Chocolate truffles (fatten up your friends)
Here's a bit of fun for Christmas and a lot cheaper to make than buying them. You could even add chopped chilli to the chocolate and it would stop you doing too much 'testing'.
Ingredients
280g good-quality dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
284ml pot double cream
50g unsalted butter
Method
Chop the chocolate and tip into a large bowl. Put the cream and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts and the cream reaches simmering point. Remove from heat, then pour over the chocolate. Stir the chocolate and cream together until you have a smooth mixture. Add any flavourings to the truffle mix at this stage (divide the mixture between bowls and mix in liqueurs or other flavourings, a tsp at a time, to taste. Try rum, Grand Marnier, coconut or the zest and juice of an orange), or leave plain. Cool and chill for at least 4 hrs.
To shape the truffles, dip a melon baller in hot water and scoop up balls of the mixture, then drop the truffles onto greaseproof paper. Or lightly coat your hands in flavourless oil (such as sunflower) and roll the truffles between your palms. You could also use a piping bag to pipe rounds onto greaseproof paper.
Coat your truffles immediately after shaping. Tip toppings into a bowl and gently roll the truffles until evenly coated, then chill on greaseproof paper. Try: crushed, shelled pistachio nuts; lightly toasted desiccated coconut; or roll a truffle flavoured with orange zest and juice in cocoa powder. To coat in chocolate, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Melt 100g milk, dark or white chocolate for 10 truffles. Allow chocolate to cool slightly. With a fork, pick up one truffle at a time and hold over the bowl of melted chocolate. Spoon the chocolate over the truffle until well-coated. Place on the baking tray, then chill.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days, or freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the fridge overnight. To give as presents, place 8-10 truffles in individual foil or paper cases inside small, lined boxes tied with ribbon. Keep in the fridge until you’re ready to give them.
And this is what you have to look forward to. At least it makes a lot of noise.
Skinny spanner
Sometimes on fast days you need the kind of crunch you get from toast, a roast potato or a pie. With a good helping of creaminess and a huge herb hit into the bargain. Be generous with your handful of parsley, mint or chives. The filling is based on the spinach and 'salad' Greek cheese (low fat feta, but they are not allowed to call it that.) filling you find in Greek spanakopita pies. Wrapping the filling in pastry just adds calories, and it’s hard to avoid soggy filo on the bottoms without loads of fat. So in this recipe you get all the flavour and crunch, without the soggy bottoms. You can either make them in individual ramekins – for mini pies – or in a bigger soufflé dish for a family meal. So pretty and fresh; no one will realise they’re sharing a fast dish!
SERVES 4
Calories per serving: 199
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 26 minutes
100g baby spinach leaves or 110g frozen leaf spinach 25 cals
250g low-fat feta cheese, crumbled 300 cals
handful mixed fresh herbs, eg parsley, mint, coriander, rocket, chives, dill, chopped 5 cals
2 eggs, beaten 156 cals
4-5 spring onions, finely chopped 6 cals
grated nutmeg, to taste
salt and pepper
2 sheets filo pastry 88 cals
1-cal cooking spray
● Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 45 seconds (or in the microwave for the same time). Drain away as much water as possible, squeeze dry and then chop finely. If you’re using frozen spinach, cook and drain thoroughly according to packet instructions. Allow the spinach to cool.
● Mix the cheese, cooled spinach, chopped herbs, eggs and spring onions together in a bowl. Grate over the nutmeg then season with a little more salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into a dish or individual ramekins and cook in the oven for 10 minutes.
● Take a filo sheet, tear it in half and scrunch it lightly, like tissue paper. Pop it on top of the pie dish so it fills roughly one quarter of the space. Repeat with the other half and then the other sheet of filo. Spray the top with 1-cal cooking spray (use 3 or 4 sprays to give a light covering). If you’re using individual ramekins, use half a sheet for each ramekin to cover the filling.
● Bake for 10-15 minutes until brown (keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn). This is so good served with steamed broccoli or sugar snap peas, and/or a fresh tomato salad.
Variations
The filling is also fantastic with grilled peppers. You can use the same crunchy filo idea for other ‘pies’; For a pie in red and green, make the egg, cheese and onion mix in a bowl, then add 50g spinach (13 cals) and a handful of herbs to one half, and a tablespoon of sun-dried tomato purée (10-15 cals) and 5 finely chopped black olives (25 cals) to the other half, mixing well. Put the red layer into the dish first, then the green layer and cook in the oven as above. The two layers may mix a little but it won’t affect the taste.
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