Healthy, wholesome dishes that will keep you on the right dietary track, from DOMINI KEMP.
I DON’T KNOW how much longer I can keep up this healthy eating malarkey. When I said I was serving a fruit crumble for dessert, with no butter, flour or brown sugar, I was nearly chased out of the village by a screaming sister, child and bloke, holding pitchforks and torches. I felt like Shrek being chased into the low-fat swamp.
It’s just that I spent a good portion of Christmas eating cheese and onion crisps and drinking white wine. I am not a food snob, but I am pretty disciplined about junk food, or at least I was until Christmas. You see, there was a child invasion and the grown-ups kept buying “treats” for the kids, then scoffing the lot and blaming the other children for not sharing. It was a dreadful carry-on. But, my goodness, there was something very nostalgic about the smelly, cheesy, crispy taste of the 1980s. Forget posh canapés, just open a bag of cheese and onion in 2009, is what I say.
But, for the time being, I reckon we should all purge and tighten our belts in January and wait until St Valentine’s Day to splurge. But, as a small pre-emptor, I made a good-for-you, meaty stew. Once the troops tasted both these dishes, there was some reprieve. The venison stew is nutritionally sound because, like most red meat, venison is a source of protein, zinc, iron and selenium. The good news is that it is lower in fat and calories than beef; in fact, venison has about one-third the fat. Yes, there is half a bottle of vino in there, but this recipe makes enough to feed six, and even if you’re off the booze, after cooking the stew for a few hours, there will be no alcohol left in the pot – just good flavours.
The fruit crumble is probably nicer as a breakfast treat, but I was genuinely shocked when this recipe worked out. I really thought it was going to be minging, but in fact, it was more than pleasant.
I am conscientious when it comes to reading labels on food, and when I buy muesli, I always look for ones that don’t contain oil. Muesli is a high-calorie food and one that you can’t eat loads of, just because you think it’s healthy. Always try and buy ones that don’t contain oil or sugar. Or you could make your own. Just get some rolled oats, a handful of raisins and other dried fruits, some nuts and leave it at that. Hey presto, healthy grub. Providing you buy the right kind of muesli, this dessert is wheat-free and dairy-free.
Venison stew with mushrooms, Jerusalem artichokes and cranberries (serves 6)
We used haunch of venison for this, but really any cut will do.
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 kg venison, diced
Few sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper
300g mushrooms, chopped
½ bottle red wine
500ml vegetable stock or water
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
50g dried cranberries
200g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut in half
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onion over a high heat until it is just starting to colour. Keep the heat high, add the venison and let it brown. After five minutes, add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms, and try and get some colour on them. Add the wine, stock, garlic and cranberries.
Bring up to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes. Add the artichokes, cover again, but only partially, and stew for at least another hour. Taste, season again and, once the venison is tender, allow it to cool slightly and serve with brown rice if you’re good, or buttery mash if you’re bad.
Apple, pear and muesli crumble (serves six to eight)
200ml apple juice
4 apples (we used Cox’s)
4 pears
1-2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
300g muesli
50ml olive oil
Few tablespoons of honey
Pre-heat an oven to 200 degrees/gas six. Pour the apple juice into a large bowl. Peel and dice the fruit and put it into the bowl with the apple juice, sprinkle with cinnamon and mix well. Transfer the fruit into a pyrex dish or something oven-proof.
Mix the muesli with the olive oil and sprinkle it on top of the fruit. Drizzle the honey on top of the muesli and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the topping is starting to brown. Serve warm or cold, with yoghurt.