Ceviche masterclass

By Ellen Wallwork

Ceviche is having a bit of a moment and is appearing at an increasing number of restaurants. But while this Peruvian delicacy looks a la carte, it’s surprisingly easy to make in your own kitchen – and you don’t even need to turn on the oven! In its simplest form, ceviche is chunks of raw fish ‘cooked’ in citrus juice –it’s the acid in the juice that denatures the proteins in the fish, similar to traditional cooking methods, turning them opaque.

So, with curing raw fish making it into Kenwood’s top 50 food experiences to try in a lifetime, we decided to try our hand at making ceviche. We sought out the expertise of Fernando Trocca, executive chef of the Gaucho restaurant chain where ceviche has been on the menu for more than 11 years. He shared his simple six-step guide to preparing the dish…

 1. Cut the fish into small chunks

‘Make sure you select quality fish,’ says Fernando. ‘Fresh, locally and responsibly sourced fish is always best. The fresher the fish, the better the taste.’ Cutting the fish correctly is essential, too. ‘If the chunks are too big, the cure won’t reach the middle so the fish will still be raw.’

2. Season (optional)

Traditionally, ceviche is seasoned with salt. But the good news for healthy foodies is this is very much down to taste preference, so you can use as little salt as you want, or none at all. However, if you don’t add salt you’ll need to cure the fish for a little longer.

3. ‘Cook’

‘When preparing ceviche we refer to cooking, but it is actually curing,’ explains Fernando. ‘The citrus juices marinate the fish and seep through to the middle.’

Cure the fish in lime juice, then drain. The cure time depends on the type of fish and the size of the pieces you use. It can take from 30 sec (for thinly sliced tuna, scallops, lobster and sole) up to 5–7 min (for prawns). Cod and octopus need around 3 min.

4. Prepare the vegetables

Thinly slice red onions and cut vegetables into bite-size cubes. Popular veg choices include avocado, tomatoes and steamed sweet potatoes.

5. Make the marinade

Chilli, coriander and garlic are typically used in ceviche marinades, but spicy red pepper and tomato sauce also works well. ‘Spice is incredibly important,’ advises Trocca. ‘You want the dish to pack a punch with every mouthful.’

6. Assemble

Gently combine the cured fish with the sliced onion and the marinade. Serve topped with the sliced vegetables, with a grinding of black pepper and a sprig of fresh coriander.

Enjoy!

Break the diet cycle

Diet is a four-letter word that often spells failure. In the November issue of Healthy Food Guide, our experts explain how you can lose weight for good by breaking free of the vicious cycle of deprivation and disappointment caused by fad diets.

Successful weight loss is all about creating healthy relationships with food and your body. We asked nutritionist Zoe Wilson for her top tips for healthy eating…

1 It’s OK to have an ‘imperfect’ meal or snack

You eat three meals a day, seven days a week – so if one or two of these meals aren’t great, it’s no big deal!

2 Before you eat ask yourself, ‘Am I actually hungry?’

That’s the grumbling, empty tummy hungry — not the ‘I don’t want to sit at my desk anymore’ hungry. If you’re not really hungry, is there something else you could do? Maybe you could step outside for some fresh air or make that phone call you’ve been putting off for a while.

3 Turn off the TV, computer or phone to enjoy food
By eating with distractions such as these you won’t register you’ve had your meal or snack, leaving you wanting more when you don’t need it. Take time out and sit at a table so you can concentrate on what you’re eating.

4 Have what you really want

There’s no point in choosing a yogurt or piece of fruit if you really want a piece of chocolate — you’ll feel cheated! Have that piece of chocolate (but not the whole bar) and savour every moment of it.

5 Take note of the ‘sigh moment’
There comes a point, when eating a meal, when our stomach says it’s full – we will often pause and take a deep breath. But many of us miss this cue because there’s still food on our plate. Be mindful of this cue, then put down your knife and fork.

6 Eat slowly!

Try to take at least 20 minutes to eat your meal. This gives your stomach enough time to tell your brain it’s full. Put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls, cut your food into smaller pieces and focus on tasting your food.

7 Don’t deprive yourself in social settings

Food is at the centre of many social occasions, and it’s fine to join in. But if you’re not hungry, don’t feel pressured to go to the buffet table or to take that canapé. And in restaurants, order a starter instead of a main or share something with a friend.

8 Leave the table satisfied but not full

There’s a difference between not feeling hungry anymore and feeling stuffed to the brim. Listen to your stomach as you eat and try to finish on a hunger scale of about 7/10 — with 0/10 being starving and 10/10 being full-to-bursting.

9 Pretend you’re a critic

Think about the flavour and texture of each mouthful, and assess how appealing the meal is to your eye. By appreciating the elements of your food you will feel more satisfied.

10 Use smaller crockery and glassware

This makes a smaller portion look bigger, helping you eat less but still feel satisfied. Replace dinner plates with starter-sized plates, and swap 500ml wine glasses with 250ml glasses. 

For more advice on breaking the diet cycle, check out the November issue of Healthy Food Guide magazine.

Comforting crumbles

At HFG we love finding ways to make our favourite dishes healthier. From satisfying pies to decadent desserts, we believe that with a bit of nutritional tinkering most culinary treats can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet.

In our November issue, we put the spotlight on fruit crumbles and our chefs surpassed themselves when experimenting with healthier fillings and toppings. In fact, they managed to concoct so many delicious variations there wasn’t enough room for all of them in the magazine. But we didn’t want you to miss out, so we thought we’d share the leftovers with you here. A serving of either crumble contains one of your 5-a-day and is low in saturates and salt.

Apple and raspberry

Serves: 6

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 20 min

400g tin sliced apples

200g frozen raspberries

60g caster sugar, plus 1tbsp extra

60g self-raising flour

40g rolled oats

30g low-fat spread

1tsp vanilla extract

6 small scoops low-fat ice cream, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Combine the tinned apples, frozen raspberries and the 1tbsp caster sugar in a 1.25 litre baking dish.

2 Put the flour and oats into a mixing bowl, then rub in the spread with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the remaining 60g sugar.

3 Sprinkle the vanilla extract over the fruit, then add the crumble topping. Bake for 20 min or until golden. Serve with the ice cream.       

Per serving: 238kcal, 3.7g protein, 4.9g fat, 2.4g saturates, 35.1g sugar, 3.9g fibre

Strawberry and almond

Serves 6

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 25 min

125g reduced-calorie strawberry jam

500g strawberries, halved

25g toasted flaked almonds

60g caster sugar, plus 1tbsp extra

60g self-raising flour

40g rolled oats

30g low-fat spread

1tsp vanilla extract

6 small scoops low-fat ice cream, to serve

1Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Warm the jam in a saucepan, then add the strawberries and stir to combine. Transfer to a 1.25 litre baking dish.

2Put the flour and oats into a mixing bowl. Rub in the spread until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar and almonds. Sprinkle over the strawberry mixture, then bake for 20 min or until golden. Serve with the low-fat ice-cream.

Per serving: 258kcal, 4.8g protein, 7.2g fat, 2.6g saturates, 34g sugar, 3.1g fibre

Pick up the November issue of Healthy Food Guide magazine for eight more variations including a classic apple and sultana and an exotic pineapple, rum and raisin.

A fresh start in food…

By Melanie Leyshon

Home-delivery food service Hello Fresh is not a takeaway, more a  ‘make-at-home’. All you do is browse online and choose three meals from their current recipe selection. Each week a box of quality ingredients (meat is ethically reared and fish comes from sustainable sources), together with step-by-step recipe cards, is delivered to your home.

Hello Fresh Butterflied Mexican Chicken

Since the launch last year, 3 million meals with an international flavour have been delivered across the UK. Hello Fresh best-sellers include prawn and prosciutto linguine and lamb kofta with almond couscous and cucumber salad. Prices start from £36 for three veggie meals for two. Patrick Drake, who started the company and heads the creative recipe team, talks to HFG.

What your background?

I was a lawyer at Goldman Sachs, but always loved cooking and teaching, so I decided to quit law and try to get a cooking show! I remember writing down this notion one day at work, along with the five steps I’d need to take to get there.

Patrick Drake founded Hello Fresh

How did you get on…?

Step one – to get as many culinary mentors as possible, so I started cooking in the kitchen of my firm at lunchtime. After work, I’d hop a cab and swap pin stripes for chef's whites on the way to the Cuckoo Club in Mayfair, while weekends were spent working for top Spanish chef Jose Pizarro. Pretty soon I resigned from my job… and, when I told my boss I wanted to get into cooking on TV, he almost choked on his cappuccino. What followed were petrifying auditions at New York’s Food Network, hours making videos for YouTube and a stint with Heston [Blumenthal] at the Fat Duck in Bray. Five years on, I’m happy to say I have a TV series in 47 countries and Hello Fresh, my food company, which teaches thousands of people to cook from the comfort of their kitchen. It's almost scary how my thoughts turned into reality.

Hello Fresh are fairly healthy meals that come in generous portions?

Yes, it’s all about healthy food, but we are not a pure health food company. We design each recipe to be nutritious, balanced and fresh, but if we think a spoonful of crème fraîche will complete the dish, we'll add add it (your readers can use reduced-fat ingredients, if they prefer). The biggest problem in the UK is the amount of processed food people buy and the gap that creates between that and our vision of preparing simple healthy meals at home. Nutritious, home-cooked food shouldn’t be seen as an indulgence but rather an everyday habit.

Are you health-conscious?

I have a busy lifestyle and need to refuel at least every two hours to keep going – as my friends and colleagues know! Many of us tend to put healthy food last, but it should be our priority. Whenever I’m tight for time, I force myself to take the time to eat and that way I work far more efficiently.

There’s an international flavour to Hello Fresh dishes…

That’s because I'm from London, although my family lives in Hong Kong and I've lived in France, Japan and Hong Kong - I love to move around - keeps life adventurous!

For details of the boxes, visit hellofresh.co.uk

Tina tries…

In our new series on shaping up, Healthy Food Guide’s art director Tina Betts starts on her journey towards a proper exercise plan to supplement her day-to-day walking…

By Tina Betts

How did it happen? I’m 43, and things are starting to sag. I haven’t changed my eating and drinking habits, so age is starting to catch up with me. I inherited my ‘walk everywhere’ gene from my Dad. I don’t have a car, so think nothing of whizzing down to Sainsbury’s with my trolley bag. But despite frequent trolley dashes, there’s a big but – my big butt, in fact! I’m lucky that I’ve always been a healthy weight, but it’s starting to creep up, the muffin top is rising steadily and there’s no way I’m going to fit into my dream 40th birthday dress again, at least not the way things are going.

My fear of exercise means I’ve never liked the gym or classes. It’s the classic ‘I was always the last to be picked’ for the team at school. It’s made me a tad anxious in sporting environments.

But that all changed a few weeks ago. As part of a work feature, I tried a yoga class for the first time with my work colleagues. And I could see the attraction of exercising as a group. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. And so, Tina tries… was born. It’s a week by week log of my mission to get fit - and get me back into that party dress.

My first stop was the Health Check at Nuffield Health at their flagship centre at London’s Cannon Street (it’s really more hip hotel than soulless gym). All members go through checks before starting their fitness plan.

Nuffield Health’s senior wellbeing adviser Katarina Berceliova took me through my body MOT, checking my BMI, resting heart rate, blood glucose levels (all healthy) and quizzed me about my sleep patterns (fine) and lifestyle habits (cholesterol and alcohol quotas not so fine). Generally, at 5ft 5in and 9 stone 3lb, my BMI at 21.2 is very good and my blood pressure spot on. But I know I need to do something about my fitness levels – I’ve reached the age where you can’t take anything for granted. 

I came away feeling optimistic with three main Wellbeing Action points: to monitor my blood cholesterol, up my water consumption and increase my activity and fitness levels.

Come back next week to read about my first ever session with my personal trainer. I have to admit, just those words make me nervous…

Gluten-free cooking made easier

By Norma McGough

If you’ve been diagnosed with coeliac disease, adapting to a gluten-free diet can seem daunting at first, but with a few ingredient switches, you can still enjoy your favourite recipes. Try these…

* There’s a lot of gluten-free pasta available now, so you can still enjoy spaghetti bolognese and lasagne if you also use cornflour for your cheese sauce and buy a gluten-free bolognese sauce.

* Try alternative cereals such as quinoa and teff. Quinoa is nutritious (it contains protein, fibre, iron and folate) and ideal as a basis for salads – and teff adds a delicious nutty flavour to biscuits. 

* If you’re ever stuck for ideas in the kitchen, branch out into different cuisines: Mexican meals include a lot of corn and rice, which are both naturally gluten-free cereals, so you could maybe go for corn tacos with chilli, guacamole and salsa; Indian and Thai curry sauces, also served with rice, are usually made with combinations of onions, garlic, ginger and fresh chilli with spices, maybe with coconut milk or ground nuts, so are often gluten free, too. 

* A bit of experimentation, plus speciality flours and baking aids (including gluten-free baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and xanthan gum) can make gluten-free baking a success. It’s the gluten that gives your bread, cakes and pastry the right texture and provides structure, which is why gluten-free bread can be dry and solid, and cakes and pastry a lot more crumbly. But there are many speciality flours available in supermarkets that work perfectly well in your favourite recipes.

Want more help or information? Visit Coeliac UK’s website. Whether you’ve been diagnosed, are seeking a diagnosis or need information to support friends and family with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis, Coeliac UK is there to help. It provides a range of member services to help you understand more about coeliac disease and the gluten-free diet, including access to its Recipe Database, electronic Food and Drink Directory and Venue Guide.