August 11th 2011 ~ Mexican Night!

After a week away in North Yorkshire taking in the highest pub in the UK, a music festival in Richmond and dinner with some wonderful friends, it would appear neccessary to re stock the body with vitamin boosting vegetables! Don`t get me wrong, the dish below is certainly not for vegetarians ~ the chorizo puts paid to that ~ and it`s not a dish for those that are on a strict calorie controlled diet, but instead it is filled with amazingly fresh and vibrant flavours! To make it even healthier leave out the bread and the chorizo and use Fry Light.....but on a a day like today where we have had this as our "Lunner" ~ Lunch and Dinner, then we don`t mind the extravagance of the calories against the burst of the full veggie hit! As usual, it`s "Lunner" for 2......!

FLATBREAD
Recipe seen in the August 4th entry

ZESTY GUACOMOLE

Half an avocado mashed
1 Tomato chopped into small pieces
Juice and zest of half a lime ( to your own taste)
1 Spring Onion chopped
Small garlic Clove crushed
Half tbsp Corainder (chopped)

MEXICAN ARROZ ROJO

1 Tbsp Flora Cuisine or Low cal oil
40g Chorizo, diced
1 small onion finely diced
1 Garlic Clove crushed
100g Brown Rice
1x400g tin choppped tomatoes
1/4 tsp tomato puree
70g Sweetcorn ( Frozen or tinned)
70g Frozen peas
70g Mushrooms chopped
1 Bay Leaf
100 ml veg stock
1/2 tsp Dried chilli flakes

Steps :

1) Make flatbreads as instructions in August 4th recipe

2) Make Guacamole. Combine all the ingredients together, mix well, cover and store in the fridge. Simples and tastes delicious!

3) And onto the Arroz. Heat the Flora Cuisine in a saucepan/chefs pan with a tight fitting lid. You should heat this on a medium heat ready for cooking. Add the chorizo and stir for 2 minutes . Don`t let it burn! Add the onion and garlic, stir thoroughly and then continue cooking for 4 minutes or until they are soft. Again, don`t let it burn.

4) Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat all the grains in the chorizo mixture. Now stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, sweetcorn, peas, veggie stock and chillies.

5) Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and leave alone for 30 minutes. After this time check the rice. If it needs to cook further then add another 10 mins onto the time. You may need to add some more water to the dish, but don`t forget that the end result should be dry, fluffy rice, so don`t drown it as it will also steam in the pan! Season ~ although I never add salt as in this dish, there is more than enough flavour to compensate!

6) Remove from heat and leave to settle for a few minutes whilst you cook the flatbreads, then serve. YUM YUM YUM!!

Calories     : 584
Fat            : 26g ~ but good avocado fat and olive oil. Chorizo accounts for 8g per person.
Sat Fat      : 5g
Fruit/Veg   : 5 portions

TIPS: Cut out the bread, save 190 calories. Cut out chorizo and save 8g fat, Don`t have the guacomole dip and save 8g fat......but remember, AVOCADO IN MODERATION IS GOOD FOR YOU SO DON`T GET TOO HUNG UP ON NUMBERS. This recipe is used in conjunction with a healthy, balanced and active lifestyle and is not meant to be fat free for diets ~ just good, honest, healthy food.