This recipe is inspired by one of my members at our taster session. I usually use orzo pasta shapes in soups, I never though of using it as a salad! It was so nice that I have tried to recreate it and loved my version too. For convenience I have used Najma BBQ Chicken Chunks but you can cook chicken from scratch if you prefer. You can add any veg of your preference to it, I just used whatever I had in my fridge.
Serves: 4
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: less than 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Orzo Pasta Salad
Ingredients
150g orzo pasta
Najma BBQ chicken chunks
Cucumber
Carrot
Red pepper
Spring onions
Green chillies
Fresh coriander
Season to taste
Method
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
Whilst the pasta is cooking, finely chop all the veg and the BBQ chicken chunks and set aside till the pasta is cooked.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and run it through cold water under a sieve.
Mix the chicken and the veg to the pasta and season to taste.
I thought I’d try Nadiya’s samosa hack from her latest TV show and give it a Slimming World friendly twist!
If you don’t know who Nadiya is, she was the winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2016! A well deserved winner too, all her bakes looked absolutely delicious.
I used potatoes and peas for the filling but you can be more adventurous or just stick to regular samosa fillings such as kheema. Just remember to syn accordingly.
I used mini tortilla wraps from Aldi which are 4.5 syns for each wrap and you can get two samosas out of one wrap, making it only around 2.5 syns each samosa! (See picture below).
Aldi Wrap
You can if you prefer (and can get hold of!) use the Weight Watchers white wraps that can be used as a healthy extra B choice. Your samosas will be slightly bigger though, I prefer using the mini wraps as you can batch cook them and freeze.
If you use any other brand of wrap, please remember to check syns as not all similar products have the same syn values.
Let me know if you’ve come across a lower syn alternative to making samosas!
Adjust spice levels to how spicy you prefer, I made mine quite mild as they were for a taster session in group. Enjoy and let me know what you think! Feel free to tag me in your posts when you’ve made them.
Samosa
Makes: 16 samosas
Syns: 2.5 syns each
Time Taken: 45-60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
1 pack Aldi mini tortilla wraps
2 medium potatoes, boiled
handful of frozen peas, cooked
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red chilies
1 tsp garam masala
1 egg, beaten
Method
Make samosa filling by boiling the potatoes first. Once the potatoes are boiled and cooled, slightly mash them or you can chop the potatoes in little cubes and boil them if you prefer your potatoes quite chunky rather than mashed.
Mix in cooked peas, ginger/garlic paste, cumin seeds, salt, chilli and garam masala.
Cut each wrap in half so you get a semi-circle shape.
Shape each wrap half into a triangle shape and fill it with your filling. Use the beaten egg to seal all around the edges and egg wash the top of the samosa.
Once all the samosas are filled and egg washed, bake them in a pre heated oven at gas mark 6 for around 12-15 minutes or until they are nice and golden.
You can freeze them once the samosas are cooked and cooled.
Tip: Watch the video here on how to fill the samosas.
