British Food Fortnight

Today marks the start of British Food Fortnight. Now in its ninth year, it is the biggest national celebration of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces. Sure Start Children’s Centres, Universities, the Army, Cabinet Office, BBC and National Trust are just a few of the establishments taking part.
As part of it, members of the public have been asked to vote for the slogan that they think best promotes British food; and schools are being challenged to design and cook a meal based on recipes that would have been used in their school’s part of the country by previous generations. The winning school is being invited to London to cook their chosen meal for HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and the Hairy Bikers!
Here at www.bariatriccookery.com we shall be featuring a British classic, cooked the bariatric-friendly way every day for the next fortnight.
For more information go to www.lovebritishfood.co.uk

For a first recipe we have that old British Classic – Shepherd’s Pie. This one has been made wls friendly with a different topping and an added protein boosting bean addition. It can be eaten at the AMBER/SOFT FOOD stage post-op and it’s fabulously warm and comforting now that the weather has turned chillier.

Bariatric Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

800g lean minced beef
1 large onion, chopped
300ml passata
1 beef stock cube
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper
750g swede, peeled and diced
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
425g can low-sugar baked beans
4 tbsp grated low-fat cheese, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas mark 2.
2. Cook the minced beef in a non-stick, ovenproof pan until browned. Add the onion and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until softened.
3. Add the passata, crumbled stock cube, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour, then increase the oven temperature to 200C/gas mark 6.
5. Meanwhile, cook the swede in boiling salted water until soft, then drain and mash to a puree. At the same time, in another pan, cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender, then drain and mash to a puree. Mix the swede with the potato until well combined.
6. Mix the beef mixture with the baked beans and transfer to a large or 6 individual baking dishes and top with the mash. Sprinkle with grated cheese if liked and bake for 20-25 minutes until browned. Serve with vegetables in season.

SERVES 6
WLS PORTION: 1/2
* suitable for freezing

CALORIES (without cheese): 390
PROTEIN: 36g
CARBOHYDRATE: 48.8g
FAT: 6.4g

Image copyright of Bariatric Cookery (UK) Ltd