Free The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight by Hairy Bikers

tomatoes
    150ml red wine (or water)
    300ml cold water
    1 tsp caster sugar
    1 tsp dried chilli flakes
    1 bay leaf
    4–5 bushy sprigs of fresh thyme
    400g can of cannellini beans in water, drained and rinsed
    400g can of butter beans in water, drained and rinsed
    freshly ground black pepper
     
    Garnish
    handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
    finely grated zest of ½ well-scrubbed large orange
    464 calories per portion
    Brush a large non-stick frying pan with the sunflower oil, using the tip of a pastry brush. Add the sausages to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, turning every now and then until nicely browned on all sides. Meanwhile, trim the celery and peel the carrots and cut them into diagonal slices about 1.5 centimetres thick.
    Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Add the onions to the frying pan and cook with the sausages for 6–8 minutes, stirring regularly until softened and lightly browned.
    Trim the chicken thighs of any visible fat – we find a good pair of kitchen scissors does the job well – then cut them in half. Add the garlic and chicken pieces to the pan with the sausages and onions and cook for 3–4 minutes, turning the chicken twice until coloured all over. Transfer everything to a large flameproof casserole dish.
    Stir in the gammon, celery, carrots, tomatoes, red wine and water, then sprinkle over the caster sugar and chilli flakes. Stir in the bay leaf and thyme and season with lots of ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 45 minutes.
    Take the casserole out of the oven and stir in all the beans. Cover with the lid again and put the dish back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
    Just before the cassoulet is ready, prepare the garnish. Chop the parsley roughly and toss with the orange zest in a serving dish. Serve large portions of the cassoulet in deep plates or wide bowls with a good sprinkling of the zesty parsley garnish on each one.

    RICH BEEF AND ALE CASSEROLE
    We do love a good stew and we’ve discovered that you don’t need to brown the meat in loads of fat. In this recipe we use lean meat and only a tablespoon of oil and the stew still tastes really rich and satisfying. Serve with some light mash that you soften with half-fat crème fraiche and bulk out with some steamed leeks for a cracking good feast.
    SERVES 6
    1 tbsp sunflower oil
    2 medium onions, chopped
    4 tbsp plain flour
    1 tsp flaked sea salt
    2 tsp dried mixed herbs
    1kg lean braising beef
    1 bay leaf
    500ml dark ale or stout
    250ml beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
    2 tbsp tomato purée
    2 tsp caster sugar
    5 medium carrots (about 275g), peeled and thickly sliced
    2 parsnips (about 300g), peeled, halved lengthways and sliced
    freshly ground black pepper
    377 calories per portion (without the mash)
    Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Add the onions and fry them over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, stirring regularly. Remove the pan from the heat.
    Put the flour, salt and dried herbs in a large bowl and season with lots of freshly ground black pepper. Trim the beef of any hard fat and sinew, then cut the meat into rough 3cm cubes. Toss the meat in the flour until evenly coated, then tip it into the casserole dish with the onions.
    Add the bay leaf, ale, stock, tomato purée and sugar. Stir well and bring to the boil, then cover with a lid. Carefully transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 1½ hours. At the end of this time, take the casserole out of the oven and stir in the carrots and parsnips. Put the lid back on and return the dish to the oven for a further 45 minutes or until the beef and vegetables are tender.

    LAMB TAGINE
    A tagine is a kind of spicy stew which originates from Morocco. This is our special version that is made with lean meat and less oil than usual but still tastes the business. Serve with a lightly dressed salad