Bang On! Recipes for Bonfire Night

Remember, remember the 5th November!

How could we forget it? There are umpteen deals on groaning shelves for special sausages and burgers, mountains of fist-sized potatoes (all the better for baking) and spooky cupcakes galore whose sugar levels give me a scare!

So what to have on this special festive occasion if you’re a bariatric that doesn’t want to bend the rules or go out with a bang?

Well if sausages are your thing then consider my previous recipe for Spooky Sticky Sausage Wraps you’ve told me they’re a winner for all the family!

Or if jacket potatoes are more your thing then consider this recipe using potatoes baked and then filled with Parma ham, cheese and vegetables…more of a sophisticated twist on the usual cheesy-topped spud and all the more delicious for being so.

BONFIRE JACKET POTATOES WITH PARMA HAM

Ingredients

METRIC/US

4 medium baking potatoes

Low-fat cooking spray

1 tsp smoked paprika

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 yellow bell pepper/capsicum, cored, deseeded and cubed

1 courgette/zucchini, cubed

150 ml/2/3 cup fat-free thick Greek yogurt

75 g/3/4 cup grated reduced fat strong hard cheese

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro

1 spring onion/scallion, chopped

4 slices Parma ham

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/gas mark 6.

2. Rinse and prick the potatoes, pat dry then spritz with low-fat cooking spray and season with half of the smoked paprika and salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and bake for about 1 hour, until cooked.

3. Meanwhile, spritz the onion, carrot, pepper/capsicum and courgette/zucchini with low-fat cooking spray and season well with salt and pepper. Place on a tray and cook for the final 25 minutes of the potato cooking time.

4. Mix the yogurt with the remaining smoked paprika.

5. To serve, split the potatoes open, top with plenty of the cooked vegetables, yogurt mixture, cheese, coriander/cilantro and spring onion/scallion. Finish each with a slice of Parma ham.

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION 1/2

CALORIES PER PORTION: 357

PROTEIN: 20.2

CARBOHYDRATE: 59.9g

FAT: 4.7g

Image courtesy of Parma Ham

And finally if you fancy something more of a spoonful or bowlful then consider a hearty soup in a mug or bowl like Shallot, Pumpkin and Pepper Soup (the best way I know of using up the flesh of a scooped out pumpkin) or a skinny and one-pot speedy take on a traditional chilli recipe such as Super Speedy Chilli Con Carne