced onion and the marinade. Serve topped with the sliced vegetables, with a grinding of black pepper and a sprig of fresh coriander.

Enjoy!

‘Tis the season for a HFG makeover

As part of our mission to Fight the Fads: Make Every Meal Healthier, we regularly feature healthy recipe makeovers in Healthy Food Guide and on our Facebook page. And with the party season drawing ever closer, we thought we’d share a recipe with you so you can indulge in a festive treat or two without overdoing it. Our healthier sausage rolls are made with reduced-fat puff pastry and lean pork mince bulked-up with fibre-boosting wholemeal breadcrumbs – and they taste delicious…

Healthy Food Guide sausage rolls

Prep 15 min

Cook 20 min

Makes 20

Cooking oil spray, to grease

300g lean pork mince

2 wholemeal bread slices, made into breadcrumbs

1 onion, finely chopped

1tbsp chopped fresh thyme

½tsp ground mixed spice

1tbsp reduced-salt soy sauce

1 ready-rolled light puff pastry sheet (320g)

1 egg, beaten

1Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7. Lightly spray a non-stick baking tray with oil.

2 In a large bowl, combine the mince, breadcrumbs, onion, thyme, mixed spice and soy.

3 Cut the pastry sheet in half lengthways into 2 long rectangles. Divide the meat mixture in half, then put one half along the middle of one pastry strip to form a long sausage. Brush one long edge of the pastry with the egg, then roll the pastry over the filling and seal it together to form a long roll. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.

4 Cut each large roll into 10 pieces, then put them seam-side down on the prepared tray. Slash the top of each roll a few times with a knife, then brush lightly with the beaten egg. Bake for 20–25 min until dark golden.

5 Serve warm or set aside to cool, then freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly and reheat in a moderate oven until piping hot.

Healthy Food Guide sausage rolls

Per sausage roll: 96kcal, 6.4g protein, 4.1g fat, 1.8g saturates, 8.6g carbs, 0.8g sugar, 0.8g fibre, 0.3g salt, 20mg calcium, 0.5mg iron

Break the diet cycle

Diet is a four-letter word that often spells failure. In the November issue of Healthy Food Guide, our experts explain how you can lose weight for good by breaking free of the vicious cycle of deprivation and disappointment caused by fad diets.

Successful weight loss is all about creating healthy relationships with food and your body. We asked nutritionist Zoe Wilson for her top tips for healthy eating…

1 It’s OK to have an ‘imperfect’ meal or snack

You eat three meals a day, seven days a week – so if one or two of these meals aren’t great, it’s no big deal!

2 Before you eat ask yourself, ‘Am I actually hungry?’

That’s the grumbling, empty tummy hungry — not the ‘I don’t want to sit at my desk anymore’ hungry. If you’re not really hungry, is there something else you could do? Maybe you could step outside for some fresh air or make that phone call you’ve been putting off for a while.

3 Turn off the TV, computer or phone to enjoy food
By eating with distractions such as these you won’t register you’ve had your meal or snack, leaving you wanting more when you don’t need it. Take time out and sit at a table so you can concentrate on what you’re eating.

4 Have what you really want

There’s no point in choosing a yogurt or piece of fruit if you really want a piece of chocolate — you’ll feel cheated! Have that piece of chocolate (but not the whole bar) and savour every moment of it.

5 Take note of the ‘sigh moment’
There comes a point, when eating a meal, when our stomach says it’s full – we will often pause and take a deep breath. But many of us miss this cue because there’s still food on our plate. Be mindful of this cue, then put down your knife and fork.

6 Eat slowly!

Try to take at least 20 minutes to eat your meal. This gives your stomach enough time to tell your brain it’s full. Put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls, cut your food into smaller pieces and focus on tasting your food.

7 Don’t deprive yourself in social settings

Food is at the centre of many social occasions, and it’s fine to join in. But if you’re not hungry, don’t feel pressured to go to the buffet table or to take that canapé. And in restaurants, order a starter instead of a main or share something with a friend.

8 Leave the table satisfied but not full

There’s a difference between not feeling hungry anymore and feeling stuffed to the brim. Listen to your stomach as you eat and try to finish on a hunger scale of about 7/10 — with 0/10 being starving and 10/10 being full-to-bursting.

9 Pretend you’re a critic

Think about the flavour and texture of each mouthful, and assess how appealing the meal is to your eye. By appreciating the elements of your food you will feel more satisfied.

10 Use smaller crockery and glassware

This makes a smaller portion look bigger, helping you eat less but still feel satisfied. Replace dinner plates with starter-sized plates, and swap 500ml wine glasses with 250ml glasses. 

For more advice on breaking the diet cycle, check out the November issue of Healthy Food Guide magazine.

Comforting crumbles

At HFG we love finding ways to make our favourite dishes healthier. From satisfying pies to decadent desserts, we believe that with a bit of nutritional tinkering most culinary treats can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet.

In our November issue, we put the spotlight on fruit crumbles and our chefs surpassed themselves when experimenting with healthier fillings and toppings. In fact, they managed to concoct so many delicious variations there wasn’t enough room for all of them in the magazine. But we didn’t want you to miss out, so we thought we’d share the leftovers with you here. A serving of either crumble contains one of your 5-a-day and is low in saturates and salt.

Apple and raspberry

Serves: 6

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 20 min

400g tin sliced apples

200g frozen raspberries

60g caster sugar, plus 1tbsp extra

60g self-raising flour

40g rolled oats

30g low-fat spread

1tsp vanilla extract

6 small scoops low-fat ice cream, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Combine the tinned apples, frozen raspberries and the 1tbsp caster sugar in a 1.25 litre baking dish.

2 Put the flour and oats into a mixing bowl, then rub in the spread with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the remaining 60g sugar.

3 Sprinkle the vanilla extract over the fruit, then add the crumble topping. Bake for 20 min or until golden. Serve with the ice cream.       

Per serving: 238kcal, 3.7g protein, 4.9g fat, 2.4g saturates, 35.1g sugar, 3.9g fibre

Strawberry and almond

Serves 6

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 25 min

125g reduced-calorie strawberry jam

500g strawberries, halved

25g toasted flaked almonds

60g caster sugar, plus 1tbsp extra

60g self-raising flour

40g rolled oats

30g low-fat spread

1tsp vanilla extract

6 small scoops low-fat ice cream, to serve

1Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Warm the jam in a saucepan, then add the strawberries and stir to combine. Transfer to a 1.25 litre baking dish.

2Put the flour and oats into a mixing bowl. Rub in the spread until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar and almonds. Sprinkle over the strawberry mixture, then bake for 20 min or until golden. Serve with the low-fat ice-cream.

Per serving: 258kcal, 4.8g protein, 7.2g fat, 2.6g saturates, 34g sugar, 3.1g fibre

Pick up the November issue of Healthy Food Guide magazine for eight more variations including a classic apple and sultana and an exotic pineapple, rum and raisin.

A fresh start in food…

By Melanie Leyshon

Home-delivery food service Hello Fresh is not a takeaway, more a  ‘make-at-home’. All you do is browse online and choose three meals from their current recipe selection. Each week a box of quality ingredients (meat is ethically reared and fish comes from sustainable sources), together with step-by-step recipe cards, is delivered to your home.

Hello Fresh Butterflied Mexican Chicken

Since the launch last year, 3 million meals with an international flavour have been delivered across the UK. Hello Fresh best-sellers include prawn and prosciutto linguine and lamb kofta with almond couscous and cucumber salad. Prices start from £36 for three veggie meals for two. Patrick Drake, who started the company and heads the creative recipe team, talks to HFG.

What your background?

I was a lawyer at Goldman Sachs, but always loved cooking and teaching, so I decided to quit law and try to get a cooking show! I remember writing down this notion one day at work, along with the five steps I’d need to take to get there.

Patrick Drake founded Hello Fresh

How did you get on…?

Step one – to get as many culinary mentors as possible, so I started cooking in the kitchen of my firm at lunchtime. After work, I’d hop a cab and swap pin stripes for chef's whites on the way to the Cuckoo Club in Mayfair, while weekends were spent working for top Spanish chef Jose Pizarro. Pretty soon I resigned from my job… and, when I told my boss I wanted to get into cooking on TV, he almost choked on his cappuccino. What followed were petrifying auditions at New York’s Food Network, hours making videos for YouTube and a stint with Heston [Blumenthal] at the Fat Duck in Bray. Five years on, I’m happy to say I have a TV series in 47 countries and Hello Fresh, my food company, which teaches thousands of people to cook from the comfort of their kitchen. It's almost scary how my thoughts turned into reality.

Hello Fresh are fairly healthy meals that come in generous portions?

Yes, it’s all about healthy food, but we are not a pure health food company. We design each recipe to be nutritious, balanced and fresh, but if we think a spoonful of crème fraîche will complete the dish, we'll add add it (your readers can use reduced-fat ingredients, if they prefer). The biggest problem in the UK is the amount of processed food people buy and the gap that creates between that and our vision of preparing simple healthy meals at home. Nutritious, home-cooked food shouldn’t be seen as an indulgence but rather an everyday habit.

Are you health-conscious?

I have a busy lifestyle and need to refuel at least every two hours to keep going – as my friends and colleagues know! Many of us tend to put healthy food last, but it should be our priority. Whenever I’m tight for time, I force myself to take the time to eat and that way I work far more efficiently.

There’s an international flavour to Hello Fresh dishes…

That’s because I'm from London, although my family lives in Hong Kong and I've lived in France, Japan and Hong Kong - I love to move around - keeps life adventurous!

For details of the boxes, visit hellofresh.co.uk

Get all your five-a-day in one dish!

By Harry Eastwood

This salad is a deconstructed version of ratatouille, which makes for a delicious, fresh and full-flavoured alternative to the traditional vegetable stew. It can be made ahead – and, in fact, tastes even better. It ticks plenty of health boxes as it’s high in fibre and low in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt. Most people can enjoy it, as it’s vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free. And the best thing about it? One serving counts as a full five portions of your five-a-day.

Ratatouille salad with anchovies and lemon

Serves 4

1 large aubergine, cut into small cubes

2 medium courgettes, topped, tailed and cut into very small cubes

4tbsp olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, peeled and finely diced

1 medium yellow pepper, cored and chopped into small cubes

1 medium orange pepper, cored and chopped into small cubes

2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste

3 anchovies, very finely chopped

10 medium ripe tomatoes on the vine

Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon

Handful of basil leaves, torn from the stem

1. Heat a large frying pan until very hot.

2. Toss the aubergine and courgette cubes in the olive oil until evenly coated. Add them to the hot frying pan and cook over a high heat for 5 min, until the edges have turned a golden colour. You may find that you need to do this stage in two batches.

3. Tip the hot vegetables into a large bowl with the onion, peppers, garlic and anchovies. Season generously with pepper, then cover with clingfilm. Set aside for 10 min, while you prepare the tomatoes.

4. Chop the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds and centre with the help of a spoon. Finely chop the flesh, then add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

5. Finally, squeeze the lemon juice over the salad. Set aside (wrapped in clingfilm) for 1 hr in the ambient temperature of your kitchen to let the flavours mingle and develop. Scatter the basil leaves over just before serving and add more pepper if needed. Serve with crusty bread, if you like.

SWAP IN/SWAP OUT

I love the savoury flavour the anchovies bring, but you don’t have to add them – this ratatouille is delicious without. You could include pine nuts if you want the salad to be a little more hearty and reduced-fat feta or mozzarella chunks are lovely thrown in at the last minute, too.

Per serving: 210kcal, 6g protein, 12.8g fat, 2g saturates, 19.2g carbs, 17.1g sugar, 9g fibre, 0.3g salt, 77mg calcium, 2.7mg iron

 

Harry’s supporting our mission to Fight the Fads – Make Every Meal Healthier. To find out why she’s rallying against the fad diet industry, pick up our October issue.

For more substantial salad recipes, check out Harry Eastwood’s A Salad For All Seasons (Bantam Press, £20).

Beat the barbecue binge

By Juliette Kellow

Last week, I enjoyed my ninth barbecue of the year. To be fair, we started early with our first one on a very chilly and windy February afternoon (new kitchen, loads of people for Sunday lunch – and no electricity! You get the picture). But, I’m not alone in my love of the griddle. Apparently, Brits hold more barbies than any other European country, with the average family hosting nine each year.

And it’s not surprising that we love them so much – they’re the perfect opportunity for relaxing and enjoying sunny days with family and friends. But at the risk of having a burger or two thrown at me, if you want to stay looking good in your swimsuit, it’s time for a waistline warning.

A study carried out three years ago revealed the average person consumes around 3,000 calories at a barbecue – one and a half times what a woman needs in a day; twice the amount if she’s trying to lose weight. On average, we munch our way through two sausages, one and half burgers, two chicken drumsticks, one-and-a-half meat skewers, a small piece of fish, a small jacket potato, green salad, pasta salad and two spoonfuls of mayo, all rounded off with double dessert. And that’s without any booze!

So how can you cut calories without cutting enjoyment? To start with, it’s usually the sheer abundance of food and drink that makes it so easy to overindulge – as the aforementioned study showed. My advice: if you’re holding a BBQ, buy the same amount of food as you would for a dinner party and fire up the barbie just once; if you’re at a BBQ, fill your plate just once, then step away from the trays of cooked food that are constantly being added to.

Most BBQs are a meat feast, so swap fatty burgers and sausages for low-fat versions (or make your own burgers with lean beef or turkey mince). Try chicken, turkey, lean pork, salmon, mackerel, fresh sardines, white fish, prawns or tofu as alternatives – and keep portions small. A serving should be about the size of a deck of cards (see the September Healthy Food Guide magazine, out now, for my guide to portion sizes). Alternating chunks of meat with veg on skewers makes a small amount of meat go a long way. And fill the grill – and your plate – with low-cal, antioxidant-rich veggies like aubergines, courgettes, peppers, asparagus, corn on the cob and mushrooms.

White rolls and French bread are low in nutrients and fibre. Instead, I make a ‘healthier’ potato salad – new potatoes in their skins, low-fat Greek yogurt, reduced-fat soured cream, spring onions, chives and lots of black pepper. For the kids, I cook jacket potatoes – and for burger lovers, I buy granary rolls. Bowls of green leaves usually end up in the bin so I make a Greek salad with cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, reduced-fat feta and olives. Olive oil and white wine vinegar are on the side if anyone wants to add them. The mayo stays in the supermarket.

Chips and dips can be a calorie disaster, so I buy just one or two bags of crisps (depending on how many people there are) – once they’re gone, they’re gone – and put out carrot and pepper sticks with reduced-fat hummus, tzatziki and salsa, which are lower in calories than creamy or mayo-based dips.

Finally, it’s worth remembering booze calories aren’t even included in the average 3,000 calories we consume at a barbecue. Plus large amounts of alcohol can give us the munchies so we eat even more (and forget just how much we’ve eaten). If you’re heading to a barbie, offering to drive means you can stick to alcohol- and calorie-free drinks. And if you’re hosting, stock up on soda water, diet lemonade, slimline tonic and plenty of ice – great calorie-free ways to dilute the booze.

Take a stand against extreme diets

By Melanie Leyshon

 

As you'd imagine, being the editor of Healthy Food Guide magazine, I check the daily newspapers for health breakthroughs. And there's no shortage of stories – some based on reliable scientific evidence, others rely on more flimsy statistics. 

Putting aside the well-researched advances in overcoming cancer, finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, etc, at this time of year, when the beach beckons, many health sections become obsessed with diets – and extreme diets. Yet, despite the growth of the dieting genre – juicing, fasting, no carbs, feeding tubes – we continue to upsize as a nation.

When we read about a diet that promises you'll lose 7lb in a week, it can be tempting to give it a go. 

I’ve taken shortcuts myself. There was the miserable, stinky week of the Cabbage Soup Diet (dire daily doses of soup, fruit and a hellish day of 5 bananas that left me too weak to think), then there was the anxiety-inducing South Beach Diet (I was so shaky after day 6, I made straight for the sandwich shop for a cheese bap).

Now I eat in moderation or semi-moderation and factor in exercise to offset the excess. I’m no Jessica Ennis, but even I’ve found a mix of running, cycling and yoga works. It's helped me maintain a healthy weight and BMI, which my recent NHS Health Check confirmed.

Health professionals, such as British Dietetic Association (BDA) registered dietitians, know it’s not necessary to go to such extremes to lose weight. Doing so can mess with your metabolism and compromise your health, as you may miss out on vital nutrients. What’s more it’s almost impossible to stick to restrictive diets that cut out food groups, or expect you to exist on under 1,400 calories a day - so any weight loss achieved is short lived.

That’s why at Healthy Food Guide magazine we decided to launch our mission to Fight the Fads: Make Every Meal Healthier, which has gained the backing of the BDA, Diabetes UK and the British Nutrition Foundation.

Our aim is to encourage both women and men to eat healthily every day instead of resorting to extreme, yo-yo dieting. Healthy Food Guide magazine is the only dedicated food magazine with a panel of health and diet professionals (qualified dietitians, not self-styled nutrition therapists), registered fitness experts and fully-trained recipe consultants. They bring their expert know-how to our fully referenced features – we don’t print facts that can’t be substantiated.

In our September issue (which comes out tomorrow), our nutrition consultant, registered dietitian Juliette Kellow, has put together a visual guide to portion sizes (no scales required) that will help you reduce your calorie intake without missing out on any of your favourite foods. We also have 46 taste-tested and nutritionist approved recipes, including slimmed down versions of your favourites, such as steak and chips and chicken kiev – that are full of flavour, but easy on your waistline. Plus, we’ve investigated the claims surrounding cancer and diet, to bring you the latest scientifically supported advice about what to eat to help reduce your risk. 

Pick up your copy of Healthy Food Guide magazine in larger supermarkets, Boots, WH Smiths or M&S; download a digital edition or purchase a subscription.