PEPPERONI PIZZA OMELETTE
SERVES 2-4
This has all the flavours of a great pizza but without the heavy carbs. How lush is that? It’s just the sort of thing I love when I’m hungry and in a hury, as I can make it from all sorts of ingredients I almost always have to hand. Tom Kerridge
250ml passata
2tbsp tomato purée
3 garlic cloves, grated
6 large free-range eggs
2tsp dried oregano
Drizzle olive oil
150g sliced pepperoni
2 balls of mozzarella (about 125g each), drained
2tbsp fresh oregano leaves
30g Parmesan cheese
Small handful basil leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the passata, tomato purée and garlic in a saucepan over a medium heat. Simmer to reduce until the sauce is nice and thick; this will take about 8-10 minutes.
Remove from the heat, season to taste and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and dried oregano and season.
Heat a little olive oil in a 24cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan over a medium-high heat. Pour in the egg. Stir until almost fully cooked, removing from the heat when the omelette is still a little runny and wobbly in the middle.
Gently spread the tomato sauce all over the omelette. Cover with the pepperoni, then tear the mozzarella into pieces and scatter it over.
Sprinkle with the oregano then place the pan in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the “pizza” is set.
Remove from the oven and immediately grate the Parmesan over the top. Scatter over the basil and serve at once, directly from the pan.
LAMB SHANK HOTPOT
SERVES 4
Vegetable oil, for cooking
4 lamb shanks (about 200g each),French-trimmed (get your butcherto do this for you)
6 small onions, halved
1 garlic bulb (about 8-12 cloves),peeled and sliced
1 large swede,peeled and diced
150g goat’s cheese, crumbled
1tbsp cracked black pepper
2tsp thyme leaves
500ml lamb stock
4 large turnips (about 200g each),peeled and thinly sliced
50g butter, diced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat a good splash of oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Season the lamb shanks with a little salt then fry them two at a time until deeply and evenly coloured. Don’t hurry the process – searing the meat properly helps to create that deep, delicious flavour.
Drain off the rendered fat. Set the lamb shanks aside. Turn the heat down a bit and add a splash more oil to the casserole, followed by the onions,
garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook gently for about 10-12 minutes until golden and softened.
Remove from the heat and return the lamb shanks to the pan, placing them on top of the onions with the bones pointing upwards.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/ Fan 130°C/Gas 2. In a bowl, combine the swede, goat’s cheese, pepper and thyme, then pack it around the lamb shanks. Pour
in the stock. Fan the turnip slices in a circle over the swede and around the lamb shanks then dot with the butter.
Put the lid on or, if that’s not possible because the shank bones are poking up too high, cover with foil and seal tightly. Cook in the oven for 1½ hours, then remove the lid or foil and return to the oven for a further 1½ hours until the lamb is soft, covering with foil if it browns too quickly. The turnips will be crispy on the top.
SPICY CHILLI WITH GREEN BEANS
SERVES 4
800g best-quality minced beef
8 plum tomatoes, halved
Vegetable oil,for cooking
2 onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, grated
250g chorizo sausage (for cooking), diced
2tbsp cumin seeds
1tbsp chilli powder
3tsp cracked black pepper
2tsp ground coriander
4 celery sticks, tough strings removed, diced
400ml tinned beef consommé such as Campbell’s
2–4 green chillies (depending howhot you like it), sliced, seeds and all
Juice 1 lime
75g dark chocolate
(70 per cent cocoa solids)
Sea salt and freshly groundblack pepper
For the green beans
50g butter
600g fine green beans, finely chopped
2tbsp thick yoghurt
Handful mint leaves (about 10g), roughly chopped
Prehea tthe oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Put the mince in a roasting tin and roast for about 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so,to get a very
dark, even colour all over the meat.
It should be crispy and resemble instant-coffee granules. You can colour the meat in a large frying pan on the hob if you prefer; just keep stirring until it is dark brown. Drain in a colander and set aside.
Preheat the grill to high. Place the tomatoes, cut-side up, on an oven tray and grill for about 6-8 minutes, until caramelised. Set aside.
Place a large, heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat and add a good splash of oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté, stirring from time to time, until softened – this will take about 10-15 minutes.
Add the chorizo and cook until some of its fat renders and colours the onions. Stir in the cumin seeds, chilli powder, cracked black pepper and ground coriander. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes.
Stir in the celery, browned mince and grilled tomatoes. Pour on the beef consommé and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently,
uncovered, for 1-1½ hours, until thickened to a rich chilli.
Stir in the green chillies and lime juice, season with salt and remove from the heat. To cook the beans, melt the butter in a pan over a medium high heat. Add a good splash of water and some salt and pepper.
Tip in the green beans and cook for 3-4 minutes until they are just tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the yoghurt and chopped mint.
To serve, divide the green beans between warmed bowls, spoon on the chilli and grate some chocolate over the top.
Extract taken from ‘Tom Kerridge’s Dopamine Diet: My low-carb, stay-happy way to lose weight’by Tom Kerridge (Absolute Press, £20)
