Sovay's Reviews
6 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 6Sort by: Title 
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The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight
By Hairy Bikers
W&N - 2012
Chicken Jalfrezi : page 131
Not sure how this would compare to a "proper" (ie non-diet) chicken jalfrezi since I've never made one, but it's a perfectly good dish in its own right and I particularly liked the addition of the stir-fried vegetables at the end.
useful (0)
Mediterranean Beef Burgers : page 53
This makes a substantial-looking burger as advertised. The grated courgette makes it a bit more fragile than an all-beef burger so it needs to be handled with care when turning, but I liked the lighter texture. I don't like mozzarella that's been exposed to heat so I substituted about half a tablespoonful of crumbled Feta instead and browned it under the grill. Next time I may add chilli in some form or 2-3 chopped olives to the mixture.
useful (0)
Salmon with Chilli Ginger Sauce : page 48
I was very pleased with this though I have taken off one star as it was slightly sweeter than I like; next time I shall use fresh ginger rather than preserved ginger though I shall use a little of the preserved ginger syrup. I may also steam the salmon rather than baking it, simply because it's a bit extravagant to switch the oven on for one salmon fillet.
useful (0)
Southern-style Jambalaya : page 147
Full of flavour and very substantial in spite of the relatively small proportion of rice. I didn't add any extra oil but started by gently heating the chorizo, which produced more than enough to brown the chicken and vegetables. The one issue I had was my own fault - I used budget prawns and they didn't have enough flavour to hold their own.
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Spanish-Style Chicken Bake : page 42
A complete meal in a roasting tin, and really easy. I made a slight adjustment by heating the chorizo gently in the roasting tin at the outset until it gave up some of its oil, which I then used to toss the potatoes and onions to prevent them from sticking. I also used red and yellow peppers (a small one of each) instead of green. I feared the chicken might dry out without its skin but in fact it was fine.
In future I might add a little splash of sherry at the end, to deglaze the tin.
useful (1)
Spicy Bean and Vegetable Stew : page 87
The problem with this was the sweet potato. I added it according to the recipe and set out to simmer until it was tender ... and after well over an hour of simmering and testing and simmering some more, I decided to go ahead and eat it because I was too hungry to wait any longer. At this point the pieces of sweet potato were still distinctly crunchy in the middle, though the rest of the vegetables were cooked to a near puree. Not sure what the reason was, though I have sometimes encountered problems with getting other vegetables to soften when cooked with tomatoes so next time I try this I'll either add the tomatoes after the sweet potato is tender or parboil the sweet potato before adding.
Flavour was pretty good. I ate one helping as a main course and processed the rest (minus the crunchy sweet potato) into soup for this week's packed lunches.
useful (0)