Roasted Celeriac Soup

As it's January and we are enjoying plenty of lighter dishes; including soups.  I made this as an experiment for the first time today and it was absolutely delicious and I'll 100% be making it again soon.

It's completely vegetarian and vegan; so ideal if you are doing Veganuary or generally following a plant-based diet; but it's equally good for those who still enjoy a bit of everything too.

Celeriacs' can be a bit of a faff to prepare, but this recipe is well worth the initial effort and the rest of it is completely low maintenance too. The end result is a thick and creamy tasting soup - really hearty but super healthy too.

The below serves x4 portions with each portion approximately 200 calories.

Roasted Celeriac Soup

Here's how:

• x1 celeriac (approx 600g)
• x2 large garlic cloves
• x1 large white onion
• 1.5 pints vegetable stock
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Firstly whack the oven onto 180 degrees. 

Now to prepare the celeriac, firstly use a vegetable peeler to remove the outside, dark, gnarly bits of skin. There may be a slightly green tinge underneath, as a posed to the white and creamy depths of the celeriac - it's fine to leave these green bits so you don't lose too much of the celeriac.

Once peeled, carefully slice into 3-4 large slices, and then chop into about 2cm pieces and place into a roasting tin.

Now peel the onion and remove the ends then roughly chop, again into about 2cm sized pieces.

Peel the garlic cloves and throw into the roasting tin with the onion.

Drizzle with the vegetable oil and then season and place into the oven for 35 minutes.

When you remove from the oven, the onion should be charred and have a lovely, smokey flavour which will add to the soup, and the celeriac should have bits that are slightly browning.

Now remove everything and place into a large saucepan and pour over the vegetable stock. 

Use a blender to blitz till thick, smooth and creamy. 

Now gently heat on the hob until warmed through. Enjoy!

Slimming Friendly Fake-away Char Sui Pork

If you have ever enjoyed char sui pork in a Chinese restaurant you will know it is utterly addictive and delicious. It usually calls for a fatty part of the pig, the belly, shoulder, or butt and the fat really helps to keep it moist and tasty.

But in my quest to continue to eat delicious things whilst trying to shift some extra Christmas pounds as well as get bikini ready for a trip to Cyprus coming up, I did a little experimenting and have come up with this version which uses a much leaner cut; pork fillet which is lower in fat and calories, inexpensive and easy to source in most supermarkets. In fact by switching the pork belly to pork fillet you save 200 calories per serving; and 24g of fat! I omitted from using the copious amount of brown sugar too – whilst you don’t get the final glaze, that is synonymous with char sui, it already has the sweetness from the honey.

Some of the ingredients – such as red bean curd and Shaoxing wine are a little more niche but you will find in any Asian supermarket; and once you have Shaoxing wine add a drop to any stir fries – it’s super tasty.

The below serves x4 people and a 140g serving of the Char Sui Pork equates to 328 calories. I served with a small portion (approximately 75g) rice, and some quick fried bok choi and pak choi with a drizzle of Oyster sauce.

It’s best to marinate meat overnight – but a few hours will also be good.

For a Friday night fake away – I can thoroughly recommend and will be making again soon. 

Slimming Friendly Char Sui Pork Fillet

Here’s how:

• 450g pork fillet
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4cm piece of ginger
• 4 tbsp low salt soy sauce
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
• Red Bean Curd 3 pieces
• 3 tbsp honey
• 4 tbsp hoi sin sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ tsp black pepper

Firstly you need to make the marinade which is all of the ingredients, bar the pork. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger and place everything together into a large zip lock bag or in a bowl – combine well then take out about 3 tablespoons of the marinade and place into a small pot – this will be the sauce to drizzle over the meat once cooked. Keep in the fridge.

Now with the pork, take a sharp knife and all over the fillet, make a few incisions, not too deep, but enough for the marinade to get inside of the meat.

Place the pork fillet into the bag, do up and then use your hands to massage the marinade into the meat ensuring it is fully immersed and covered. Now place into the fridge and allow to marinate for as long as you can – overnight is good.

As pork fillet is very lean and without fat, it’s important when cooking to not allow it to dry out and become tough so if you cook it on a wire rack over an oven proof dish half filled with boiled water, this will help that process. I don’t have fancy equipment for this at all – I used a roasting tin, covered with the wire rack from my grill.

Pre-heat the over to 180 degrees and when warm enough, place the meat onto the wire rack, above the tin, then use a brush to cover the meat all over with the marinade.

You will roast for 35-40 minutes in total, but every 8 minutes, take out the meat and brush again with the marinade. The second time you take the meat out to brush it again, turn the meat over.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest. Now place the retained marinade into a small saucepan and gently heat through.

Slice the meat, once sufficiently rested and serve with the sauce drizzled over with your choice of accompaniments.

Red Lentil and Chorizo Soup

I love a hearty soup and am a huge fan of lentil soups as they are super filling and nutritious too - my Chunky Lentil, Bacon and Kale Soup is one of our family favourites and especially with thick, crusty bread. 

This soup is an ideal January recipe - it's cheap to make using mostly store cupboard items that are undoubtedly already sitting in your cupboards; plus if you're on any kind of new year diet or detox, soups are always on side and this one is around 300 calories, even with tasty fried chorizo in tow. 

Red Lentil and Chorizo Soup

The below serves a family of four as a main course.

Here's how:

• 140g cooking chorizo
• 1 red onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 carrot
• 320g red split lentils
• 2 roasted red peppers (I use the jarred variety from Lidl)
• 1x tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1.5 pints chicken stock (I used homemade but Knorr Chicken Stock Pots are great)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper

Firstly place a heavy bottomed pan  on a low heat on the hob.

Chop the cooking chorizo into small pieces and add to the pan. Gently toss every minute or so until some become nicely charred and use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked chorizo and set aside for now.

Now peel and dice the onion, mince the garlic and add to the pan in the chorizo juices.

Peel and dice the carrot and add to the pan.  Allow to gently saute and add the cayenne pepper at this point. 

Now place the red split lentils (I usually give a very quick rinse first) into the pan and allow to be coated in the oils. Add the chopped tomatoes and season with a pinch of salt and the white pepper.

Roughly chop the roasted red pepper and add to the pan and finally cover with the chicken stock.

Allow to cook through for 20 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through, then remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. 

Blitz in a blender, Nutribullet or use a hand blender and return to the heat to warm through. 

When hot enough dish up and divide the cooked chorizo between portions and scatter on top as a delicious, meaty garnish. 

If you're looking for more soup inspiration this month here are a few of our other favourite family soups,

Asparagus Soup with Crispy Bacon
Restorative Green Soup
Mexican Mushroom Soup
Alphabet and Hidden Vegetable Soup
Mediterranean Soup
Curried Parsnip and Spinach Soup
Thai Sweet Potato Soup
Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup