It’s that time again – coming to you from her sister’s kitchen where she’s social distancing, Sal’s back with another easy-to-follow recipe.
Whether you’re looking for a delicious dinner using ingredients you’ve already got in your kitchen or an inspiring meal idea to help you keep on course with your weight loss goals, Slimming World chef Sal has got you covered with our cook-along recipe videos (filmed by her nieces on their mobile phones).
Classic spag bol, a vegetarian chilli, easy chicken curry, ‘anything goes’ frittata, leftover roast chicken fajitas, chilli con carne, zesty salmon pasta and oriental green salad and coleslaw are the dishes Sal’s served up for us so far. This week, we’re bringing you a bit of Spanish sunshine – a vegan Slimming World paella that’s perfect if you’re missing jetting off to your favourite holiday spot this year.
On the menu this week is Slimming World paella. Sal tells us more…
“I first made a version of this Slimming World paella during last year’s golden bus tour – and it instantly became one of my go-to favourite recipes, as it’s cheap to make and uses lots of store-cupboard staples like rice, spices, and canned and frozen veg.
Because you can freeze this dish just after you’ve added the red peppers (but before you’ve poured in the water!) it’s also a great recipe for batch cooking. I’ll often make four times as much paste as I need, then freeze the extra portions for another time. It’s a fantastic time-saver for those extra-busy days when you’ve not got much time to cook. Just make sure you pop a label on your freezer container – I even write a little summary of the remaining recipe on there, too – and reheat until piping hot.”
Sal’s Slimming World paella tips
- I’ve used turmeric rather than saffron to give the dish its authentic yellow tinge, as it’s so much cheaper!
- Likewise, you can use ordinary paprika rather than smoked, and frozen garlic rather than fresh, if you prefer.
- For a really full-on flavour, cook the spices for about 30 seconds before adding the other ingredients.
- You can add pretty much any vegetables you fancy! For example, a little shredded kale, a few mushrooms or that courgette half at the bottom of the fridge – just chop them up and chuck them in.
- If you fancy packing your paella with even more Free Food, you can add skinless chicken, lean pork or prawns at the rice-and-water stage.
Slimming World paella
serves 4
Free
vegan
ready in 40 minutes
What you need:
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, cut into small chunks
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp dried thyme
350g dried long-grain rice
227g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
3 roasted red peppers in brine from a jar, drained and sliced
2 vegetable stock cubes
400g can chickpeas, drained
100g frozen peas
lemon juice to taste, plus wedges to serve
What you do:
- Place a deep, lidded, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and a good splash of water and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, spices and thyme, and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated in the spices. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, peppers, stock cubes and 900ml boiling water. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Stir well, then cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Put the chickpeas and peas on top of the rice, without stirring them in. Season lightly and cover again. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Stir well, check the seasoning and add lemon juice to taste. Serve hot with lemon wedges to squeeze over.
Slimming World members have access to over 1,400 easy-to-make recipes on the website and app, as well as a handy Food Search tool to make meal planning easy. Add to that the support of an expert Consultant and the welcoming Slimming World community, and you’ll have all you need to set you up for a successful weight loss journey.
Please join in with the cook-along and let us know how you get on – we’d love to see what you’re creating, how you’ve made it work for you and the ingredients you have. And you can share your pics on social media, too, using #EatWellAtHome.