Low Fat, Low Sugar: Essential vegetarian collection

425g/15oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

600ml/20fl oz/2

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cups vegetable stock or water

225g/8oz spinach or green cabbage, shredded

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the onion into a non-stick pan, cover and cook gently for about 7 minutes, until the onion is tender and lightly browned, stirring from time to time. Add the potato and carrot, stir, then turn down the heat, cover and leave to cook gently for a further 5 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking. Add the garlic, stir over the heat for a few seconds to cook it lightly, then add the chick peas (garbanzo beans) and stock or water. Bring to the boil, then add the spinach or cabbage. Bring back to the boil, and leave to boil gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

leek, carrot and tarragon soup (#ulink_1c121bc8-dc46-5a5c-89a8-b21685b68e3d)

A pretty, golden soup flecked with orange and green from the leeks, carrots and tarragon.

serves 4

4 leeks, finely sliced

2 large carrots, cut into 5mm/

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in dice

850ml/30fl oz/3

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cups vegetable stock or water

grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1–2tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, to serve

Put the leek into a non-stick pan, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until it is beginning to soften, stirring from time to time. Add the carrot and the stock or water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and leave to boil gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leeks and carrots are fully cooked. Purée a ladleful of the soup in a food processor or blender, then stir this into the rest of the soup in the saucepan. Season with a little nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve sprinkled with chopped tarragon.

celery, tomato and sweet red pepper soup (#ulink_16302172-cef4-5178-848a-1592b824c946)

This is a delicious, chunky soup. It’s good either hot or cold, when it’s rather like gazpacho.

serves 4

1 onion, chopped

2 sweet red peppers, deseeded and chopped

1 head celery, finely sliced

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

425g/15oz can tomatoes in juice

400ml/14fl oz/1

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cups vegetable stock or water

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the onion, sweet pepper and celery into a non-stick saucepan and cook, without any additional fat or liquid, for 6–7 minutes, until they are flecked with brown and getting soft, stirring often to prevent sticking. Add the garlic and the tomatoes, chopping them with the spoon once they’re in the pan. Add the stock or water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and leave to boil gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender. Purée a generous ladleful of the soup in a food processor or blender, then return it to the rest of the soup and stir. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

chilled cucumber soup (#ulink_03694ffe-30b5-5c2a-8666-37603a962fb9)

For a complete change of pace, chilled cucumber soup is very refreshing either as a first course or cooling snack in hot weather.

serves 4

1 cucumber, peeled and cut into rough chunks

425ml/15fl oz/2 cups low-fat plain yogurt

8 sprigs of mint

4 sprigs of parsley

2 spring (green) onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, optional

salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 sprigs of mint and ice cubes to garnish, optional

Put the cucumber into a food processor or blender with the yogurt, mint, parsley, spring (green) onions, and garlic if you’re using this, and whiz to a purée. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then serve, garnished with mint and with an ice cube in each bowl if you wish.

dips and spreads (#ulink_560df5dc-6cdc-5eb3-860f-da661f9aee21)

Some tasty dips and spreads are very useful when you’re eating a low-fat, low-sugar diet. They take the place of both cheese and butter in sandwiches and on toast, crispbreads and crostini, as well as making tasty first courses and additions to salads.

Many of the savoury dips in this section are based on beans or lentils which make wonderfully flavoursome dips and spreads, thick or thin, smooth or chunky as you prefer. Mix them with fresh herbs, spices, lemon juice, tomato paste, garlic, sweet peppers and other vegetables – there are many possibilities. Tofu, too – well-flavoured, of course – is excellent dip-and-spread material.

Sweet spreads – to replace honey, jam and even chocolate spread – require a little more ingenuity when sugar in any kind of serious quantity is out of bounds. As I’ve explained in the introduction to this book, I’ve taken the tough route and even banished fruit, which would be a relatively easy option for sweet spreads and of course there are plenty of no-added sugar preserves, sweetened with fruit juice, available if your diet is more lenient.