Spicy Spring

As the weather heats up into spring, the SRFT dietetic department bring you some spicy recipes where salt can be swapped for spices.

Low fat spiced chips

Ingredients: 450g peeled potatoes, 1tbsp olive oil, 1 tspn lemon juice, ½ tsp chilli powder

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 180°C (350°F)
Slice the potatoes into 2cm/¾in thick chips. Blanch in boiling water for 4 minutes, pour off and discard the water and return to the pan.
Mix the oil, lemon juice and chilli powder together and pour over the chips, coating them evenly.
Place on a non-stick cooking mat in a baking tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning until golden brown.

Oven baked spicy chicken

Ingredients: 1x whole chicken, 50g natural yoghurt, 1 tsp chilli powder, 2 ½ tsp ginger, 2 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp coriander leaves, ½ tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 green pepper, 2 large onions, tbs olive oil.

Remove skin off chicken and cut into quarters
Mix all the spices and herbs with the yoghurt
Cover the chicken and leave to marinade for 4hrs in the fridge.
Heat oven to 180°C (350°F) and cook the chicken in a lightly oiled pan until golden brown
Place the chicken in an oven-proof dish, arrange the pepper/onions on top and cover with foil.
Cook for 30 minutes then reduce the temperature to 140°C (250°F) for 15-20 minutes until done.

Spicy Meatballs

Ingredients: 450g extra lean minced beef (or turkey), 2 small carrots (coarsely grated), 1 onion (finely chopped), 55g fresh breadcrumbs, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1tsp chilli powder, pinch of black pepper, 1 egg (lightly beaten), 2tsp ground cumin, 2tsp ground coriander.

Preheat grill to medium. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl well.
Using your hands, shape mixture into 8 burgers, each about 1cm thick. Place on rack in grill pan; grill for about 20 minutes until burgers are cooked, turning once or twice. (Don’t grill burgers too close to the heat ).

Spicy salad dressing

Ingredients: 6 tbsp Olive oil, 3tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1tsp finely chopped fresh chilli, 1 tsp dried chilli flakes.