SPICY 'GLASS' NOODLES WITH MINCE, dieters' delight with vegan/ carnivore options

A light, beautifully spiced summer salad with an exotic twist...

Prep-ahead Dieter's Delight Salad of 'Glass' Noodles with Spicy Mince.
Triple Duty: vegan or carnivore (Taster: 'Awesome flavours!')

This gorgeous spicy, sweet and refreshing salad - a cold version of the wonderful Thai Larb - is a delight.  It's free of high-sugar simple carbs (see simple vs  complex carbs below), is full of crunchy vitamin-loaded veg and is incredibly versatile.  It's also, despite being light, satisfying.  And though the ingredients list is longer than normal, it is wallet-friendly

The picture features firm tofu (making it vegan) but chicken, pork or beef mince can also be used.  The 'glass noodles' are made with green bean starch; they  can be replaced by egg noodles but will raise calorie levels. 

67 has given minimum and maximum amounts for those wary of/adore heat and offers alternatives for kitchens low on some ingredients.

Whatever your choice, the dish has minimal cooking; life will be easier if some steps are prepared the night before.

The salad is still fabulous the day after it's made or even the day after that so it could be worth your while to double the recipe.  It packs and travels well.  

Cost: £5'ish (7/23) depending on chosen ingredients 
Feeds: 2-3 as a main, double that for a side

Ingredients

Green Bean Vermicelli/glass noodles
 (Dieter's Delight)

   110-150gm/3.8-5.2 firm tofu, frozen & defrosted

   1 medium, or 3 small, packets green bean vermicelli (glass noodles) totalling 150gm/5.2oz  (see how to use your noodle/s)
   
   2 dried shiitake mushrooms, (OR 5 good-sized regular mushrooms)
   1/2 red onion, in small dice
   1.5 spring onions, white & green

   1/4-1/2 tsp chilli flakes or small fresh chilli, membranes & seeds removed, chopped finely
   1/4-1/2 tsp siracha sauce or tabasco
   1-2 tbsp soft brown sugar
   1/3 tsp fish sauce OR the zest and juice of a lemon Or 3/4 tsp hoisin sauce
   clove garlic, grated
   1/2 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
   zest and juice of one lime (this is essential)
   1-2 lemongrass (optional)
   1-3 tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce

   7 mint leaves (opt) 
   2 tbsp cilantro or parsley (opt)
   
   If not using above herbs, garnish with chopped parsley

  Handful: green beans or mange tout (strings removed)
               small cauliflower florets
               finely shredded red bell pepper
               grated raw carrot

Garnish: 
       generous handful roasted peanuts, oil and salt rubbed off, coarsely chopped 
       1 lime in 8 wedges

 Method:

LOWER-FAT TUMBET or POTATO RATATOUILLE PIE: vegetarian/vegan, lower fat, prep ahead, picnics

Savoury potato and ratatouille pie: substantial and delicious hot, warm or cold

updated 5/2023; first posted 2019

Skinny Tumbet: layered potato, courgette, aubergine & tomato pie
'...all of the intense flavour without excessive richness' Taster

6/7/16

Tumbet was a summer staple in the 67 kitchen until its incredible richness became too much for a health-conscious diet.  Skinnier Tumbet is adapted from a recipe by Sophie Grigson (daughter of Jane and now with her own show on Food Network) published many years ago in the Evening Standard.  

Tumbet is often described as a Mallorcan/Canary Islands version of ratatouille but it's not a stew - it's an oven-baked layered dish. 

Tumbet unlike ratatouille however also contains potatoes. Its components are more multi-textured and in Spain it can accompaby meats.i

This recipe is designed to cut fat sharply without losing flavour. 67goingon50 developed a method of cooking aubergines without using pots of olive oil in the recipe Marvellous Meatless Moussaka. The experience helped re-work the tumbet to produce a lighter, healthier but still delicious dish.  

67 made two skinny tumbets. One was sprinkled with crumbled (leftover) feta; the other was plain.  Both tasted good though the feta version makes a more nutritionally balanced dish.  

It's a straightforward recipe but some prep the day before -- cooking the vegetables and making the sauce -- reduces stress on the day. 

Cost: about £5.50 (5/23)
Serves: 6-8 as a side; 4-6 as main (recipe halves easily)
Ingred:
  
 1 large aubergine (about 8oz/225gm), in 1/4in/1/2cm discs

   1.5 lb/3/4 kilo waxy potatoes in 1/4in/1/2cm slices (67 used new potatoes; but really any also do if not overcooked)

   3 peppers, any colour, deseeded and in 1/4in/1/2cm spears  
   olive oil, about 1/3 cup

Tomato Sauce   

    2 x 14 oz tins chopped tomatoes or passata (a little more expensive but smoother)
   3 cloves garlic grated
   3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
   1/2-1 tbsp sugar (opt but counteracts the acidity of the tomatoes)
   pepper & salt

   feta cheese (opt)

Method:

SENSATIONAL SMASHED POTATO SALAD

Outstanding potato salad that's quick, easy and frugal...

Doesn't look like much but it's utterly fabulous.  And quick!
'I love potato salad; this was outstanding with great crunchy bits' 'Incredible.'  Tasters 

When life's really busy or too darned hot, this frugal potato salad will make life easier.  From start to finish, it's ready in minutes and - even better -  the kids will love to help make it.

It can sit in the fridge for a day or so, deepening its flavours; doubling or tripling the recipe won't be a problem.

To make it a main course salad, at the last minute, mix in hard boiled egg or cubes of cold meat/fish. Other salad ingredients like finely chopped celery, cooked green beans or asparagus (!) and finely sliced radish add colour and texture. 

Cost: £2.25
Feeds: 6-8 as a side

Ingred:
   1 kilo/2 pounds small potatoes, halved OR potatoes chopped in 2inch/4cm cubes
   4-5 trimmed spring onions, white & green bits, thinly sliced 
   at least 1 cup yoghurt-mayonnaise
    pepper & salt

Method:

1. Cook potatoes 10 mins in boiling salted water or until a knife inserted into the centre meets little resistance (they will continue to cook off the heat)
2. Drain, run cold water over the potatoes then return to the sieve in the pot with the heat off; cool; peel if preferred
3. Put into a large bowl and, using a potato basher or fork, squash some of the potatoes - it doesn't matter if some of the potatoes stay whole
4. Mix in spring onions
5. Stir in yoghurt-mayo, mixing well 
6. Refrigerate until needed

Comments:
'I love potato salad and this was outstanding - firm and moist with great crunchy bits in it.' Political Agent 
'The salad was incredible!'  Mature housewife

More salads on Nav Bar:Recipes 11/Salads 

Please leave a Comment in the box below                                          

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.  

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR HEALTHY SUMMER COOKING

Cooking in the summer can turn into a chore - especially in a heatwave - but planning and cunning gives more time and energy to enjoy the weather...

Some of this information appeared in How too...cook during a heatwave  7/18

Sunshine Salad: gorgeous low-fat blend of juicy fruit & succulent meats
First made at a pretty hotel near a Scottish ferry; guests loved it!

The key to stress-free healthy summer cooking is planning, judicious use of supermarket/deli products and lots and lots of raw vegetables.  

There's no need to spend a lot of money; have look at what's in your fridge and proceed accordingly.  

Recipes II (Salads & Warm Weather Foods) on the NavBar have loads of great dishes and 67goingon50 will continue to post delicious spectacular dishes over the summer months.

The following practical tips are a great start:

Make lots of stuff in advance in the evening when it's cooler

• freshly prepared food will last 3 days in the fridge
• don't roast one chicken; roast two. (Or three, freezing one.) 
• bake a couple of big panfuls of 4-ingredient easy-peasy glazed wings/drums - one for eating now; the other to be reheated within 3 days, or frozen
• don't forget your slow cooker for overnight cooking: a shoulder of lamb can be cooked Mongolian style, cooled, fat removed, shredded and crisped up in the oven or on the barbie
• and the freezer is perfect for Make Ahead Fancy Sandwiches

Make big batches of pasta and rice for the fridge; it'll last 3 days 

• use as a base for different Dressings, Sauces/Dips with additions of meat, fish or plant protein and plenty of colourful raw veg
• have on hand any or all of 0-fat thick plain yoghurt, olive oil, lemons, limes, white/red/balsamic vinegars, parsley/mint/dill, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, pickles, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots
• lightly sprinkle drained cooked Italian pasta with olive oil to prevent sticking; it can be refrigerated 3 days
• rice, once cooked, should be spread on a large platter to cool one hour, left in the fridge overnight then bagged up for the freezer
• Chinese dried noodles: soak in boiling water 5 mins; drain and sprinkle with sesame oil; see How to use your noodle/s for a guide to varieties
• potatoes cut into small pieces and cooked 5-10 mins make super-frugal salads with or without boiled eggs, cubes of bell pepper, celery and spring onions; yoghurt based mayonnaises cut calories and fat

Frugal Sesame Noodle Salad, Vegan

Take advantage of supermarkets, delis and restaurant takeaway