Betsy, Sal & Peggy Sue are coming over for dinner and you are ALL on a diet – BUT – you still need to eat right? and you don't want lettuce washed down with water right? So what to cook? Fear not, we have the recipes that will pack a punch in taste but not in the arse!

Menu

Entree
Chilli Mint Lamb & Tomato Salad

Main
Fisherman's Catch

Dessert
Pears Poached in Champagne

Instructions

Entree

Chilli Mint Lamb & Tomato Salad with a Mustard & Apple Vinaigrette

• 2 x 150gm lamb Fillet or backstrap
• ? Cup mint leaves
• 4 Vine ripened tomatoes
• 1 Lebanese cucumber
• 1 Red Chilli Chopped
• 1 cup of bean sprouts

Mustard & Apple Vinaigrette

• 40gm White wine vinegar
• 40gm dijon mustard
• 1 Green Apple
• 120gm Grapeseed oil
• Salt

Prep

• Slice Tomatoes
• Chop Cucumber into small chunks
• Wash & spin & shred mint
• Wash & spin bean sprouts

Method

• Mix all salad items together in a bowl.
• Heat a grill pan to very hot and place lamb fillets in pan. Cook for approx 2 minutes on one side, turn and another 2 minutes on high on the other side. Turn heat down and cook for a further 3-4 minutes depending on how you want it cooked. Take off heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes
• Peel & Core apple. Chop into small pieces. Using a blender, blend the apple with the mustard. Combine vinegar with the mustard & apple. Slowly whisk in the oil and season with salt.
• Once the lamb has rested, slice at an angle. Compile the salad on plates, top with the lamb and drizzle with the dressing when ready to serve.

Main Course

Fishermans Catch

• 400gm Blue Eyed Cod
• 12 mussels in shell
• 12 large green prawns
• 1 Onion
• 1 Leek
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1tsp fennel seed
• ? can tomatoes
• 400gm fish stock
• ? bottle of white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1tbsp parsley
• 1tsp thyme
• Salt & Pepper
• Groundnut oil

Prep

• Cut the fish into small chunks
• Scrub the mussels and de-beard (ensure all mussels are closed)
• peel and chop onion
• Julienne leek
• Chop garlic

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the fennel seeds for about a minutes stirring continuously. Add onions, leeks and garlic and sweat them over a lower heat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, fish stock, bay leaves, parsley, thyme and wine and bring to a boil. Taste and season wtih salt & pepper as necessary. Add the cod and simmer in the juice for about 3 minutes. Then add the mussels and prawns. They will only take a few minutes to cook. Once the mussels have all opened their shells they should be open.

Dessert

Pears Poached in Champagne

• 4 Large Pears
• 1 bottle of champagne or sparkling wine
• ? cup of orange juice
• ? cup of sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 1 Vanilla bean

Prep

• Peel the pears leaving the stalk on. Core by pushing a corer or a knife from the bottom of the pear up the middle and twist the core out.
• Split the vanilla bean
• Combine the champagne, orange juice, sugar, water, cinnamon stick and the vanilla bean in a large pan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and bring to a gentle boil. Submerge pears in syrup and poach for 25 minutes (or until the pears are tender). Take pan off heat and leave to cool. When cool take pears out of liquid. Reduce poaching liquid until syrupy. Plate pears and pour a tbsp of syrup over

Timeline

6.00pm Start the fisherman's catch off and follow instructions until you get to ?Add cod?. Stop just there and give me 5 push ups! – OK just kidding (about the push ups) but do stop there!

6.30pm Prepare your pear poaching liquid

6.45pm Make Vinaigrette

7.00pm Take lamb out of fridge

7.15pm Compile salad for starter

7.30pm Welcome guests

7.45pm Cook lamb

8.00pm Bring pear poaching stock up to boil

8.04pm Add pears to stock and simmer

8.05pm Slice lamb and serve starter

8.20pm Bring Fisherman's catch stock up to boil

8.25pm Add cod to stock, followed a little later by mussels and prawns

8.30pm Take pears off heat

8.30pm Serve main

8.50pm Take pears out of liquid and bring stock up to a boil to reduce

9 .00pm Serve dessert

Enjoy and shine those diet halos!