Chef John Pierce cooks up a guilt-free dining experience
Jan 14 2010 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Chef John Pierce cooks up a guilt-free dining experience
The key to effective weight loss and a healthy diet is, says John, to draw up a menu plan and shop carefully.
His top tip is to cook with fresh ingredients – something that he now enjoys doing at home as well as at work. “I’ve quite enjoyed the challenge of creating new dishes. I make a lot of vegetable-based soups and I do a great root vegetable mulligatawny with curry spices,” he explained.
John has used his new-found interest in slimming recipes to create a two-course meal, which will be served at 1535 on Thursday, January 21.
The dinner will raise funds for an educational project in Malawi supported by Holmfirth High School and is open to all.
Holmfirth teacher Steve Cheesbrough, a fellow superslimmer and member of the Honley Slimming World group, will be part of an expedition from the school to Malawi in summer 2011.
The ongoing project has supplied science equipment, chairs, books and calculators to the partner school in the southern African country.
John’s menu is ‘syn-free’ and includes a choice of starters – tomato and mozzarella salad, white onion and rosemary soup, patatas bravas or grilled field mushroom – main courses – mushroom jalfrezi curry with rice, vegetable and chicken broth, pasta Bolognese or roast cod with a warm mixed bean salad.
To book a place at the meal email Steve, s.cheesbrough@holmfirthhigh.co.uk or call into the restaurant.
WE asked John to give us two of his guilt-free recipes. Here they are:
White Onion and Rosemary Soup: Fry Light spray; 6 sliced white onions; 2 stalks of rosemary; 3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped; 2 cloves garlic; 2 pints of chicken stock. Fry onions in Fry Light on a medium heat with the garlic, but do not allow to colour. Season. Add rosemary (stripped from woody stalk), diced potatoes and stock and cook until potatoes are soft. Blend and check seasoning.
Mushroom Jalfrezi: Fry Light spay; 1 kg mushrooms; 2 sliced peppers; 2 sliced onions; 2 cloves crushed garlic; 1 tablespoon diced ginger; 1 chopped, de-seeded chilli (leave seeds in for extra heat); 1 teaspoon each of cumin, ground coriander and medium curry powder; 1 bag of washed baby spinach; 1 bunch of washed, chopped fresh coriander; 2 tins of tomatoes.Fry onions, peppers and garlic on a medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes. Add dry spices and stir in while frying on a low heat.Add fresh ginger and cook for 30 seconds, then add tins of tomatoes. Cook for 20 minutes, check seasoning, and just before serving add the spinach and coriander.Serve with boiled rice and a low-fat yoghurt raita (yoghurt and mint).
