Tapas Night Slimming World Style

Pork and butter bean stew, Manchego cheese, peppers de padron, torilla, pulpo a la gallega

I don't know about you but when Fathers Day comes around I'm always a bit stuck - socks, whisky, hankies, wine, a meal out - it's hard to be original. One of the things my dad loves though is "pulpo" - octopus. It's not that easy to come across here in the UK, but I did manage to get him some for his Father's Day present (details below). Ever since I've been yearning to try it myself and do a Spanish evening and one that didn't blow the syns.

Pulpo A La Gallaga (less than 1/2 a syn per portion)

Pulpo a la Gallega - Olé Olé, Lincoln

Makro used to do some lovely Greek frozen Octopus legs many years ago and more recently Iceland have sold steamed, chopped frozen pieces which were not bad, but lately Ocado have started to sell bona fide octopus from processed in Galicia (sort of my ancestral home!) and steamed in it's own juices. It's not cheap, but I'm told it's no longer that cheap in Galicia. If you're interested it can be found here. It's a bit disconcerting when you open the pack as the juices have jellified, but a quick rinse and a couple of short blasts in the microwave, chop it into pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground rock salt and paprika. I used 2 sprays of olive oil as that's less than 1/2 a syn per portion and I used sweet paprika, but you can use hot or smoked whatever is your preference and if slimming is not your thing drizzle away with the olive oil. Usually pulpo is served on a wooden plate and sometimes with steamed potatoes underneath. A lot of people are put off octopus as they think it will be chewy but if you get it right it has a lovely soft, meaty texture and it has a unique taste, not at all fishy, it's definitely worth putting your prejudices to the back of your mind and giving it a go, especially as it's protein rich and low in fat.

If you don't fancy cooking it yourself I can highly recommend Olé Olé in Lincoln, they do a beautiful serving for around £10 and are generally an excellent Spanish restaurant.

Manchego Cheese (Healthy Extra)

I served 30g, the equivalent of this in cheddar cheese would be classed as a Healthy A, so although it's not an official Healthy Extra I counted this portion as one. Manchego is a hard ewe's cheese, it has a sweet nutty flavour.

Peppers de Padron (1/2 syn per portion)

Padrons at Baresca

These small green peppers are from Padron in Spain. They are the Russian Roulette of the pepper world. Typically sweet, every now and again there's a fiery little gem hidden in there. Normally you would shallow fry them in olive oil until the skins start to split and spit, then drain and serve them liberally sprinkled with sea salt. You eat all but the little stem. You can grow them yourself, Ocado sell them here, Waitrose sell them, I've known Sainsbury's to have them too. Again, Olé Olé serve them, but you should get them in any Spanish restaurant. Bar Iberico and Baresca both have them on their menus.
Anyway, to make then more Slimming World friendly I cooked mine in the Actifry.
Spray the pan with olive oil fry light, add the peppers and then spray with 14 squirts of olive oil (1 syn). Cook for about 8 minutes. Serve sprinkled with sea salt.

Tortilla (2 syns per portion)
Eggs are a Slimming World staple and you can easily make a syn free version using fry light, potatoes, onions and something like peas.
I wanted to have some chorizo in this dinner, so I used 120g chorizo crumb (14 syns) and I cut the tortilla into 8 pieces.
I cook my sliced potatoes in the Actifry now as it means I don't have to watch the pan and do all that stirring (I know, lazy moo!) and I would add onions and garlic in too but Lauren prefers no onion. I add the chorizo for the last few minutes of cooking to release the oils and flavour and then tip the potatoes into 7 beaten eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper and put into a warm pan liberally sprayed with fry light (you can easily do all of this in a frying pan and use olive oil instead of fry light). I cook it on a low heat for about 10 minutes and then grill under a medium heat until golden and cooked all the way through.

Pork and Butter Bean Stew (Syn free)
This wasn't what I had in mind to cook, but when I found the recipe I did have in mind, it needed ground almonds, so I had to think on my feet.
I fried a chopped onion, a finely sliced red pepper and some thin rounds of carrot with a very big grated clove of garlic (2 or 3 smaller ones would do), seasoning, a good couple of heaped tablespoon of paprika and a couple of teaspoons of oregano until soft. Then I added some chopped pork leg steaks (shoulder would have been better), fried until sealed. Next, I added 2 fresh bay leaves, some chicken stock, a tin of butter beans (rinsed) and some chopped cavolo negro (stems removed) and cooked for about half an hour until the veg was soft and the pork cooked through and tender. You can add more stock if needed to keep a lovely thick, stewy hot pot. This is so evocative of being in Spain with those soft butter beans, the pork and the paprika.

And there you have it, 3 syns for the meal, well for those of us that just had the one piece of tortilla that is!

¡que aproveche!