Total Recipe Resources

Easy Chilli Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

8 ounces of crab meat (fresh or canned)
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
Grated zest of one lime
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (also known as coriander)
1 ½ ounces of whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 lime, cut into wedges for garnish

Place the crabmeat, spring onions, lime zest, coriander and chillies in a bowl.  Mix well and add the breadcrumbs, mix again.  Form four small patties out of the mixture and place in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

*Tip: To make homemade breadcrumbs simple place a slice or two of whole wheat bread in a food processor or blender and whiz on high for one minute.

Now, heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a frying pan.  Dip the patties in flour to coat thoroughly.  Place the patties in the hot oil and fry for about 3 minutes.  Now add the rest of the oil to the pan and turn the patties over.  Fry for another 3 minutes.  Serve immediately, with lime wedges on the side and a sprinkle of cilantro over patties.

Very nice served with a side salad and some warm crusty bread.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 C. uncooked whole-wheat shells or spirals
½ C. plain nonfat yogurt
1 ½ teaspoons honey
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon dried dill weed
¼ teaspoon celery seed
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 (6 ½ oz.) can lite tuna packed in water, drained, flaked
1/3 C. frozen peas unthawed
1/3 C. chopped celery
¼ C. chopped red pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped spring onion

Directions:

Cook pasta in boiling water for 12 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl combine yogurt, honey, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, celery seed, and paprika. Stir in cooked pasta, tuna, peas, celery, and red pepper. Mix until evenly coated. Sprinkle green onion on top and serve at room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Serves 4)

Cheesy Tarragon Fish

Ingredients:

1 lb. fish filets
½ C. plain nonfat yogurt
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 oz. grated reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
Cooking spray

Directions:

Arrange fish in nonstick casserole, which has been coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees F for 5 minutes. Drain off liquid and mix remaining ingredients and spread over fish. Bake 2 minutes, until cheese is melted. (Serves 4)

Lemon Shrimp Risotto

Risotto is great comfort food.  An added plus is that because it’s naturally so creamy you don’t really need much oil or fat for cooking.  You can make a risotto meal out of virtually any ingredients you have on hand.  This recipe combines shrimp, lemon and spring onions but you can experiment with fish and mushrooms too.  Add a handful of chopped chillies if you like it hot!

Ingredients:

½ onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 cup of risotto rice (known as Arborio rice)
½ cup white wine
5 cups of vegetable stock (homemade or powder form made into 5 cups of broth)
1 handful of spring onions, finely sliced
1 cup cooked, peeled shrimp
1 lemon, you’ll need a squeeze and a little bit of lemon zest
Salt and ground pepper to taste.
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a saucepan heat one tablespoon of olive oil and lightly fry the onion for approximately two minutes.  Add the crush garlic and fry for another minute.  Add the rice, turning frequently until coated on all sides.  Now add the wine and continue to stir the rice until the wine is absorbed. Reduce the heat to very low and start adding the vegetable stock, one cupful at a time.  Wait until each cupful is nearly absorbed before adding the next one.  Gently stir continuously. 

Continue cooking like this for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.  Add more stock if necessary.  Once the rice feels firm but cooked (al dente) stir in the shrimp, spring onions, yogurt and a squeeze of lemon (start with one squeeze and add more if you like it tangy!).  Now cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring continuously.  Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with a few spring onions and a little bit of lemon zest.  and serve immediately.

** Risotto is what slow food is all about.  The trick to cooking a good risotto is to take your time and gently stir the rice throughout the cooking process.  Take your time and think of it like therapy, without the big bills!

Tuna with Lemon Pepper (LOW CARB)

Ingredients:

4 tuna steaks (3/4 to 1-inch thick, about 6 ounces each)
Zest and juice of one (1) lemon**
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1/2 to 1 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Extra-virgin olive oil

**1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest and 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice in place of the lemon.**

Instructions:

In a small bowl mix together lemon zest, thyme, pepper and salt to your liking. Lightly rub both sides of the tuna steaks with olive oil and rub the seasoning mix on the tuna steaks. Heat a bit more oil in in skillet and then add tuna steaks. Cook each side of tuna steak for about 1 minute over medium heat. Pour lemon juice over the steaks when ready to serve.